Chapter 10 Tobias

I watched as Niko stomped into the avian common room with smoke seeping from his ears. Three fireballs orbited him quickly like a protective shield. He was clearly in a sour mood.

"Off to pack?" I asked, causing Niko to shoot me a glare, and one of the fireballs fired in my direction.

Upon realizing it was me, the fireball extinguished before I had time to react—clearly Niko hadn't seen me studying in the corner of the couch when he walked in.

Niko's face instantly smoothed from fury to guilt and then tempered frustration. It was a look I had seen on him more often than I liked ever since the vampire attack. I knew the frustration was directed at me because Niko never acted that way toward Brett or anyone else.

Niko's remaining fireballs extinguished, and the smoke disappeared. I shut my textbook slowly as he passed. I could still feel the anger roll off him in thick, hot waves.

"Yes," he practically spat. "I'm off to pack." Niko turned and walked down the hall toward his room.

"Hold on." I jumped up from my seat.

Niko turned and looked at me expectantly. Tendrils of black smoke began rising above his nearly bare head.

I didn't know what to say. I wasn't used to discussing feelings with Niko or Brett. We usually just gave each other a wide berth if one of us needed some space. Issues usually righted themselves after a day or so without over-discussion, like how the girls handled their problems.

But we didn't have a day or so. If I remembered right, Niko was leaving soon. Like an hour soon. And it was unknown when I'd see him again. I didn't want whatever was going on to hang over our heads.

Niko's scowl deepened. "Look, Tobias, if you've got something to say, just say it."

"It's messed up that they're making you leave," I managed.

He shrugged, then ran a hand over the carved hair alongside his mostly shaved head. I noticed the design was in the shape of a phoenix, and I knew it was probably in honor of a certain girl.

"The timing just sucks." Niko cleared his throat. "But it's a great opportunity, so... whatever."

"Hey, I'm sorry you have to hang out with my father," I added. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

" Eh... the general isn't that bad," was all he had to say.

The space between us thickened with sudden awkwardness. I didn't understand how that happened, but I scrambled to remedy it. "Look—"

"Why'd you have to go and do that?" Niko interrupted.

"Go and do—?" I realized a second too late what he was referring to .

"Go and run in front of that vamp bomb-thing!" he shouted. "What the hell, Tobias? I'm not some damsel in distress. I am a very capable dragon—"

I held my hands up in defense of his verbal onslaught. "I know, I—"

"In fact, I'm a better dragon than you in some ways!" He turned and hit the wall with his fist hard enough to draw the notice of anyone in the avian wing, but fortunately not hard enough to leave a mark.

He shook his hand rapidly, but I could still see the angry red marks on his knuckles as he muttered a curse under his breath.

I glanced down the hall, waiting for heads to pop out of doors. Either no one was in the wing, or they were but knew who was arguing and were staying in their rooms. Cowards.

"And then you had to go and almost get yourself killed," Niko said, still angry, but the energy of his anger was gone. "All to save me."

I respected him enough to remain quiet.

"Do you have any idea what it would have done to me if you'd died?" he asked. "That my best friend not only took lead shrapnel for me but died doing it?"

"I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't stepped in," I admitted.

"What if the situation had been reversed, huh?" Niko asked. "What if I'd been the one to throw myself in front of a bomb to save you? I would have said the exact same thing."

"But it wouldn't—"

"Don't deny it, Tobias," he interrupted again. "You would've been furious. You would've called it stupid and illogical . "

I hated to admit it, so I didn't, but that sounded a lot like something I'd say.

"What's in the past has passed," I said instead. "And no permanent damage was done." I waved a hand up and down to prove that I was fully healed.

"That's not entirely true," Niko said in a low tone, like he didn't want me to hear.

"Look," I snapped. "Quit making me feel guilty for saving you, okay? It was a split-second decision."

"Yes. But if you could—"

"If I could do it again, I'd do the exact same thing. Get. Over. It."

Niko growled. "The prince isn't supposed to sacrifice himself, okay?"

He conjured a flaming red ball and chucked it right at my face, on purpose this time. I extinguished it before it could do any damage. But it was the comment more than the fireball that caught me off-guard.

"I thought..." I started but didn't finish. "I would've done it for the girls, too, you know. And not just Arya. I would've taken the hit for Ashlyn, too."

My chest heaved with each breath. My chest ached somehow, but it wasn't exactly a physical pain. It bothered me that, of all people, Niko was using the prince card and throwing it in my face.

And he was still angry. Niko threw his hands in the air and looked like he was about to attack the wall again.

"Of course, you would," he said, his tone thick with ever-building frustration and anger. "As far as we knew, they were both inexperienced and essentially defenseless—until Ashlyn became a major badass and finally shifted. "

"How are things, by the way?" I asked, suddenly wanting the subject to change. Pretend like Niko hadn't used my family and perceived position against me. I was getting weary of the fight. And since Niko was leaving soon... "With Ashlyn, that is."

It must've struck a nerve because Niko visibly flinched at her name, his face contorting for a brief second.

"I broke things off."

I hadn't expected that. "What? Why? I thought you were into her."

"I am into her." He rubbed his hand over his head again. "Like really into her. It's just..."

"Because you're leaving?" I asked.

"Sorta. She's not taking it well and..." He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "And I don't want to be the one holding her back from being...happy."

"That's stupid."

His eyes shot to me.

"She probably thinks so too," I added.

He pushed off from the wall, his defenses up again, and stalked toward his room.

"Whatever. It's not like the general is forcing you from school," he called back. "You have no idea..." He didn't finish his thought and waved a hand. "I've gotta pack."

"Is that what you did to Ashlyn?" I knew I was pushing Niko's buttons but couldn't help myself. "You broke up with her and walked away because you didn't like what she said or something? "

Niko whipped around and stomped toward me with a finger in my face. "You have no idea what you're talking about. She's..." he paused, his fire faltering a quick second. "She's not like any girl I've ever dated."

He didn't have to say another word. His tone and expression said everything.

"She's got you whipped."

His shoulders dropped. "Yeah, she really does." His brief vulnerability vanished from his face, and the familiar anger and frustration returned. "Don't ever try to save me again, Tobias Dracul."

The use of my full name stung a bit. Arthur was generally the only one who used it. Well, and Mom. But she never used a tone like that when she said it.

I didn't say another word as Niko disappeared into his room, even though I knew that was the closest thing to a goodbye I was going to get.

* * *

In defense class, I threw myself into training. The exertion helped clear my head from the run-in with Niko—who was probably already gone at that point, but I tried not to think about that.

We were practicing hand-to-hand combat, no shifting allowed. There were rumors that vampires were working on some biological weapon that would prevent shifters from being able to shift, or even use their powers, so we had to rely solely on our human abilities .

Most of the time, I—as well as the majority of my classmates—thought it was dumb. We'd never encountered such a weapon nor heard of one being used anywhere in the world. But Caesar insisted that we be ready anyway and thus required one training session each month.

But for once, I was glad for it. Although it would have been easier to sink into my dragon and shut off my thoughts in the sim, I'd been avoiding another simulation session since the incident with the invisible dragon. Concentrating on only using human abilities also took quite a bit of brain space, but I still found that I had to focus all of my attention on it to keep the replay of my fight with Niko from continuing on a constant loop.

I swung my leg around, attempting to sweep Shawn's legs out from underneath him, but Shawn was quick and leapt like a schoolgirl jumping a rope. The image made me chuckle, and I missed the undercut punch that landed square in my gut.

Suddenly breathless, I took a staggering few steps backward to give my lungs time to recuperate, but Shawn took advantage and spun behind me, quickly hooking an elbow around my neck. It surprised me that I'd been trapped so quickly and effectively, especially given our height difference.

The surprise only lasted a moment because I only had to arch my back to lift Shawn off the ground. I hooked an arm around Shawn's middle, catapulting him around my body and slamming him onto the mat.

Shawn lay there stunned, contemplating his next move. I knelt to pin his arms, but Shawn whipped his head up to strike it against mine, sending stars flashing across my eyesight as I flopped backward.

While my vision was momentarily hindered, I used my other senses to locate Shawn, who was now on my right, moving to make his signature final blow of shoving me to the ground with the force of his elbow and knee at once. Students often underestimated Shawn because of his smaller size, but in human—and even in dragon—form, Shawn was a worthy opponent.

I paused for a moment, pretending like the disorientation of my vision and explosion in my head was too much. I reached my leg out to catch the back of Shawn's knee in order to collapse his leg.

But I miscalculated.

Shawn was inches too far back, and I missed it altogether, stretching my calf—freshly healed from three of the lead pellets that had embedded themselves into the muscle—until I felt a snap. New pain radiated up and down my leg. I could do nothing but lay on the mat while Shawn declared himself the victor.

I breathed deeply, lying on my back while my classmates cheered. Their celebration was always louder and more exuberant whenever someone managed to beat me, but I acted like I didn't care. As soon as I thought I could handle the pain and finally stand, I limped off in a hurry, muttering something about finding Ms. Heather.

What a fucked up, hellish day it's turned out to be .

I inched down the hall, leaning heavily against the wall. First the fight with Niko and now that foolish miscalculation in defense class that earned me a fresh injury. Felt like a torn ligament. Great.

Fortunately, the entire school was still in class, so I had the hallway to hobble by myself. The infirmary wasn't far, but it took quite a bit of effort getting there. The closer I got, the more the thought of Ms. Heather's face when she saw me return with an injury she'd recently spent so much time healing filled me with dread.

But what else could I do? Heal naturally? The thought was ridiculous .

When I rounded the corner, though, my heart leapt at seeing who had just exited.

Arya.

She must've had an extra training session with Ms. Heather.

And just like that, my common sense fled and a new plan formed.

"Hey!" I called loud enough that I hoped she'd hear and turn, which she did. I also hoped Ms. Heather wouldn't hear or feel the need to come out and see how I was doing.

Arya looked everywhere but at me as she slowly approached.

I leaned heavily against the wall, hiding the fact that I was in significant pain. After what I'd been through, though, it wasn't too hard to keep a straight face.

"Hey, Tobias," she said softly, then looked confused. "Aren't you supposed to be in defense?"

"I uh..." I stared at the ground, then shifted when the pain was too much. The wince was enough for her to react with a tiny gasp.

"You're hurt," she said, her voice firmer.

I felt my face and neck flame with embarrassment. I reached a hand up to grip the side of my neck, looking at the floor in front of me.

"It's just a sprain, I'm sure," I lied. The snap was probably not just a sprain.

Immediately she took my arm. "Here, let's get you to Ms. Heather."

"No!" I shouted, then stopped myself. "No," I said quieter .

Then an idiotic thought occurred to me, and I jumped on the impulse. "Maybe you could...?" I let the question hang in the air.

She looked at me with confusion for only a second before the realization hit her and an eyebrow rose. "You want me to...?" She pointed at herself.

I lowered my eyes to hers and nodded slowly, feeling—and probably looking—very sheepish for asking.

"Would you? It's just..." I paused. "She just got through healing me, and I don't want to go in there..."

She watched me for another fraction of a second before her shoulders relaxed and she nodded, gripping my arm.

"Right. I'm sure I can manage." Her voice didn't sound as sure, but I had confidence in her abilities. Plus, she needed the practice, right?

Arya looked around, as if a gurney might magically appear in the hallway.

"Let's go to the greenhouses." I pointed in that direction. "Defense classes will be out soon and we won't be bothered there."

She hesitated for a moment, like the mention of greenhouses disgusted or bothered her in some way. I couldn't remember why that might be, though, and she quickly nodded.

I tried not to lean too heavily on her as we limped toward the greenhouses. Though my calf sent shooting pains up and down my leg with each movement, I set my jaw firmly to hold back any cries of pain. It was just a muscle, after all, I didn't need to be pussy about it.

"How can we get in?" she asked when we reached the wooden structure. "Aren't they locked? Wouldn't we need a teacher to let us in? "

"Not right now," I said, gesturing for her to push open the door to the nearest greenhouse. "They leave it open during school hours. Mrs. Sharp is supposed to supervise any students who come in, but I know for a fact she's in a parent-teacher meeting with that cocky hound, Jackson."

I also knew that Mrs. Sharp kept a few folding chairs near the entrance so at least I could sit. Cora and I might've knocked over a stack of them while we'd been...

Ah, that's probably why Arya had looked that way . She'd heard about my little tryst with Cora. It seemed like forever ago. Arya had to know that was long before she even arrived at the Dome.

If she knew about it, or was thinking about it, it didn't show on her face.

"So, you hurt your leg?" she asked.

I wanted to correct her on it, but was reminded that Brett and Niko often told me it was rude to point things out like that, because if she'd pointed out the obvious, then something was either on her mind or she was nervous.

I recovered from my brief lapse of brain-to-mouth connection and nodded. "Yes, it's on the back of my leg. I felt it snap in a spar."

She winced as if she were the one who'd injured herself. "Ouch."

The way she said it drew my eyes to her mouth. The way it formed an O and her eyebrows furrowed at the same time weirdly reminded me of the way she'd looked that night. When I'd lay barely conscious with shooting daggers of pain all over my body. She'd been so worried that I was dying. And I had been. But apparently, the job didn't finish before they got me to the infirmary, because the imprint that bound me to her was absolutely, painfully still in place .

I'd kissed her. My presumably last act on this earth had been to pull her down and kiss her. And she'd kissed me back.

"Tobias?" she asked, ripping me from my thoughts.

Her voice held a nervous edge. Maybe she was thinking of that night, too? It wasn't my preferred way of kissing a girl—of kissing this girl—and I needed to remedy that.

I took one limping step forward, watching her reaction. She didn't step back, she didn't avert her gaze or frown. She looked almost...expectant? Hopeful? Confidence rose in my chest, warm and glowing like my own fire.

Another half-step forward, and with one swift movement, I wrapped one arm around her waist, putting the other hand just behind her neck. Fingers entwined in her thick, silky hair, I pulled her into a kiss.

This time it wasn't interrupted by that damned pain that was sucking away my life. No. Now my only injury—my stupid, brilliant injury that brought her back into my arms—had faded into the background. Our kiss deepened, and her fingers reached up into my hair.

Slowly, I moved her toward the wall of the greenhouse until my calf smarted and I broke the kiss for only a moment to search for a seat. Quickly sitting, I pulled her hand forward, silently asking permission. Her small smile and bright eyes met mine, and she allowed herself to be pulled forward and sideways onto my lap.

With both hands, I brushed the hair away from her shoulders, watching every miniscule movement of her beautiful face that mirrored the swirling emotions I felt.

This time, she leaned into me, and when she pressed her lips against mine, I dropped every guard I'd ever put up against this intoxicating girl.

Every guard except one.