Jason certainly subscribed to Adriana’s philosophy of dealing with the aftermath alone—in fact, Allyra hadn’t seen him since the First Final, quite a feat given they shared a room. He’d kept an uncharacteristically low profile, arriving in their room well after she’d fallen asleep and leaving in the morning before she’d even managed to crack one eyelid open.
Normally, she wouldn’t complain about his absence, especially since she wasn’t particularly excited about him having seen her reduced into a whimpering, useless puddle by a swarm of wasps, but she couldn’t help but be curious about what exactly had scared Jason so badly. She had witnessed something he’d kept locked away in the shadows, something he’d not wanted anyone to know. Her insatiable need to know things meant she wanted to press him on it, to push his buttons as he did to her. But in the time since she’d fallen into the Between, Allyra had come to realize her relentless drive to uncover hidden secrets was perhaps not a trait to be proud of. It had landed her in trouble on more than a few occasions, and she saw it as a true sign of personal growth that she was taking the high road of giving Jason the distance he needed.
“Hey! Watch it!”
Allyra looked up at Henri’s sudden exclamation. Someone had toppled into her and Chi, probably trying to prove their courage through some expansive display gone wrong.
“Go take your childish crap somewhere else,” Henri said with her face scrunched up in disgust, shoving away the person who’d landed in her lap.
He got up and ran a hand through his short, spiky hair, and Allyra recognized him as Jeong Lee, recently revealed as Chi’s partner.
Jeong looked down at Henri and held up his hands in a gesture of insincere apology. Then, his eyes lit up with real malice as they landed on Chi.
“Guys,” Jeong called over to his band of loyal followers. “Look, it’s my partner,” Jeong said lazily, wearing a twisted and spiteful smile on his lips like a gash across his face. “Did I tell you guys how he basically melted into a puddle of fear in the redwood forest? I had to drag his sorry ass out of there.”
The crowd laughed viciously, and Chi dropped his eyes and studiously examined the ground, ever careful to avoid confrontation. Allyra tightened her fingers into a fist—she hated bullies, and it was clear that Jeong was a first-class bully.
“From what I heard, it was you that needed dragging out,” Allyra said lightly with a serene smile on her face. “It’s really too bad he didn’t leave you in there.”
Jeong turned to her as if noticing her for the first time, and his dark eyes filled with venom. “Stay out of this, little girl,” Jeong retorted, turning from her as if she wasn’t worth his attention.
Allyra started to get up, but Chi’s fingers wrapped quickly around her wrist, stopping her. He shook his head at her. Allyra took a deep breath and settled back into her seat. And that’s where it would have ended if Jeong knew how to leave things alone. He didn’t.
“That’s right, little girl. Stay down,” Jeong taunted.
She spun her head to him, for once, a retort ready on her lips. But she didn’t need it. A new voice joined the fray.
“Who are you calling a little girl?” Jason drawled out, the crowd parting as if by magic to allow him through.
Allyra wanted to roll her eyes—why did Jason feel the need to jump to her rescue only when she had a perfect comeback?
In a tiny, almost imperceptible move, Jeong straightened his back as he turned to Jason, as if finally recognizing an adversary worth his attention. Jeong ran his eyes along Jason’s arm, which was still covered in the new, pink skin of a still-healing burn.
Jeong let out a low, vicious laugh. “It’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year—an Inferno who’s scared of Fire. I’m surprised you have time to stand up for your partner—shouldn’t you be spending it learning to control your Element?”
Allyra stiffened. Jason might not be her favorite person, but he was her partner. Also, Jeong had just slithered past Jason up her list of least favorite people. She got up, and this time, Chi didn’t try to stop her.
Allyra stood next to Jason and shot Jeong an ugly look.
Jeong narrowed his eyes at her. “Am I supposed to be intimidated, little girl?” he asked.
“Well, from what I’ve heard, it doesn’t really take much to scare you,” Jason said with a careless laugh. “The funniest joke I’ve heard—ever—is the one about the guy that wet his pants when confronted by a Sentinel.”
The vicious smile slid off Jeong’s face.
Jason leaned casually toward Allyra and said conspiratorially, as if sharing secrets was something they did all the time. “You might not have heard this one—it’s about a privileged, egotistical guy who thought he was so special that he could enter the Great Hall all by himself. But, of course, the Sentinel stopped him. When the Terra High Master found him the next morning—still being held in place by the Sentinel—he was standing in a puddle of his own urine, whimpering for his mother.”
Jason let out a bark of laughter, as if relaying his story brought him great enjoyment. “You’ll never guess who it was,” he said, turning his eyes to Jeong.
The crowd had fallen silent, and Jeong looked as if he’d just swallowed a lemon.
“Not brave Jeong over here?” Allyra replied with mock surprise. She curled her lips into a smile. Jason certainly didn’t do things by halves. Seeing a bully being put into his place was
