Page 56 of Drawn in Blood
“Ignore her,” he said softly. “You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
Ember nodded and took a shaky breath when Fen cleared his throat.
“Shall we get in the air, or are you not done making googly eyes at each other?”
Ember felt her cheeks flush as Killian shoved Fen in the shoulder, making him stumble.
“So gross,” Fen mumbled, as he rubbed his shoulder and walked toward his board, strapping in and taking off into the air.
“After you, Starshine.” Killian smiled as he gestured toward the field.
Ember took a breath and nodded, then took off into the sky. The students in the stand grew smaller as Ember rose higher, and she felt the weight on her chest slowly lighten as the air grew thinner. There was something otherworldly about being in the air—something about the way the magic crackled like electricity around her, humming and buzzing as it brushed against her exposed arms. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before lowering the nose of her board so she was with the rest of the students trying out and made her way to the center of the pitch.
There were four Rukr teams at Heksheim, and four subsequent team captains helping to run tryouts. Professor Bjorn ran the program, so he oversaw naming the teams, much to the other professors’ dismay.
The Kelpies, captained by Flynn Maguire. The Griffins, captained by Kady O’Neill. The Redcaps, captained by Fagan Doyle, and the Wyverns, captained by Killian. Ember wasn’t partial to any one team, but she’d be lying if she said she wouldn’t be more comfortable with Killian and Fen.
Professor Bjorn waved his arm in an upward motion, and all four captains met in the middle above the field.
“Each captain will run a set of drills they have prepared,” Professor Bjorn announced from below, his boisterous voice echoing off the bleacher surrounding the pitch. “You will complete one set of drills in full before moving on. We will go for an hour or two.” Professor Bjorn looked at the watch on his burly wrist and nodded to himself. “Captains, you may begin!”
Each student trying out had been given an arm band with team colors on it to split them into groups. Ember’s was maroon and silver—the fact that those were the colors Killian and Fen were also wearing did not miss her. She flew to her group, hovering just slightly behind the sea of students, and patiently waited on instructions from the captain—Killian.
She ran the drills as instructed, trying desperately to ignore the way his arms flexed as he gave direction and the way his jersey sleeves hugged his biceps. She couldn’t help but notice how much faster everyone seemed. She shook the thought away and adjusted the caman strapped to her back.
Focus.
After a few more drills with Killian, and then a handful with the other three captains, Ember slowed to a stop to catch her breath, and Fen flew up next to her, nudging her in the arm.
“Doin’ alright?” he asked, as he balanced beside her.
“For now, anyway.” She nodded with a sigh. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to compete with any of them.”
“You’re not,” he replied with a shrug, “not really anyway. Worry about competing with the best version of yourself, and the rest will work itself out. That’s what Da’ always says.”
Ember smiled. “You’re a good friend, Fen.”
Fen wrinkled his nose, his face dropping. “Just because you don’t live with me anymore doesn’t make me any less your brother.”
Ember felt her chest clench as she tried to force a smile.
“Lothbrok, let’s go!” Flynn shouted from the center of the pitch.
Ember gave Fen a small nod and took off toward the center of the field where the rest of the students were waiting.
“We’re going to run a little scrimmage.” Flynn grinned, flashing his crooked teeth at the group. “Vargr and Doyle’sgroups against my and O’neill’s. First team to score ten points wins. Any questions?”
Everyone shook their heads, and Flynn gave a quick nod. Ember positioned herself in between the pitch and the center of the field, fiddling with her gloves as she tightened them. To her surprise, Veda flew toward her, hovering just a few feet from her on the right.
“There’s still time to give up, you know.” She smirked as she brushed her hair over her shoulder. “It would be a shame if there were an accident after you’ve spent all this time preparing.”
Ember rolled her eyes as she shifted her weight on her board. “Shove off, Ellingboe,” she hissed, clenching her fists by her side.
“Scared, Lothbrok?” Veda grinned, almost manically.
“You’ll find that fear isn’t in my vocabulary,” Ember replied.
“Perhaps,” Veda shrugged, “but it’s in your eyes. Not even those pretty contacts can hide that.”
