If the older Cape had just gone down, it might still have been the end of things, but he tried to return fire. Problem was, Matthew’s punch had spun Backstreet around. The other man’s drunken swing didn’t come anywhere near Paladin. Instead, it smacked squarely into the face of a Titan seated one booth over. The Titan pushed back—hard—and Backstreet flew through the air to take out a couple of second-years making out on the dance floor.
All three went down, and the next thing we knew, second-years were vaulting over the balcony from upstairs, even as the remaining Brawlers erupted out of their own booth.
They call it the Bar Fight of 74. By the time it was done, there were thirteen concussions, three times as many broken bones, and so many other injuries that Bard had to ask one of the visiting recruiters—a Mid-Two who’d nevertheless earned a spot on a Cape Team by virtue of being a Healer—to pitch in at the Med Ward. In a lot of ways, that fight was the Class of 76’s public introduction to the world.
Wish I remembered any of it.
CHAPTER 65
It says something about my first year of college that when I woke up, I felt the cold metal gurney beneath me, instantly knew where I was, and rolled right over and went back to sleep. Not sure when the med ward had become as much a home as my actual dorm room, but there was something comforting in the loud whir of the industrial fans and Gladys’ grumbling as she moved from patient to patient.
The next time I woke, the fans were as loud as ever, but Gladys was nowhere to be seen. Every gurney in the med ward was occupied, and someone had wheeled in half a dozen more tables, creating a makeshift second row in front of the first. Those tables were also mostly full, although as I watched, a second-year, her party dress spattered with what looked suspiciously like vomit and blood, was helped down by another second-year in pristine Academy greys.
My own greys had been cut off of me, yet again, which was more than a little weird, as I was pretty sure I’d avoided the melee for once. Gladys was taking this whole infatuation thing too far. Tessa was bundled up two gurneys over, still unconscious. Aware that the cold might disprove all my claims of horse-sized appendages, I scanned the room to make sure Winter was nowhere to be seen, then dropped to the tile floor and hurried to grab a fresh set of greys.
A few of the less unconscious patients got an eyeful of bony Crow ass, but embarrassment was a secondary concern at that point. Whatever healing I’d gotten had washed out my hangover, and I had no difficulty seeing the clock above the med ward sink.
10:15 A.M.
I had less than two hours to get dressed, retrieve my weapon, and get my ass over to the shuttle station.
The campus was empty, but I could hear the crackle of the announcer from the Graduation Games field, almost drowned out by the ensuing roar of the crowd. Even on the far side of campus, the crowd’s noise dwarfed that of previous days. Whatever team competition was going on had to be an exciting one.
Ten minutes later, I was in my dorm room, and twenty minutes after that, I was showered and clothed in my ill-fitting suit, my one-shot weapon tucked into the suit coat’s interior pocket. I was hustling down the hallway when the common room dorm opened, and Paladin came in from the other direction. He stopped, took a look at me, and shook his head. “You might as well go back to your room. None of us are allowed at the Graduation Games today. Bard’s orders.”
That seemed like a shitty thing for Bard to do. Luckily, it didn’t affect me at all. “Fuck the games.”
Matthew looked tired, uncombed hair and dark circles under his eyes ruining the usual vid star prettiness. He shrugged. “Whatever.”
As he started to walk past, it was my turn to stop him. “Hey Paladin.”
“Yeah?”
“That was a pretty sweet punch. Didn’t know you had it in you.”
He shook his head. “It was stupid. I should’ve known better.”
“Sometimes, it's okay to be stupid.”
“Good to know.” He started to move past me again, but my hand on his shoulder stopped him a second time. “What do you want, Damian? It’s been a rough few days, and I’d like to spend some time meditating. Alone.”
I checked the internal clock in my head. Still over an hour to go. I could knock out three miles in as little as twenty-two minutes. That left me time to tie up one last loose end.
No, I didn’t punch him. Fuck knows, I’d already tried—and failed—that plenty in Combat class. Wouldn’t do to get blood all over my only nice set of clothes, especially if that blood was mine. No, this loose end was something else altogether.
“You’re not taking anyone to the dance, are you?”
He frowned. “I’m not going at all. Why?”
I swallowed and reminded myself that it was too late for anyone to stop me. “Because I need you to take Kayleigh.”
“Vibe?” His blue eyes went wide then sharpened. “I thought you were taking her?”
“Nah. I’m leaving. Today.”
“You’re what?”
I shrugged. “No point in waiting for them to kick me out, is there?”
“Do you always have to do everything on your own terms?”
“Fuck yes. We can’t all grow up rich.”
“You think my life is so great.” Paladin shook his head. “You of all people should know better than to blindly believe what you hear.”
“Unless you spent your sixth birthday dreaming about your mom bleeding all over the kitchen floor, I don’t want to hear how fucking tough your life has been.”
“Fine. Whatever. Goodbye and good riddance. But why ask me to take
