“Fine, but you won’t be training with me.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
She crosses her arms but doesn’t drop her glare. I can do this all day if I have to. Which reminds me, she still has to make her decision before the end of it.
“Besides, Sailor still has until tonight at midnight to make up her mind on whether or not she is with us or not. She can still back out.”
That does it. I can feel the shift in her stance. I am sure the rest of the room can feel the fumes rolling off her. She shoves my arm, taking me by surprise. If I hadn’t been so stubbornly trying to piss her off, I wouldn’t have lost my balance, but I do, although I recover quickly.
“What’s your problem? Like, seriously?” Sailor fumes.
I lift my hands up.
“I’m just trying to make sure you understand what it is you are signing up for. What you’re agreeing to, well, it isn’t short of a death sentence.”
“I was nearly ripped apart, drowned, and sucked into a fiery pit that spiraled to the center of the Earth, and I survived. I don’t need you and your doubts getting in my way. I’m stronger than you think. Hell, maybe I don’t even need you. Maybe I have this all by myself. I mean, you have to have a Paradox to stop the horsemen. And I am it. The Paradox.”
I don’t like the tone she is using or the way she is looking. I mean, I do. It’s hot. But I don’t, because I feel like she’s going to do something really, really stupid.
“It’s not like that, Sailor. I know you’re strong,” I say, trying to backtrack and calm her down.
Finally joining us, Aziza moves into the circle.
“Okay, lovebirds, we get it. You have been ripping each other’s clothes off in your minds since you met. But let’s cool it, the tension is palpable in here. Too much.”
“You might need to get your ears checked,” I tell Aziza.
One penciled-to-perfection eyebrow lifts my way and I swallow whatever words were going to follow. I am not afraid of Aziza hurting me. I am worried what she will do while I am sleeping. Even gods like to play pranks on one another.
“Look, I am just trying to inform her. She has options, and she should be fully aware of them before making up her mind.”
“You’re trying to scare her.”
Aziza’s phone buzzes and she looks at it after directing the accusation my way.
“Yeah, I am trying to scare you. You should be scared.” I turn back to Sailor, who snorted when Az mentioned me trying to scare her.
“I’m not scared.”
“Yes, be scared. Because that’s what’s normal in this situation. I can’t protect you if you are going into this blind.”
“I was pulled into the earth and almost died. You can’t protect me period. If I was counting on you, I’d probably be dead,” she says.
It’s a hard blow to my chest that feels like Sailor stuck a knife in me. If only she knew the truth in her words and how it stings. I open my mouth to respond, but I think better of it and move to the door.
“Rye, wait,” Mel calls after me, following me into the hallway.
I stop outside the door and hang my head low, but I can still hear them in the room talking.
“What did I say?” Sailor asks.
“Rye is the best fighter among us. That’s one of the reasons he’s the leader. But while he’s saved hundreds of lives, in the end there was a group he couldn’t save.”
“His family…”
SAILOR
“Thank you so much, Ya-Ya,” I say as I pull my head through the neck of a very soft lilac blouse and untuck my hair, brushing my fingers through the damp mess.
“Eh,” Ya-Ya says with a shrug. “This is my extra stash for any fashion 9-1-1s. You know, if someone else is sporting my look or if I spill water on something.”
“You know water just dries clear, right?” I look at her, concern probably etched all over my face.
I mean, she can’t really be worried about water on her clothes?
“Honey, you are in this mess because Nexus spilled water on you.”
She spins to check herself in the mirror, her dreads so perfectly placed on her head they don’t move.
“Right.”
Should have thought of that one.
I watch her for a moment, transfixed. Ebony skin, her body long and lithe. It’s like we’re back at the cabin and I am standing there like an idiot in a room of runway gods and goddesses.
“Come on. We still have to get to class eventually.”
We step out of the girls’ restroom. Across the hall is the rest of the gang, except Rye. I guess he couldn’t stick around after our argument. I don’t blame him, but he doesn’t have to be such a dick.
It’s total torture walking down these hallways. My first day and already I am the number one bit of news on everyone’s lips. I usually like to run in a small crowd with a few close friends unnoticed. I hunch down as much as possible, keeping my head low, but the others don’t seem to notice or care that everyone is clearly talking about me.
“That’s her! Dude, she must have been stuck in some freak downpour.”
“She was soaked, like really fucking wet. Weird.”
“It wasn’t raining this morning.”
Their voices trail off as we pass by. My cheeks are burning and my hair is still damp. I exhale and keep moving. My first day can’t be the worst first day ever. Much.
“You okay, Para-D?” Sunday nudges me in the shoulder.
A soft smile plays over the edges of his mouth. He has his dirty blond hair styled simple, but it looks like he’s ready for a photo shoot. Just looking at these beautiful creatures, I start twirling the ends of my frankly unappealing brown hair nervously.
“No. They’re all talking about me. Everyone. They think I got stuck out in the rain.”
“Ah, don’t
