Page 117 of Akarnae

“Well, that’s it,” he said abruptly. “Your exam is over. Off you go.”

Alex wasted no time following his instructions. As she was walking—or stumbling—away, he barked out one more order: “Jennings, report to Fletcher immediately.”

She didn’t even have the energy to roll her eyes. As if she was going anywhere else.

Alex made it halfway up the hill towards the academy before she had to stop and rest. Collapsing into a sitting position on the ground, she bent over herself and held her injured arm close to her body.

“Ow,” she whispered, unable to express herself in any other way.

Just as she was contemplating leaning back and closing her eyes for a moment, a pair of dark boots entered her vision.

“Do you need that push now?”

Alex laughed breathily before wincing at the pain it caused her. “This time? I think so,” she admitted.

Kaiden knelt down and reached out to wrap his arm around her. He was careful to keep clear of her damaged shoulder as he pulled her gently to her feet. She was too exhausted and in too much pain to be embarrassed by his help—even when she realised that the rest of the guys from their Combat class were also surrounding them.

As a group they hobbled towards the Med Ward. Well, she hobbled—they walked.

“Is that what you’ve been doing during class?” Nick asked her. “That course?”

“Not that one,” she answered weakly. “But other courses like it.”

“You’d never been around that one before?” Brendan clarified.

“Nope,” she murmured, leaning a little more onto Kaiden with every step. She was really hurting now as the adrenaline steadily wore off and she could barely hold herself upright.

“Wow.”

Alex wearily turned her head to look at Sebastian who’d made the exclamation. She was surprised by the praise, and even more so to find the others nodding along in agreement.

“Yeah, that sure was something,” Nick said.

“I wonder why Karter gave you more time?” Declan mused. “You were clearly done-in at the fifteen-minute mark.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. Her vision turned hazy around the edges before clearing again.

“Your time ran out just after you were clipped by the sandbag on the beam,” Declan explained. “You still got further than the rest of us by then, but it’s weird that he made you continue on—especially with your shoulder like that.”

Alex really didn’t like the way he’d said ‘like that’ but she didn’t question him. She didn’t question anything in fact—not even Karter’s added time—and instead she focused on putting one foot in front of the other in an effort to not collapse completely onto Kaiden.

“We’re almost there,” he whispered to her, almost as if he could feel her fading. He probably could, since he was practically carrying her entire weight.

Finally they stepped into Gen-Sec and made their way to the Med Ward. Alex was so relieved to see Fletcher that she could have cried.

“Dear, dear, dear,” he tsked when he noticed the condition she and some of the others were in. “You all look like you’ve been in a war. On the losing side. Help her onto the bed, will you, Kaiden?”

Alex was trying so hard to remain conscious that she didn’t even feel awkward when Kaiden lifted her up onto the mattress.

“What have you done to yourself this time, young lady?” Fletcher’s tone was stern but there was genuine concern in his gaze as he inspected her shoulder.

Alex whimpered when his fingers made contact, the touch ripping pain all the way up her arm. He immediately dropped his hand and walked over to his medicine cabinet, returning with a vial of bright green pain reliever. She swallowed it in one go but was disappointed when it only dulled the pain.

“It didn’t work,” she told him. “Not as much as normal.”

“I’ll give you a stronger one in a moment,” he promised. “But I need you to be able to tell me what you’re feeling.”

“A whole heap of pain,” she said, “and then some more.”

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