Chapter 233

I throw open the door to our room and stumble inside, panting and exhausted and covered in sweat from my lesson with Blaze as I toss my new chemistry textbook onto a side table. “I just had the best day,” I sputter out, each word seeming to come out on its own little pant.

“Ariel!” Rafe shouts, frantic, and I stand up straight when I find him barreling across the room towards me. I barely have time to squeak in surprise before he wraps me up in a tight bear hug, holding me close, his arms shaking. “Where the hell have you been!?”

“At my lessons!” I protest, my words coming out all muffled against his arm. I hug my brother for a second but then push against him, confused, wanting to know what on earth is going on. But he holds me locked tight in his arms, not letting me go. “Rafe!” I gasp, shoving harder against him. “You’re suffocating me!”

“Good,” he growls, but he lets me go when Jesse tugs hard at his arm.

I gasp a breath but barely have a moment to get it down before Jesse takes Rafe’s place. “You idiot,” he growls, holding me close to his chest. “Do you know what time it is!? You missed dinner! We were so fucking worried, Ariel!”

I hug Jesse back for a second, looking at the clock behind him in surprise and realizing with a little bit of horror that he’s right. “Oh my god,” I say, pushing back a minute. “Jess – I’m so sorry –“

But before I can get any further he’s shoved away and I find myself up in Luca’s arms, being carried away over to the couch. I can’t help it – I laugh, even as he snarls at me.

“What, I don’t get a hug?” Ben protests from his spot over by the door.

“I’m sorry, Benny!” I call to him over Luca’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to worry you!”

But before I can say anything else Luca sinks down onto the couch, taking me with him, wrapping me up in his arms and settling me onto his lap. “Please don’t do that again, Ariel,” he sighs, resting his forehead against mine. “We were seriously flipping out – we thought…maybe Wright had gotten to you? God, we had no idea –“

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, raising my hand and cupping his cheek, pressing a swift kiss to his mouth. “I really am – I lost track of time and didn’t even think -”

“Well, where were you?” Rafe asks, sinking down into his arm chair and rubbing at his temple, still glaring at me. Jesse does the same, and I work hard to keep a smile from my face because honestly they look the picture of Dad and uncle Roger right now when they’re pissed at one of us kids.

Quickly, I tell them all about my amazing day – about Faiza teaching me to be a spy, and Blaze teaching me to fight, and Neumann’s plans to teach us all sorts of fascinating chemical compounds. Their attention is rapt through the first two things, though I think I lose them a bit on the third.

“So, you were at hand-to-hand lessons?” Jesse asks, clearly interested. “Instead of dinner? And you have to do it every night?”

“I mean, I’ll eat when I come home,” I say, yawning already and snuggling warmly against Luca.

“Still,” Jesse says, glancing at the clock. “That is a long day. Longer than any of ours.”

“I don’t like it,” Rafe says, shaking his head and crossing his arms. “I can’t believe you walked through the castle alone today, Ariel. Twice.”

“Rafe,” I sigh, shaking my head at him. “You can’t always be my bodyguard! Eventually, I have to be able to protect myself!”

“Yeah, and until then, someone has to protect you!” he snaps, leaning forward to glare at me.

“Oh, we’ll figure it out,” I say, flapping a hand dismissively at him as I tuck my head against Luca’s shoulder and close my eyes for a second, letting myself rest. “Is there any food left? I’m starving.”

Rafe grumbles but gets up, making me a plate of semi-cold turkey and vegetables wrapped in a piece of flatbread with a sweet and spicy sauce. When he hands it to me, I scarf it down. Luca obligingly holds my plate for me, laughing at me a little as I eat as fast as I can.

“What’d you guys do all day?” I ask, my mouth a little full. I send Luca a pulse of apology down our bond for being so gross, but he just laughs and kisses me on my cheek, letting me know he doesn’t care.

“Well, until we spent the past two hours worried as hell about you,” Rafe says, glaring at me again as he sinks back into his seat. “We all actually had a great day.”

“Really?” I ask, perking up and looking around. “What happened?”

“We got our specializations,” Ben says, beaming at me as he settles onto the couch next to Luca and I, sitting in my usual seat.

“That’s amazing!” I burst out, delighted. But then I hesitate. “But also, what does that mean?”

Ben laughs at me, shaking his head. “It kind of sounds like the same as you, Ari – you got a personal tutor, but the rest of us just got sorted into smaller groups with new professors who are able to teach us according to what the Academy thinks is going to be out future jobs.”

“That’s so exciting,” I say, my eyes going wide as I look around at them. “What did you get, Benzie?”

“I,” Ben says, pressing a proud hand to his chest, “am going to be an Ambassador of the proper sort – the kind that actually goes places and negotiates man-to-man instead of one who just prepares the paperwork. They said…” he blushes here, I think a bit of unused to complimenting himself, “that they think I’m really good with people and have the right personality to get what I want without stepping on many toes.”

“I think that’s very true, Benny,” I say, smiling proudly at my friend and slipping my foot away from Luca’s lap to give him a little kick of joy. “You’re going to be amazing at that.”

“Thank you,” he says, settling his shoulders in a very happy, prideful way.

“Mine is way cooler,” Jesse says, sighing happily as he gets to his feet and reaches for my empty plate.

I hand it to him with a smile, encouraging him to continue.

“It’s true,” Ben says with a mock-envious sigh. “Jesse got special forces.”

“Ohhh,” I say, admiringly as Jesse stacks my plate on top of the others and starts to carry the whole set to the dumbwaiter. “What does that mean?”

“It means they’re turning him into a little army of one,” Rafe replies for Jesse, smiling proudly after our cousin. “So they can send him on very tiny missions that only one person can go on. He’s got to be fast, sharp, and sly – and I think Jesse fits the bill perfectly for that.”

“Agreed!” I say, holding my hand up to Jesse as he comes back. He slaps it as he passes, grinning at me. “Very espionage-esq., which is the highest compliment I can give.”

“A compliment I heartily accept,” Jesse says, bowing before he sinks happily into his chair. “Alongside any others that you have to offer today.”

“Nope, all out,” I say happily, turning my attention to Rafe next, excited. “What about you?”

“I got the same as Jacks,” Rafe says, smiling at me with pride. “We’re both in command training so that we can help plan battles, direct the war, that sort of thing.”

“What he’s not telling you,” Jesse says in a mock whisper, holding his hand up by the side of his mouth and pretending to tell me a great secret. “Is that they’re the only two in that extremely elite category. And that they’re being groomed as generals. And that it’s an incredibly high honor that hardly anyone gets. And that they’ve never taken two Cadets in the same year before, and that no one was selected for it in the past two years of entering Cadets.”

“Holy shit,” I whisper, my eyes going wide as I stare at my brother, who blushes lightly. “Rafe, that’s…that’s a huge deal.”

“No, it’s not,” he murmurs, looking down at his hands even though I can tell that he’s proud as all hell. Pride swells in me too as I watch him – my brother who so rarely accepts a compliment or pats himself on the back, even though he works just as hard as I do. “I probably just got it because I’m the future King – they can’t not give it to me.”

“That’s not true, Rafe,” Luca says, and I look up to see him frowning at my brother. “Don’t sell yourself short. Also, don’t give the Captain that little credit – he’s not in the business of bestowing empty graces in the middle of a war.”

Rafe sighs and nods but doesn’t respond. Still, I can tell that he’s proud of himself. Inwardly, I resolve to find a way, soon, to let him know just how proud we all are of him too – and not just because he’s a prince.

“What about you?” I ask, incredibly excited as I turn my beaming smile on Luca.

But to my surprise, he just looses a long sigh. “As-yet unsorted,” he says, looking at me evenly and shaking his head.

My heart drops. Because even if I don’t quite know what that means…I know by his tone, and the feelings coming down out bond, that it’s not good.