Page 40 of Interion

Zion sighed without looking at me.

“No,” he replied, his voice so weary it seemed to weigh a ton. “I'm disappointed.”

Disappointment was worse than anger. I knew I shouldn't care about his opinion, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd failed somehow.

“About what exactly?” I fidgeted, gripping my necklace.

He turned to me and slid his hands into his pockets.

“The fact that you don't know—that I have to explain—makes it even worse,” he said thoughtfully. “You went into that fight intending to be a distraction. It was like you expected the beating and wanted to get knocked out just to get it over with. You didn't even give yourself a chance to land a single move, when everything I've done these past few days was teach you to do exactly that.” Now he looked deep into my eyes, and with that look, he poured every ounce of his disappointment into his next words. “You didn't even try, Kyller.”

“I'm sorry,” I said, ashamed.

“No!” Zion exclaimed, frustrated. “Apologies don't mean anything when you're the one covered in bruises. You're a descendant! A survivor of the forests, forged in blood and scars. You've been through things these pampered brats could never imagine.” Zion lowered his voice so only I could hear. “You're a descendant, and they should be afraid of you, not the other way around.”

I stayed quiet. It was the only thing I could do for myself, because he wasn't wrong and I had no argument against it. The word coward echoed in my mind like a curse.

We stood there in silence, just listening to the crickets chirp. I didn't know what to say, but the silence was so awkward that I forced myself to come up with something:

“Thanks for getting me out of that mess.”

He sighed and stretched his back like it was sore.

“Go get your things. We'll talk at home.”

I didn't wait for Zion to disappear before turning toward the locker room. Head down, I pushed through the double doors while the training music kept playing. The gymnasium was deserted.

My clothes were filthy, covered in dirt and debris from the woods, plus Naoki's blood, of course—soaking through, sticky against my skin. I decided to take a shower instead of walking bloodstained through the whole military district. The last thing I needed right now was more gossip about me. At least the empty locker room meant I didn't have to hide from the girls' sharp stares.

I stripped off my training clothes and left them on the wooden bench, then grabbed my bag of clean clothes and set it beside them. Ten hooks lined the wall outside the shower room. I walked over, hung my towel on the last one, and stepped inside, thinking about how strange it was to be alone in there. The hot water washed all the dirt from my body, but it couldn't do anything for the exhaustion or the shame. I wanted to become water too, to swirl down the drain and never have to face another conversation with Zion.

I was ashamed of myself, and remembering the footage on the laptop, I could see exactly what Zion had pointed out. “You didn't even try.” His words hurt more than a punch to the stomach. I'd walked into a fight without thinking of a single move, without any strategy—just threw myself in to get beaten. It was like my brain was still trapped in the forests, where the men raised their hands and I lowered my head.

Pathetic.

I finished my shower and stepped out, reaching for the towel, but to my complete horror, I found nothing. I stuck my head out and stared in disbelief at the empty hook.

For the love of the gods, I thought. Not today. Please, not today. Desperate, I covered myself with one hand between my legs and the other arm across my breasts. I peeked into the locker room to make sure it wasn't some kind of trap, but no one was there. So I walked to the bench where I'd left my clothes.

Only to discover they'd disappeared too.

I groaned in despair, thinking about what a spectacularly shitty day I was having. I scanned the entire locker room for something I could wear, but there were no clothes, no towels, and all the lockers were sealed with blocking magic that only the owner could open.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I cursed, putting my hands on my head in defeat. Now what? Even my bag with my phone had vanished, so I couldn't even call for help. It was my own fault, of course. I'd been stupid enough to leave my stuff on the bench, assuming all the students had already left.

What the hell was I going to do now? I stood frozen, running through various possibilities—all failures, of course—until I remembered a detail: behind the mat was a lost and found locker, usually stuffed with sweatshirts from careless students. I tucked my wet hair behind my ear and took a deep breath, shaking out my hands to relieve the tension.

Breathe! Just go around the mat, Kyller! You can do this. I went to the door and peeked outside—no one there, just the training music. I opened the door silently and peeked down the entrance hallway. No sign of anyone. Then, like a total lunatic, I sprinted toward the mat, rounded it, and found the locker. I yanked the door, but to my utter despair, it was locked.

Son of a bitch! I screamed internally. The situation kept getting worse—I was naked in the middle of the academy, and anyone could walk through the door and catch me like this. Damn, damn, damn! I needed to think of a solution, and fast. My brain raced frantically, and then I remembered—the instructor left the locker key near the entrance.

I wanted to cry, but there was no time. Unless, of course, I wanted to stay naked in the middle of the academy.

I ran over. Water dripped from my hair onto the floor, and the music sounded like it was mocking me. I needed to get out of there fast, but when I got there, I realized the key was on a high shelf. Too high for me. I looked around for something to help, then dragged over a metal stool and climbed on it, feeling blindly for the key. I noticed it was more to the left and stretched to reach it. My fingers scraped against the rough wood, and I finally felt the key ring, stretching higher, rising onto my tiptoes...

I almost had it when I suddenly felt his presence.

It was like a vibration rippling across my skin. Zion materialized in the shadow of the entrance, six feet from me, and I panicked. In a frenzy to get down and cover myself, I lost my balance and the stool toppled.