Page 72 of In Between Darkness
“The way I see it, the sooner you learn to control your Gifts, the sooner I can stop cleaning up your messes,” he says with a shrug.
I suppose he has a point, but I can’t help feeling a little offended at this. I shouldn’t complain, though; at least it means I get to spend more time with him. I nod, trying to hide the disappointment on my face.
“And I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad thing to see more of you,” he adds, scratching the back of his neck and smirking, resulting in my cheeks turning a scarlet colour. I try to fight the smile forming on my lips, but it beats me.
I hear him laugh as he turns to walk away.
“Tomorrow, twelve a.m., use the tunnel in the archives.”
“Okay… Bye, Ryder,” I respond, watching him walk away.
“Bye, stalker,” he says, disappearing into the trees.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I need to be more careful. The sooner I can gain control of my powers, the sooner I can start to live a normal life again. I can’t believe I hurt River like that. The moment he got sucked into the void still plays on repeat in my mind. Every time someone gets close to me, I jump back a little in fear of it happening all over again. I can’t have this happen to anyone else. The thought of Nala being forced into forgetting me makes me feel queasy. I’ll just keep my distance for a while until I can keep my Gifts in check. It’s hard being the only Star around. The other students can just ask a teacher or a third-year year for advice, but I am alone with my struggles. I wish there were some sort of handbook for what I’m going through. Dealing with this radioactive, soul-sucking portal is really taking its toll on me. My favourite pair of jeans, gone… sucked into the void this morning when I was sifting through my clothes. One trip to Astra Nova was definitely enough for me. I just mourned the pair of jeans and chucked on something different to wear. I barely got any sleep last night either. The humblebee vine is probably floating in the ether as we speak after getting scooped up in the void in the early hours of this morning. I know its abilities were fabricated, but it helped me sleep, placebo or not.
I throw my hair up into a mid-high ponytail and grab my black boots on the way out of my dorm room. My curls bounce and sway as I make my way through the long corridor. Nala stayed the night at Charlie’s, but we sat together for first meals.She asked me how the date with River went. I didn’t quite know how to respond to this, but I did tell her to cancel the Asha and River wedding, which made her laugh. I know that it isn’t a competition, but I definitely take the cake for the worst date in history. Thankfully, she has been staying at Charlie’s this weekend and hasn’t asked me too many questions. It hurts me to keep lying to her and everyone around me. Ryder is my only haven, and I don’t really know how to feel about it.
I am on taming duty this morning, bedding, which should be interesting. Keeping my head down, I push through the bustling crowds of students in the hallways as I make my way up towards the cable carts. I can’t bear to see River. I’m still in shock that so much can change in such a short time. Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I reach the cable cart and step onto its wobbly frame. Jaxon is leaning against the glass window, waiting for the cart to start its journey, which surprises me.
“Asha, I was shocked when River told me you took the taming class!” His chocolate brown hair springs in ringlets above his brow; it bounces up with every tilt of his head. The sun is bright today, and it’s reflecting off his tight black leather trousers, creating a sharp white glare. The corners of his thin lips curve into a wry smile.
“Surprised a girl could be a tamer?” I banter, trying to act normal.
As far as he is concerned, River and I went on one date and decided not to take it any further. I hide a deep inhale. Of course, I am forced to spend time in a confined cart with River’s best friend. Damn, why does everything have to be a constant reminder of the disaster I created last night? If he knew what really happened, he would probably wait for the cart to reach the highest point above the valleys and push me out of it so he could watch my body flail and finally splat onto the ground below, orhe’d just feed me to the elions so no evidence remained. I gulp at my morbid imagination and fiddle with my curls. I force a smile.
“Nope.” He chuckles awkwardly and goes a little red. “I would never underestimate a woman… Plus River mentioned that you could probably fuck me up soooo.” He raises his hands in a surrender motion and smirks, his curls shining in the light of the sun’s rays.
I wish he wouldn’t talk to me about River. I don’t even know what River would say to him about me now. I shake my head to wipe the thought away and distract myself with something else.
“So which elions do you have bonds with?” I ask, steadying myself against the window as the cart sways and rocks through the air.
“My strongest bond is with Harlo. It took him eleven months to really warm to me, and after a year, he clicked with me.” He smiles and looks proud of this accomplishment, like this bond was made in record time. “Don’t be surprised if it takes you a long time to form a bond. Elions are loyal creatures, but they’re not very trusting.”
I don’t tell him that I may have already bonded with one on my first day or that the leader of the pack clicked with me after ten minutes. Instead, I just smile and nod, taking off my black bomber jacket and tying its arms around my waist.
“So, what’s bedding duty like?” I ask, readying myself to hop off the cart when it approaches the valley.
“Easy really, we just switch out the old hay for the new.”
The cart steadies, and Jaxon jumps swiftly onto the mossy earth, with me following close behind.
“I’ll show you the ropes,” he says, tilting his head reassuringly and sauntering into the written room.
We make our way towards the sorting board in the corner by the big window. Jaxon picks up the pen nestled in the board’s lower ledge and signs a tick next to his name to show he ispresent for bedding today. I do the same. After we have proven our attendance, I follow Jaxon down the spiral stairs and back into elion territory. My boots are swallowed up by the long grass. There are carcasses of bones scattered around the terrain, some with their flesh still hanging on in vain. I stifle the gag that brews at the back of my throat, and my mouth wells with saliva as I try not to heave. I hear the quiet buzzing of flies picking at the discarded parts the elions didn’t want. I grimace. The sorting board showed that they had been fed just over an hour ago. I mentally thank the Gods that the elions have full bellies, and I am not prey.
Jaxon recognises my disgust. “You’ll get used to that.”
I exhale a sigh of sorrow as my eyes fall victim to the thin leg of a deer, broken and lost in the long grass, isolated from its body. There is no way I am ever going to get used to that.
I feel absolutely minuscule looking up at the wooden platforms on the stilts that the elion’s sleep on. I gulp.
“How on earth are we expected to get up there?” I ask Jaxon, and he chuckles before leading me to the opposite side of the post.
“I thought the same thing on my first day of duties.”
His hand reaches out and unhooks a black pair of trainers hanging from the side of the post. The laces look alive and float as he picks them up.
