“Darren, I’m so glad to see you, but I must apologize for the things I said before you left.” I felt heat rise to my cheeks.

“Nonsense, I know why you said them, but it seems to not have deterred Joss at all.” He gave a look to Joss who raised his shoulders in a sheepish manner and grinned crookedly. “Are you staying focused on your homework and training?”

“Of course,” Joss said defensively.

“So those would be your texts you’re studying, I presume,” Darren stated while grabbing the book out of Joss’s hands and read the title out loud. “Really, Joss, “Remedial Healing”?”

By this time the Assistant Healer was glaring at Darren for being overly loud and began to make shushing noises. Darren gave her the full force of his vagabond smile, flipping his hair, and I watched as the assistant stopped in her tracks, hand flying to her chest. Joss and I tried to hold back the laughter as Darren awed her into silence with his dashing looks.

“I can’t help it if the ladies adore me.” Turning back to me he pulled out a large package wrapped in brown paper and twine. Handing it to me he waited not so patiently while I unwrapped it. It was yards of beautiful fabric in shades of blues and greens and rolls of trim with elaborate designs. The final bulky package he handed me was a pair of light doeskin boots that fit.

“Darren, they are gorgeous, but why?” I looked at him curiously.

“What can I say; I’m a sucker for pretty things. Truthfully though, after leaving here I made a couple stops and then went back home to see Melani. After I related our adventures, instead of the adoration I thought I deserved; I got a dressing down. She was appalled that I didn’t see you better outfitted before we left. I tried to explain we were in a dangerous situation and were racing to get to Haven.”

He made clawing motions with his hands. “The mother lion in her came out and she immediately set to gathering your gifts. I didn’t even get to stay one day before she demanded that I take all of these gifts to you. Saying that any girl who went through what you did deserved to have people that care about her and will look after her.”

Darren became really serious and faced me. “Thalia, I know that the Adept Council is looking for your family, and secretly I’ve been searching too. And even though you don’t know Melani and I that well, she agreed, well no, demanded, that I tell you that we would love to be considered as an extension of your family. Also that if you don’t find your family or home, that you would always have one with us.” I watched his face closely to see if he may be joking, but Darren was serious. Joss sat with his mouth open in shock. Leaning forward I hugged Darren.

“Darren,” I whispered, “It would be an honor to consider you like family.”

He regained his composure in record time and quipped, “Well, that is as long as you don’t pick up any of Melani’s bad habits and start throwing dishes at me; because I can’t afford to stock two sets of dishes in our house only to have them broken each week.”

Laughing, I pretended to throw the boots at him, and he ducked in horror. The rest of the afternoon flew as Joss and Darren stayed way past visiting hours and Healer Prentiss, not swayed by Darren’s good looks, kicked them both out.

Chapter 17

The next day I was deemed well enough to rejoin classes again. Joss was even in one class with me and made a big show of sitting next to me. There were a few wayward comments, but Joss turned on those students and stared them down until they quit talking. It was almost more embarrassing to sit by Joss, than to sit by myself. I found it very hard to concentrate with him sitting so close. On numerous occasions my eyes would drift from the instructor to study Joss’ strong profile. A couple of times he caught me staring, and I quickly drew my gaze back toward the instructor knowing that the tips of my ears were turning pink in embarrassment. Joss couldn’t curtail his knowing grin and I had to hold back my anger from stomping on his too perfect toes. Let’s see him smirk with a bruised big toe, I thought to myself.

But having Joss beside me helped my popularity because soon the students were no longer staring in open hostility but curiosity. I knew what they were probably thinking. Who was this strange girl? Didn’t we see her one time working in the kitchen? I wonder if that was a punishment for disobeying the Adepts? Why doesn’t she know anything? What rock did you crawl out from under? Well, maybe not all of those questions.

“Strengthen the mind to strengthen your powers,” our instructor quoted. He explained that the more you understood the Denai gifts the more you could do. I studied harder than any student, and every evening I would return to my room and try to perform the simplest of tasks; lighting a fire, moving an object, farseeing. And every night it was the same thing. Nothing. Zilch. In fact I think I was getting worse, not better.

Under Adept Pax Baton’s orders I started learning self-defense and combat training. I reported each afternoon to the training field and waited for my instructor to arrive. I was apprehensive the first day as I waited, sitting on the fence to see which soldier was assigned to train me and beat me into a pulp.

When Garit’s smiling face arrived, I breathed a short sigh of relief. Short, because he may not have beat me to a bloody pulp, but it didn’t mean that he was going to take it easy on me. He had two weeks to get me and the rest of the students ready for a training game; and I was the bait.

Pax had explained the training game to Commander Meryl and me the previous day. Adept Pax’s office consisted of a huge desk and black rug; his chairs were massive in size to fit his giant frame. His walls were bedecked with many different fighting instruments. The huge room felt empty until I figured out the real purpose of his office. It was his private training room.

“The Council has decided, Commander, that since there have been numerous attacks on Thalia, she needs to be guarded,” Pax spoke.

“It wasn’t our fault she was attacked in town!” Commander Meryl stated defensively.

“No, it’s no one’s fault. At that time we didn’t know that she would need to be guarded. And we still aren’t sure what the Septori are capable of, or who we are really dealing with. I mean, are they human, Denai, mercenaries? We don’t really know. Commander Meryl, your guard is the best in the world, but here where the strongest Denai live and train, it is easy to get lax in our duties. Most bandits would either be stupid or extremely desperate to try and attack our towers.”

Pressing the tips of his fingers together in thought, he continued. “But it made us realize that we need to be prepared against all forms of threat. Whether it be a Denai threat or human, our soldiers and students alike need to be aware of the danger and possibility. Adept Lorna and I have made a decision to start putting students under your care for training.” Pax moved away from the desk and started pacing.

“Are you suggesting that we are going to be attacked?” Commander Meryl asked, his face frozen in seriousness. “Do you know something that we don’t?”

“No, but look at what we do know; we know there is a madman on the loose that has created a cult following strong enough to make us worry. They are skilled enough to avoid detection and attack one of our students on our campus. It’s like they are taunting us. They want something we have, or should I say, someone. We can’t foresee the future and what steps they will take to get her. We can only take all the precautionary steps to prevent them from achieving their goal!” Pax pounded his fist into the table making a thud loud enough that I jumped in surprise.