As expected, Austin and Elliot joined Khai outside the dorm building at 4:15 the next morning. They started to jog to the training grounds before Austin went fifty feet ahead and made it a race. Elliot and Khai gave him the pleasure of winning this once.
Gordon was waiting for Khai, along with the other legacies when he saw the three boys running in. His whistle echoed the grounds and he commanded that the boys line up.
"I can appreciate initiative. Austin Barthalow, Elliot Greene, we're glad you showed up with Khai!"
The boys stood in line with their feet apart, backs straight and chests puffed up, looking ahead, waiting for instruction. Gordon moved with purpose, his long strides eating up the ground as he walked. He carried himself with confidence and authority, as if he was used to being in charge.
The man had an intimidating appearance, but his gruff exterior belied a sense of intelligence, determination and a strong will. He was a man who commanded respect and attention with his presence, and it was clear that he was not one to be underestimated.
He assessed each student with razor sharp eyes, there were a total of eight legacies this year. With Elliot and Austin, he had ten potential Captains. He needed seven and he was determined to weed out the undeserving ones.
For legacies, not making it to Captain was considered a failure. That's why most legacy parents poured money into expensive training well before their sons joined Arcane.
Gordon pushed the boys through a rigorous set of workouts to test speed and endurance, making keen observations on each candidate while scaring the lights out of anyone who slacked even by the slightest. And the end of training, two of the boys heaved their guts out on the field. Austin smacked one of them in the back, offering the boy some water.
"Alright, that's enough of being delicate. Line up!" His voice boomed.
"Khai, Austin, Elliot, Phillip, Rowan, Matthew! You boys may be good, but I can see you do so much better."
"Arnold, Trent, Drake, Sebastian, train harder than the others, I expect you to be better than them by the end of the school year."
"Sir, yes Sir!" The men obeyed in unison. Gordon waved his hand, dismissing the boys for that morning.
Khai trudged along with the rest of the group as he made his way back to the men's dormitories. He emptied his water bottle over his face, relishing the refreshing feeling.
"Tired already Heathcliff? Your sister has better stamina." Phillip smirked as he walked next to Khai.
"You're itching for a spar, aren't you Eggs?" Khai drawled.
Phillip growled, he held Khai's shirt aggressively in his hands and glared into his eyes. "Eggold. My name is Phillip Eggold."
Elliot turned around and almost lurched towards Phillip, but Austin held him back.
Khai looked down at the hands that held him, before his menacing eyes moved up to Phillip's face. His lips lifted on one side, into a wicked half smile. He held Phillip's wrist in a tight grip, not attempting to pull his hands away from his t-shirt.
Phillip's glare fell slightly as Khai's grip on his hand tightened. As the grip turned painful, he loosened his hold on Khai's t-shirt.
"Let go." He gritted. He used his other hand to claw at Khai to release him, but the grip on his wrist wouldn't budge. He tried to punch Khai in the face multiple times, but all of his attempts were dodged effortlessly.
Blood supply was beginning to cut off to his hand and the pain increased pretty quickly. Khai grinned as he tightened his grip further.
"LET GO, you fucker!" Phillip screamed as the pain got unbearable. He was scared that Khai might crush his wrist and a cold sweat broke down his back. He jumped up and down like a madman, screaming at the unimaginable pain.
Elliot whistled a playful tune as he walked over to his friend. He brushed the creases off of Khai's collar in exaggerated movements and slowly moved his eyes to Phillip who looked like he might pass out from the pain.
"I think he got the message, Mate." He lazily said to Khai.
"Hmmm, I doubt it. I want to break it."
Elliot scratched his jaw, squinting his face to look at a terrified Phillip. "Are you sure?" He questioned.
"Positive." Khai's dangerous grin was still plastered on his face as he enjoyed Phillip's screaming. He could feel the bone under his grip, a little more pressure was all he needed to snap the bone.
Phillip was heaving deep breaths like he was holding himself back from throwing up. He fumed as his shoulders hunched and he bowed his head down, submitting to Khai.
Moments later, his eyes saw Khai's footsteps walking away from him. He wondered why he didn't feel the pain subside. He looked up at his hand to see that it had turned numb and blue.
His eyes burned with hatred as he started at the three men walking away from him. He gnashed his teeth together, silently vowing to destroy Khai Heathcliff, even if it was the last thing he'd ever do.
*****
When Khai walked out of the shower that morning, he dressed himself quickly for breakfast, hoping to catch a glimpse of Anaya. He could check on her hand, offer her a tour of the grounds, help her eat breakfast, the possibilities seemed endless.
He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly as he tied the laces to his shoes. He leaped to his feet and darted to Austin's room. His friends went to sleep after training, mumbling something about classes not starting for another week. Khai would've slept too, taking full advantage of the slow summer, but he didn't want to miss a chance to see Anaya.
He barged into Austin's room, opening his door with a loud thud. Austin jolted wide awake to the sound before he relaxed when he saw who it was.
"What the hell, Khai! Have you no mercy?" He complained in exasperation.
"Good, you're fully clothed. Let's go get some breakfast." Khai leaned his back to the wall beside the bed and tapped his foot impatiently.
Austin raised his head from his pillow in confusion. He got up on his knees to touch Khai's forehead. "You okay?" He asked his friend. Was Khai asking him on a date? He was flattered, but he would have to let his friend down.
"Come on, just come with me!" Khai dragged him by his hoodie as Austin spit out a string of curses. He freed himself from Khai's grip and followed him gloomily.
They sat on the far end of the dining hall and Khai faced towards the entrance, discreetly scanning everyone that walked in that morning. Austin sat opposite Khai and fell asleep, too drowsy to even evaluate what was going on.
"What on god's good earth are we doing here?" Austin mumbled into his arms as he woke up on the hard tables of the dining hall. He heard no answer and looked up wondering if Khai had mercilessly left him there. His deranged friend sat exactly where he was, but with a new sense of dejection on his face.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at the time before he sprung from his seat. He looked to his left and he saw Elliot watch Khai as he munched on an apple. He looked up at Austin with an easy smile. "You should grab lunch before it's over."
Austin rubbed his hazy eyes and looked at his friends before he walked over to grab some pizza. He walked back to the table and took a bite of his food before he turned to Elliot.
"Has he eaten?"
"Nope."
"What is up with him?"
"I asked him twice and then two other girls came by to try and talk to him. He snapped at them and made one of them cry. I think our friend here has lost a few screws."
Khai shot a scornful glare at them before he raked his hands through his hair for the tenth time that day. Anaya hadn't shown up and it was well past noon. Lunch would end in a few minutes and he was worried something happened to her. He felt like a fool to have waited for her this long. Was he loosing his mind over this girl?
A few more minutes passed and lunch closed. Khai didn't see Anaya or Meghan the entire time. He was dog tired and his excitement from this morning was replaced by a foul mood. He restlessly tapped his foot before he shot up from his seat.
"I'm leaving, I need some sleep before ranger training." He muttered.
Austin's face looked like a kid who's present never showed up on Christmas morning. He watched as his cruel friend walked away from the table. He promised himself to lock his doors after morning training until classes started.