CHAPTER 32: BREATHING FIRE

CORA

"Surely we can..." I turned my eyes away from Serica and looked down to the stage. It was pointless, and she was right. We really had no recourse. Cechele was a few places from the front of the line. Deneel stood behind her, clutching at the list tied up in her ribbons. The gray-skinned girl looked mortified, she’d pieced together what was about to happen and seemed to blame herself for it.

"Cora, this is the last thing I wanted," Serica said and placed her hand on my shoulder.

I nodded and placed my cheek to the back of her palm, "I know."

The thought of having to train with someone so terrible sat like lead in my belly.

I just wanted us to be together.

That wasn’t going to happen. Still, I needed to put on a brave face for her, "We’ll find time. You don’t need to worry about that."

It was a setback, sure, but I knew that I would find small ways to be with her. Delivering baskets of pastries, or stealing away on our weekly day off.

I might even be able to switch one of my electives to match hers.

The one thing I knew I would really miss were équipe excursions. Throughout the year, équipes regularly took off into the wilds, tracking down Esprit to Bond, and gaining practical experience.

Those trips ranged from multiple days to weeks, and in that time, I’d be completely without her. That would be rough. I’d barely made it through a single morning without her. In that time, the tang of the tether between us had been very real, and very sharp.

I’ll just have to live with it.

I saw Serica wince as Cechele took the stage and clasped her hand in mine, squeezing it tight. "Please don’t worry. I’ll make her life miserable living with me. I’ll burn all her biscuits. She’ll want to pawn me off on you in no time."

"If you’re going to go that far, we should just poison her," she grinned and squeezed me back. "No, you’re not, you’re going to do your best."

"Whatever you want."

Serica dropped into a squat in front of me and said, "As long as you don’t start showering with her,"

What the hell?!

"Absolutely not. I’m going to be wearing fuzzy fleece pajamas and nothing less around the dorms." I leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

"And you’ll make me feel it when you’re alone in your bunk?" She asked.

"I’m going to thrum our line so hard."

Cechele’s voice called out over the din of the crowd, "Coraline Tulk!"

I reached down and grabbed my pack. At its side, my leash sat with Brumer’s broken charm. At its end, I’d forgotten that was something we both shared.

"We can still use her to pass notes."

"More than that," Serica said, and I couldn’t help but imagine her scorching breath moaning into my thighs as Serica drilled her from the other side of the campus.

"I guess I’m going to go report for duty..." Cechele was already approaching, eyeing me with a wicked gleam in her eye. I gave Serica a final kiss, held it long, showing both of them where my loyalties stood, and descended the stairs to join Aifric.

Brume’s heat pooled in my chest and her voice lit up in my ear, "She’s in for a bad time."

"Right, she has no idea what she just got herself into."

Deneel’s next pick was a name I’d not heard before, Cenemir, a silver haired girl from the École de Bonnes that was not a Scintile native. Serica took off up the steps to meet her as I made my way down, debating whether I should toss a shoe at Cechele’s head.

"Say your goodbyes?" She asked, rolling her eyes at me, "Better have, you’ll be seeing none of her moving forward. Now go wash your face, get that scum off of you."

"Go fuck yourself." I spun on my heel and sat down next to Aifric, saying "Don’t pay that bitch any mind."

She gave me a small smile before setting her eyes to her knees, then spoke under her breath, "This is the worst."

I reclined in my seat. Serica wanted me to make the best of the situation, and I would, but that didn’t mean I planned to play nice. Cechele may have made me her roommate, but she wasn’t my captain, and I would not give her that role. The tyrant in miniature stood off to the side, occasionally stealing glances at Aifric and I while taking notes in her leather-bound notebook.

I didn’t bother dropping my voice. "I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s one of her to however many of us. She’ll either cut the crap or we’ll ruin her reputation."

"Sure," Cechele tutted, "We’ll see who’s outnumbered here in a moment."

Ser strolled past with Lilac and Cenemir, and I flashed her my prettiest smile, "Love the équipe you’re putting together!"

Cechele looked half-ready to grab her leash and batter me. She approached and leaned to meet me eye to eye, "Listen to me you moron, we both know the street your Dad’s little bakery sits on. How hard do you think it’d be, to have it shut down?"

I gripped my armrests, "You can’t-"

"Increased property taxes, health inspections, you want me to go on?"

My leash hummed, Brumer wanted to spring to action. I pleaded internally for her to hold back. I felt the fire too, but I couldn’t play with this. The fact that my mom’s Esprit was at my side was already a step too far. I wouldn’t cause him additional suffering unless I absolutely had to.

Cechele nodded, "Figured. Don’t mess with me Tulk, understand?"

Crossing my arms, I turned away.

This is bullshit.

I’d have to find another way to spring loose. It didn’t take long for Cechele’s attentions to pull elsewhere. When they did, Aifric nudged my knee with hers. It was a quick, small gesture, but it meant a lot.