Monday marked the beginning of air in magic class. Aerie was happy. Being a Valkyrie, air magic came second nature to her, so she excelled at these classes. She and Alexi often competed to be the first to complete a task. Ro with her own way of doing things, was a few exercises behind them. Angelique struggled fiercely with air magic and was one of the worst students in the class. Momo was surprisingly good at it as well. She kept pace with Ro in this subject. All three girls were sad when the magic periods ended for the day.
Ro had another good day with the regular combat practice. She once again didn't miss her spots on the dummy, and she was getting better at staying on her toes with her knees bent. She also wasn't nearly as tired as she had been. After her solo practice ended, she stretched her legs to make sure she was good and limber for the new practice Laine was planning. She was so excited. Maybe he would teach her how to attack today! She thought about this as she stretched and waited.
When Laine came, he was holding four large rings in his hand. Each ring was engraved with a flower and had hinges so that they could snap open. Laine demonstrated this.
"But what are they for?" Ro asked. Laine smiled.
"They're weights for your wrists and ankles." He snapped one on her right wrist and Ro's arm immediately dropped from the excess weight. Dropping to one knee, he snapped another around her left ankle. One of his hands rubbed up the length of her calf. She jumped.
"Was that necessary?" she asked with a blush as he snapped the other one on. He stood, and his face was a blank mask. "I thought we were working on something new today."
"No, we're still doing dodging. You aren't fast enough." She felt her heart drop. His fingers brushed down her left arm before grabbing her sleeve.
"I won't be able to move in these." She complained to distract him in case he could hear her heartbeat accelerating. He pulled her sleeve up exposing the bracelet Glace gave her. Instantly his eyes narrowed. Ro could practically see irritation rising from him. His anger filled eyes flicked to her surprised ones.
"Take that off." He ordered in a quiet, menacing voice. Ro blanched and tried to jerk back.
"But I-" she began.
"You can't wear both. And these are to help you get better." He said this reasonably, but his voice carried the same dangerous edge. "Don't you want to get better?" Ro swallowed and rationalized. It was only for right now. She could put the bracelet back on later.
Quickly, she undid the clasp. Laine watched with a smug smile, his irritation slipping away, while she did this. It was followed swiftly by surprise. He didn't understand why he cared so much that this human was wearing a gift from someone else.
As soon as Ro placed the bracelet down next to her water bottle it vanished. He took her hand again and snapped his weight in place. He didn't let go immediately.
"Wear these at all times." He ordered and smiled genuinely. Ro thought about how handsome he looked.
"You should smile more." The words popped out of her mouth without her thinking about them and Laine blushed a little. She immediately covered her mouth with her free hand. "Sorry." She said with embarrassment. "Sometimes I say things without thinking." There was once again something dark in his expression.
"It's fine." He replied releasing her hand. "Time for practice. You know what to do." The practice with the new weights was awful. Ro got hit nearly every time. Even though Laine slowed down, she just wasn't fast enough with the weights to avoid the balls. By the end of practice, she had begun to adjust, however.
***
Her friends were astonished by all her bruises when she got home. They talked of going to Sarge to get a different tutor, one that wouldn't hurt her so much. Ro flatly refused this. She was improving, and this is what she needed to do if she wanted to get better.
The next morning Kyzul stopped Ro when she was on her way to lunch.
"Ro, hold on a minute." he called brightly.
"I'll be right there." Ro told Momo and Aerie. She walked to Ky's desk and watched as the last student left the room and shut the door. "Yes, Ky?" She asked with a pretty blush.
She looked at him and her eyes widened in shock. Ky's face was a mask of anger. His red eyes were as hard as ice and his jaw was clenched in fury. "Um what-" He caught her left wrist and pulled her closer. From this distance his anger felt menacing. Her face heated, and she could hear her heart pounding in her chest. With one hand, Ky reached over and picked up the bracelet he had given her from his desk. He dangled it in front of her face.
"Are you refusing my protection?" He asked his voice thick with suppressed anger. Ro looked at the bracelet and shook her head.
"Well no. I just had to take it off. Laine," At the mention of her tutor's name Ky's face darkened even more. "My tutor," she amended, "gave me these weights to wear. They are to help me improve my speed." She pulled back her sleeve to reveal the thin band encircling her wrist. "I was going to put it back on after practice, but it vanished." Ky ran his finger over the flower pattern and a look of fury flashed across his face again. He looked up into her eyes for a long moment. She saw the rage melt away.
"So, do you still want my protection?" Ky asked in a flat voice. 'Who do you belong to?' Sounded again in her mind. Ro tried to step back but her wrist was still caught in his hand.
"What is the cost?" She asked quietly. His face lit up with a smile.
"Who said there's a cost?"
"My friends did."
Ky's smile died, and his eyes became hard, "You are my student. To look out for you is my job. There is no cost."
Ro smiled in relief, "That is what I told them."
"Do you want it?" Ky repeated his question. Ro was about to say yes but she hesitated, realizing this explanation didn't cover the anger she had just witnessed. Then she remembered the look of hunger in Alexi's eyes as he looked at her in the tower and she slowly nodded.
"Excellent." Ky smiled and released her. She staggered back a step or two. He coiled the bracelet in his hand and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he revealed that the bracelet had now become a necklace. He slipped it over Ro's head. Stepping back, he said,
"Off you go." Ro was thoroughly confused when she met her friends for lunch. If the girls noticed, she was now wearing the bracelet as a necklace they didn't say anything. After lunch they returned to the classroom.