Refuge(49)

“No idea, but you can bet it won’t be exciting enough for you.” Knowing Nikolas, he wouldn’t let me do anything even remotely dangerous. “He’ll probably make me run in place until I pass out.”

She snorted. “That man doesn’t strike me as the type to do anything boring. Just be prepared to tell us everything tonight.”

“Yes, take pity on the rest of us.” Olivia let out a groan. “While you get to hang out with Nikolas, we have to spend the morning nursing stupid kark eggs for Sahir.”

“What are kark eggs?”

“Karks are ugly little bat-like things, and they hatch from eggs that smell like they’ve been rotting for six months,” Jordan said with a grimace. “This batch was supposed to go to Mexico, but someone screwed up and sent it here by mistake. They’re close to hatching, and Sahir says we have to turn and spray the eggs or they’ll lose the whole batch before they get to Mexico. For some reason, he thinks this would be a great educational experience for us.”

Jordan wasn’t happy about handling Kark eggs, but to me it sounded a lot more appealing than training with Nikolas. “Are karks dangerous?”

“No, they eat bugs and stuff, but scarab demons are their favorite treat. If you’ve never seen a scarab demon, think of that flesh-eating beetle in The Mummy.”

“Well, look at the upside; at least you don’t have to feed them.”

Olivia made a face. “Says the girl who will be spending her morning with Nikolas.”

“Look I told you – ” I sensed Nikolas the second he entered the dining hall. Even if there hadn’t been a tell-tale touch against my mind, I still would have known he was there by the sudden lack of conversation from the other trainees and the way Jordan and Olivia stared at him as he approached. My body tensed as a shadow fell across our table.

“Ready to start training?” His curt tone told me he was in warrior mode, no playful Nikolas today. He was dressed casually in jeans and a dark-blue sweater, but he carried a sword on his back and a sheathed knife on his hip. It wasn’t fair that he looked so at ease and I was a bundle of nerves.

I nodded reluctantly.

“Come with me then.”

Standing, I picked up my tray of uneaten food, carried it to one of the bus bins, and followed him to the door. As I passed Chris’s table, he raised his cup to me with a grin. Good to know at least one person was enjoying this.

Nikolas was waiting for me in the hallway, and we walked without speaking to the front entrance.

“We’re not using a training room?”

“I thought we’d go outdoors. Would you rather stay inside?”

“No.”

We left the building and walked across the lawn without him saying a word about where we were headed. When we entered the trees, I asked, “Where are we going?”

“For a walk,” was all he said.

“I think I should tell you that when I go for walks, I usually end up brought back in chains.”

He shot me a look that said he wasn’t sure if I was kidding or not. “I think we’ll be fine.”

Of course. Who would dare stop Nikolas from doing what he wanted?

Nikolas slowed his pace so I could keep up with him, and we walked side-by-side through the woods. He didn’t seem inclined to speak, and I didn’t know what to say to him. Most of the time I’d spent with him back in New Hastings had been full of tension or danger or both. I’d thought after all we’d been through that we had started to become friends, but then he’d left me here and I’d spent the weeks since then angry at him. Last night at dinner, he’d thrown me with his teasing and his announcement that he would be my new trainer. Now I was confused and I didn’t know how to act around him anymore.

We walked for a good ten minutes before he finally spoke. “Other than the problem with your training, how are you doing here?”

“It’s not home,” I replied a little more harshly than I meant to.

I felt him look at me, but I didn’t meet his gaze. “I know you miss Nate and your friends, but it’s not like you won’t see them again. And you aren’t alone here. You’ve made some new friends and you have Tristan and Chris and me.”

“Until you go off on one of your missions again.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you missed me?” The change in his voice told me he was smiling, but I refused to look at him.

“No.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew I was lying. But I would bite my tongue off before I would admit anything to him.

“I have no plans to go anywhere for the next month so you are stuck with me for a while.”