After her angry exchange with Thorndyke, Gwen bid her farewell to Zyre and followed the janitor to the dorms. She stood at the entrance of her room, taking in the furniture. There were two identical beds on either side of the room, along with the identical armoires, tables and chairs. There was a huge window in the middle of the room. This room was smaller than Thorndyke's but still bigger than her room back in the cottage.
She couldn't spot her roommate as she was promised so she just plopped on the bed which seemed unused with its clean sheets and closed her eyes.
"Goodnight," she said into the bond slowly dozed off.
"Goodnight, Gwen," he replied after a moment.
Maybe it was the sleep clouding her thoughts or the fact that her mind was in a whirl, but for a moment she felt that it wasn't Zyre's voice in her head, but someone else's.
Someone familiar.
Someone she couldn't put a finger on.
———
Gwen was awakened by someone shaking the bones out of her. She grumbled and pulled the sheets over her head. A moment passed before the sheets were yanked off of her body.
"What the fuck?" she looked up at the culprit, running a hand through her face.
"Wake up, sleepyhead," her eyes adjusted to the light as she managed to make out the figure of a girl with long black hair.
"Who...?" her voice was sluggish as she tried to rub the sleep away from her eyes.
"Me! Obviously," the stranger laughed, her voice high and musical, almost childlike in its glee.
Gwen raised her eyebrows, confused and not understanding how to respond to that. It seemed like the girl got the hint about Gwen's confusion because she frowned, angry.
"Don't tell me... did Damian not tell you about me?"
She seemed offended when Gwen scratched her head awkwardly. She could use Zyre's help at the moment.
"That asshole!" a scowl appeared on her beautiful olive-skinned features, making Gwen raise her eyebrows in surprise. The stranger muttered a series of curses under her breath before offering Gwen a hand, smiling.
"I'm your new roommate. The name's Sibby."
"I'm Gwen," she shook her hand, her movements still drowsy, "Wasn't your name Nightingale something?" Gwen yawned, wanting to go back to sleep.
Sibby chuckled, "Flyer Sybell Nightingale, but I prefer everyone to call me Sibby instead."
Gwen nodded, slowly closing her eyes while relaxing back into bed. To her despair, Sibby had some other plans
Suddenly, Sibby yanked her up by her forearm, "Wake up, silly! You were supposed to be in combat class ten minutes ago." She thrust a dark blue uniform on Gwen's face and pointed at the armoire, "Your boots and other things are arranged there. I will be waiting outside."
Gwen groaned as Sibby left the room. It was morning? Already?
"Good morning, chosen one," Zyre yawned in her head.
"No," she grumbled, stepping out of the bed.
"I believe that the appropriate response would be good morning," he huffed sarcastically.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
Zyre growled under his breath before Gwen started to get ready for the worst time of her day; morning.
———
The combat class was in a hustle; the air was humid with sweat and several groans echoed the atmosphere. Sibby had been hopping up and down next to Gwen, clapping her hands like an excited child.
Gwen groaned, despite the curious stares and occasional whispers of the cadets around her, she glared at Thorndyke who was standing at the other end of the room.
Apparently, when General Sylveryon said that she was to be supervised by Thorndyke, he meant it quite literally. He had to supervise her during training, combat, flying, and practically everything extra she would miss out on due to skipping the first year.
Gwen braced herself and stepped on the mat. Even though this morning seemed frustrating, she'd rather die than back off.
Sibby perched at the top of the slab right in front of the mat, her eyes glittering with excitement.
"Ooh, I can't wait to see how this goes. Will you win? Will you lose? Will you be completely destroyed?" Gwen looked at her weirdly as Sibby tried to hold back from squealing in excitement.
That girl was a fucking maniac.
Soon enough, Thorndyke, in all his glory, stepped on the mat in front of her. He watched her carefully as they both circled each other.
Despite his casual black t-shirt that he opted to wear today, he moved with the grace and precision of a predator.
Gwen moved, locking her eyes with his dark ones, watching for any sign of attack. She raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him to make the first move. His lips twitched as lunged towards her, trying to swipe her feet from under her.
On cue, she ducked, swiftly dodging his attack and moving to his other side. Just as she raised her fist to land a blow at his back, he spun around, using the momentum of his previous attack to move faster and come after her from behind.
She released a gasp, barely dodging the attack as she stumbled backwards. Shit, he was good.
Thorndyke prowled closer to her, she could spot the smugness in his eyes. She gritted her teeth before gathering herself again. It was not the time for temper.
She needed to remember her father's training.
Managing a smirk, she mocked, "Is that all you got, Thorndyke?"
They begin to encircle each other once again.
His lips twisted in that infuriating smirk.
"Hardly. That's just the warm-up, little venom."
She scowled at the nickname before he moved forward again, launching another attack.
She twisted to the side, attempting to dodge him but the asshole moved lightning-fast, countering her escape. He grabbed her arm and pinned her to the pillar behind them in a single, smooth move.
He stood mere inches away from her, both their bodies sweating and chests heaving.
She looked up at him, "You fucking cheated!" she gritted her teeth, snarling at him.
He scoffed, leaning closer to her, his breath hot on her skin as he smirked, "There's no such thing as cheating in battle, little venom."
She rolled her eyes, frustrated and kicked his knee, making him loosen his hold. She took advantage of the moment by ducking and twisting to move behind him.
He turned, his dark eyes sparked with anger as he glared at her. She just smirked, teasing him.
"Scared, Thorndyke?"
That earned her a scoff.
"Scared? Me?" he flexed his glistening biceps, tilting his head to the left, a predatory move, "Hardly."
Fuck, that was hot.
"Come at me, then. If you dare," she tried to keep her tongue inside her mouth and focus on anything else but the sweaty muscles peeking out from his shirt.
She gritted her teeth, reprimanding herself to be attracted to him even when he was about to knock the living lights out of her in combat.
"Oh, I dare. It isn't wise to underestimate me, venom," he lunged at her again, this time aiming at her abdomen. She managed to dodge the blow, but he countered his attack the very moment, swiping her feet from under her.
Before she fell, he gripped her waist and the back of her head, easing her onto the ground, and pinning her under him. He smirked down at her.
"Not so cocky now, are you?"
She growled in his face, struggling against his grip, but the annoying asshole just grinned, clearly relishing her frustration.
"I want to burn him to the ground," Zyre growled in her head, clearly annoyed by the guy as well.
"Mad that your taunting didn't work? Poor thing," a hint of mocking pity in his voice. She kicked his knees, trying to get him off her. However, his grip on her remained firm as he pinned her to the ground, "You're going to have to do better than that if you want to escape."
She began panting hard, already tired and sweaty from the fight while he studied her.
"Tired already?" he smirked, teasing her.
"So are you," she gestured at his heaving chest and the black t-shirt that was now drenched in sweat.
To her irritation, he huffed a laugh, "I've barely broken a sweat. I could go all day, little venom."
"Oh yeah?" she gritted out, annoyed and frustrated as she began kicking and clawing at him. She would not allow herself to bow down to him. Not like this at least.
He slightly winced, but there was a spark of approval in his eyes before it vanished into the infuriating grin that plastered itself on his face, "Playing dirty, are we?"
When she ignored his teasing and continued her little fight, he chuckled and grabbed her wrists, pinning her down as he straddled her hips, keeping her from moving any further.
"What are you going to do now, venom?" he whispered in that raspy voice as she struggled against him. She snarled at his face, fury doting her vision as he smirked down at her, "Aren't you a stubborn little thing?" Gwen scowled up at him, feigning her disgust.
"What's the matter, little venom? You don't like me on top of you?" He was clearly pushing her limits and it was working.
Just as she was about to headbutt him, a loud whistle echoed in the room.
"That would be enough, Cadet Thorndyke," a tall handsome middle-aged man with dark brown hair and a charming persona came into her vision.
Damn.
He was fucking attractive.