Page 16 of Origins

“What’s Callie short for?”

“Calendar.” She shrugged, mischief lighting her blue eyes.

“The next time we have sex, I’m going to moan,Calendar,” I promised, taking a sip of her water. I didn’t need to pick off her tray anymore; I just wanted to see how far I could push her. “And with how frequently we doit, it’s going to happen soon.”

A subtle flush colored her cheeks. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I absolutely would,” I warned, taking another sip of her water. “Unless you give me something else to say instead—perhaps your real name?”

She let out a short laugh, and for a moment, I thought she was going to tell me. But before she could, the alarm on my phone sounded.

I glanced at the screen and bit back a curse.

“Combat simulations?” she asked, pointing to the device.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose and nodded. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go to class—it was one of my favorites—but today was the day I’d find out who my partner would be for the yearly showcase.

Callie said she’d been working hard to clean up my reputation, but we both knew that wouldn’t be enough for someone like me. My performance needed to back up everything she’d said.

I needed to be spectacular enough to outweigh the risks that came with allowing the son of Necro into a hero center. And if I didn’t get a good partner, I’d have to work twice as hard.

“Yeah,” I breathed, shoving my phone into mypocket. “Can I walk you to class?”

I’d learned from being late last week and made sure to set my alarm ten minutes earlier.

Her face lit up as she nodded, and I reached for her backpack, slightly proud of myself for graduating from just giving her company to being allowed to carry her books.

***

I’d hoped that Professor Lumanara would rip off the Band-Aid and have our pairings written on the board the second we came to class, but that would have been too easy. Instead, she said that was end-of-class business; she wanted to see everyone spar at least once more before finalizing the lists. The only good thing about this situation was the fact that she’d yet again chosen Jack to be my opponent.

He and I squared off in the middle of the training field. The protective barrier hummed around us. We were paired together a lot, but it wasn’t about evenly matched skill–if that were the case, I wouldn’t consistently kick his ass–it was about containing the destruction that inevitably followed our powers. If the two most destructive forces in the room were paired together, the forcefield only needed to be used once.

Lumanara’s gaze swept over us, her hand poised to give the signal to start.

The other students watched from behind the barrier. I could see a few of them chatting, probably making bets or saying it wasn’t fair to Jack for him to constantly be paired with me. But that didn’t matter. Maybe if Jack tried to use some strategy and not just try to brute force his way through combat, he’d actually have a chance.

With the drop of her hand, Lumanara signaled thestart of combat. Jack lunged forward as he seemingly pulled a spear of ice out of thin air. I yawned and crossed my arms, determined to give him a ten-second head start. Maybe if I did that, he’d stand a chance.

The spear glinted in the artificial light as he moved toward me, but I didn’t budge. My eyes locked with his, and I held up my hand, making a show of how many fingers I had.

“Five… four… three…” With each number, I put a finger down.

By the time I’d finally counted down, Jack was almost upon me, his spear dangerously close to my chest. But just as he got close to stabbing me, I ducked to the ground, leaving him to aimlessly swipe at the air.

The force of Jack’s misplaced momentum caused him to stumble, and I used that second of hesitation to pivot back to my feet.

“Uh-oh, someone missed,” I taunted as he whipped around.

Jack cast me a narrow-eyed glare before throwing the spear in my direction. It was a good attempt, just not good enough. I stepped to the side, allowing the weapon to whistle past me before shattering against the protective barrier.

“Come on, you can at least make me sweat!” I heckled.

Jack’s nostrils flared as he looked directly at Lumanara, but all she did was motion for us to continue. He grunted as he flicked his wrist, summoning another spear like that’d do him any good.

He charged at me again, this time with a look of determination in his eyes. This was new and maybe a little bit exciting. As he closed the gap between us, I watched his feet, gauging the rhythm of his movement. Jack was stupid,but he had to know that direct confrontation didn’t work—not with me, at least.

This time, he swung the ice in a large arc, and I ducked under it before reaching up just long enough to grasp the shaft.

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