On the day Maya came back to the training field. I saw her from away as she walked through the gate. Her black hair was tied back. Looked nice. She was wearing a training uniform that had never been worn before. The silver bracelet on her wrist covered the scar I had seen four days ago.
She did not look at me. She just walked to her group. I almost called out to her. I did not know what to say.
Then I heard a voice. It was the Ember Core's voice. I ignored it.
The voice said, "She is pulling away."
I did not want to hear it.
The voice said, "Not because she does not trust you. Because she does not trust herself."
I said, "I did not ask for your opinion."
The voice. Then it was quiet.
That day we did a defence simulation for training. The instructor was a woman with hair and a loud voice. She explained the rules to all the students. The training ground was divided into four parts. Each team was in one part. We had to protect the base in the middle of our part from targets that would attack us.
There was a new rule. The instructor said, "Each team member can only use their power three times. After that the sensors on your wrists will stop your Kai abilities for the rest of the training. You will have to work as a team."
The students were talking quietly. Some of them looked scared. I looked at my wrist. I did not have a sensor. I did not have any cause to stop.
Maya said, "Kael."
I turned around. Maya was standing beside me. Her eyes looked serious.
"We are on the team," she said.
I asked, "Who else is on our team?"
She pointed to two students who were not far from us. One was tall with red hair. He looked bored. The other was shorter with blue hair. Her eyes looked cold.
Maya said, "Raka and Kirana. They did well on the physical test."
Raka turned around when he heard his name. He looked at Maya. Then at me.
He said, "You are the one without power?"
I did not answer.
He walked closer to me. He was much taller than me. His red hair looked like it was on fire.
He said, "I heard about you. You passed the test without Kai. That was brave… This is team training. If you are not helpful, stay out of the way."
Maya said, "Raka."
He did not listen to her. He kept looking at me.
He said, "You do not have power. So you are not helpful."
I said, "I can help."
He asked, "How?"
I did not answer because I did not know.
Raka laughed. He said, "Prove it," then he walked away.
Kirana was quiet. She looked at me for a moment. Then looked away. I did not know what she was thinking.
Maya stood beside me. She said, "He is always like that."
I asked, "Do you know him?"
She said, "I knew him before the academy. We are from the city."
She said, "He is not as bad as he seems. He just does not trust people who cannot do things."
I looked at Rakas's back as he walked away. His red hair was moving in the wind.
I said, "I will prove it."
Maya looked at me. She did not smile. I saw something in her eyes. It was not confidence. Maybe it was a little bit of hope.
The training started.
The first wave of targets came after five minutes. They were like people. They were moving fast. They were attacking with glowing sticks.
Raka moved first. He had fire in his hands. It was very hot. He destroyed three targets with one attack.
Kirana was on the side. Her ice was not as fast as Rakas's fire. It was more accurate. She hit each target in the chest. The targets. Then broke into pieces.
Maya did not move. She stood near the base. Looked around. Her power was not helpful against the targets. She kept watching.
I stood on the side of the base. I was not doing anything.
Because I could not do anything.
The first wave ended. No targets had got past us.
Raka said, "One."
He was counting how many times he had used his power. Kirana also counted one.
The second wave came faster. There were targets. Raka and Kirana worked together. They used fire and ice to destroy the targets. Some targets almost got past them.
I ran to the gap. I blocked the target that had broken through.
The target attacked me with its stick. I dodged. I blocked its attacks. I could not attack back. I did not have any power.
The target pushed me. I fell down.
Before the target could do anything Kirana appeared beside me. She shot ice at the target. The target broke into pieces.
She said, "Do not stand in the middle. You are in the way."
Then she left.
I got up. My knee was hurt. No one cared.
The second wave ended. Raka and Kirana had used two of their three chances.
Raka said, "One left. After this we are a team."
He looked at me. His eyes were not friendly.
He said, "You did not do anything."
I said, "I blocked the target that got through."
He said, "And you fell down."
I did not answer.
Raka walked closer to me. He said, "Listen. I do not know how you passed the test… This is not a place for someone who just gets lucky."
Maya said, "Raka."
He did not listen to her.
He said, "You did not do anything. Your power is not helpful here. You are both not helpful."
Maya did not answer. I saw her hands get tight.
I said, "The third wave is coming. We do not have time to fight."
Raka looked at me. Then he laughed. It was not a laugh.
He said, "Fine. Show me."
The third wave came like a storm.
There were not dozens of targets. There were hundreds. Raka and Kirana used their chances. A big fire destroyed targets. Ice froze targets on the other side.
There were still too many targets.
Maya moved forward. She blocked targets with her body. She was. Striking like a normal person without power. She was trained. Her movements were fast and precise.
I stood beside the base. I was watching them struggle.
The targets did not stop. Every time one fell down, two more appeared.
Raka ran out of fire. Kirana ran out of ice. They were fighting with their strength. They were not as fast as Maya.
The base was starting to break.
One target got through. Two targets got through. Five targets got through.
Raka shouted. Kirana fell down.
Maya could not catch all the targets.
I saw a gap. Not a gap in our defence. A gap in the targets' formation.
They were all moving to the place. The base. If something drew their attention to another place—
I ran.
Not to the base. Not to my teammates. To the middle of the field. The open place. The place where all the targets could see me.
Maya shouted, "Kael!"
I did not stop.
I stood in the middle of the field. The targets in front of me stopped. They turned around. They saw me.
One target moved towards me. Two targets moved towards me. Ten targets moved towards me.
I did not move. I could not move.
The first target reached me. I dodged. My left arm got hit. It hurt. I did not fall down.
The second target. I blocked it with my arm. The Ouroboros scar on my arm was pulsing. The target stumbled back. It was like something had pushed it back. I did not know what happened.
The third target. The fourth target. The fifth target—
I shouted, "Attack now!"
Raka hesitated. I saw him standing beside the base. His hands were shaking with exhaustion.
Kirana moved.
Her ice. Froze the targets that were surrounding me. Raka followed. His last fire destroyed the targets.
The third wave ended.
I fell down to my knees. My left arm was bleeding. My right arm—the Ouroboros scar—was pulsing hard. It was like it had just been used.
Maya ran to me. Her cold hand touched my bleeding arm.
She said, "You are an idiot."
Her voice was shaking.
I said, "I know."
She did not laugh. She was not angry either. Her cold hand was pressing against my wound. She was trying to stop the blood.
Raka was standing in the distance. He was looking at me. His face had changed. He was not dismissing me anymore. He was not admiring me either. It was something in between.
Kirana was standing up. She was brushing dust off her uniform. She glanced at me briefly. She did not say anything. Her eyes were slightly different.
Training. Our team passed, which was a big relief. Three other teams also passed. One team did not pass.
I was really tired, and I did not know which team did not pass, and to be honest, I did not even care at that moment.
Maya helped me walk to the changing room because my arm had stopped bleeding. It still hurt a lot. The Ouroboros scar was still pulsing. It was slowing down.
In the changing room Maya used a cloth to clean my wound. She did this without saying a word. She was really slow and careful.
After a while Maya asked me, "Why did you do that?"
I told her it was because I do not have any power.
Then she said, "But you have the Ember Core."
I said, "Which I still cannot control."
Maya stopped what she was doing. Looked at me.
Then she said, "You are an idiot" again, but this time her voice was different; it was not angry or worried, it was something
I said, "You said that twice."
She said, "Because it is true twice."
I was really tired. I almost smiled, but my lips were too tired to smile.
Maya shook her head. Then she started laughing.
It was not a laugh or a sarcastic laugh; it was a laugh, like someone who just realised something was funny. It was a small laugh, quiet, almost inaudible.
She said, "You really are an idiot" while she was laughing.
I said, "You said that three times."
She said, "Because you deserve it."
Her laugh stopped. She was still smiling, and for the first time that smile reached her eyes a little bit.