Jisu’s eyes snapped open. She lay still on her back, her arms and legs extended as if she were sunbathing. “You beat me,” she said, turning her head to look at Ember. She raised a finger, pointing at Mr. Badger. “You really caught up, just as he said you would.”
Ember looked at the instructor for an explanation, but he was crouching down by the cat’s side, making sure that her injuries didn’t require immediate attention.
Ember wiped her forehead. She had landed uncomfortably on her knees, scraping them raw. Her vision was still muddled with her infrared sensing, so she closed her eyes tightly, pulling herself back from her instinct with a great effort. With the return came waves of pain from her wounds and profound, all-consuming exhaustion.
She met Jisu’s eyes, and an understanding passed between them. Jisu looked away, smiling ruefully.
Uncharacteristically, Mr. Badger patted Jisu’s shoulder before standing. “An impressive match from both fighters, with Ember taking the win. Both women will advance to the intermediate class. Sam,” he said, pointing at Ember’s old training partner (who had escaped the rotation spar without much harm), “please escort them to the infirmary.”
Ember stood, offering her hand to Jisu, but the panther batted it away. She stood heavily, dripping blood onto the forest floor. Her neck was bruised from the choke, but Ember had no doubt that her pride had been more seriously damaged. Though Ember had occasionally beaten her in casual spars, it had been when Jisu wasn’t using the full scope of her abilities, so the latest outcome must have shaken her deeply.
Together with Sam, they began the long and slow march to the infirmary. Ember held a hand in front of her, looking at her bloodied knuckles. I… I actually won. For the first time, she had tapped into her instincts purposefully, the culmination of her training, research, and the increased dose of the treatment. It was a long-awaited landmark of progress.
Weariness caught up to Ember by the time they neared the infirmary, and she let herself be guided, trancelike, to a bed next to Jisu. She lay on the cool sheets, staring at the wooden ceiling beams, succumbing to the thoughts fluttering by like butterflies. I must be stronger than almost all humans, now, in hand-to-hand combat. She pictured her father, who had always been a weather-beaten and frail man, as he attempted to hold back the guards who had taken her. If I had this power, could I have protected us back then?
Something brushed her hand, and she looked over to see Jisu, who had reached out her arm from her position in the adjacent cot. “I’m sorry,” she said, her head facing away from Ember. “It was just… unexpected. Have you been doing extra training?”
“Yes,” Ember admitted, “with the reptiles. Honestly, it was my intention to surprise you. I could have used grappling techniques during class, but I didn’t. It was partially because of what you told me about fighting like a Linnaean.”
Jisu sighed, pausing for a moment to think. “I’m not giving up. I’m going to work twice—no, three times as hard. We’ll go to the intermediate and advanced classes together.”
Ember smiled, feeling her metal-capped fang poke into her lip. “Okay.”
***
Ember raised the flask to her lips, tilting her head back as the burning liquid slid down her throat. “This is disgusting,” she said, wiping her mouth and passing it to Carn.
He laughed, his image slightly distorted by the patches of orange and yellow evoked by her infrared vision, which had disobeyed her commands from the very first drought. “I didn’t buy it for the taste.”
Ember was beginning to see what he meant. The pain from her wounds, stitched only two days before, dulled substantially with each mouthful. She scooted over on the log, feeling wobbly, and Naz held out a hand to stabilize her. “This drink is made from the agave plant, you know. I wonder who figured that out.”
Ember let out a laugh, startling herself. She held her hands out over the fire, where the remnants of their roasted squirrel dinner were still clinging to the spit. A pair of glowing eyes shone from the underbrush, hoping for scraps, and Ember flung the remains in its direction.
Most of the dorm prefects had chosen to lift the curfews since classes had ended, and she could hear other university students celebrating nearby. The clearing outside of the mammalia dorm, where they had chosen to spend the evening, was especially lively.
“Naz, are you staying for winter break?” Carn slurred, sloshing some of the liquid from the flask.
“I’m staying with my father for a week,” the pisces answered, “but I’ll be back in time for the festival.”
“What ‘bout you, Ember?”
“Where would I go?”
“Fair enough,” the fox nodded sagely, bumping her in the arm. “I heard from a friend that you dominated the evaluation. Even I couldn’t stop you now.”
Ember looked at him sharply, suddenly a fraction soberer as she remembered the incident with Charlie. He’s right; I have to be more careful from now on.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Congratulations,” Naz said softly, reaching out to touch Ember’s cheek, which was purpling from one of Jisu’s punches. “Is that what this is from?”
She nodded, and Naz looked down at her cup. “Honestly, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Ember waited, aware that the mood had grown serious despite her buzzed head. “You know how I promised I would look for an alternative way to contact your father?”
“Yes,” Ember acknowledged, tilting her head. “When we were at that restaurant on Main Street.”
“Well, I failed,” Naz said, her brow furrowing as she stared into the flames. “I did everything I could imagine. First, I asked my professors in the human relations department, but they wouldn’t tell me anything. Then, I sent a message to my father in the city, but he was clueless, too.”
“Naz-”
“Hold on,” she said, looking pained. “On finals week, I noticed that Freya, the harpy eagle ranker, was assisting a class near mine. I knew you might not want me to, but I asked her if her sister would at least hear a request without a challenge. But she rejected me.” Naz scowled, tucking her knees close to her chest. “I can’t understand it.”
Ember sighed, wiping her mouth of the foul alcohol. She, too, had spoken to several professors, advisors, and even Corax himself after the battle with the margay. “It’s all right,” she said, “it’s what I expected. I believe that Orthus was telling the truth: right now, the best way to contact my father is to battle Freya and earn an audience with her dove sister.”
Naz sighed. “I just… I wanted you to be able to stop this fighting nonsense. I know you’re doing it because you have to—you don’t live for it like the others.”
Ember paused to peel off the remnants of a scale that had been damaged during the fight. “It’s as Corax said: becoming stronger is the only way to do anything in this world. I’ll go to any lengths to find my father. Hell, I’ll go to the mainland if I have to.”
Naz looked up, meeting her eyes. “What?”
“Hey,” Ember said, putting a gentle hand on her friend’s arm. She took the flask from Carn, who was lost in his own world, and poured the rest of its contents into Naz’s cup. “Relax. It hasn’t come to that, yet.” She looked up, where the moon was barely visible through the treetops. “Either way, the issue is not going to be resolved tonight. Come on, we still have many things to celebrate.”
***
Ember grunted as her back hit the ground. Waves of force exploded out from her chest, stealing her breath. She sat up, clutching her side and gasping. Marcus stood above her, his legs still planted far apart in the stance from which he’d flipped her.
“Keep your head up,” he instructed. “That defensive posture is doing you more harm than good. And, for god’s sake, learn how to fall correctly.”
“He’s right,” Elliot interjected, coming down from a handstand. “Either roll or break your fall. Relax your muscles and dissipate the force through your limbs.”
Ember groaned, her eyes watering from the throw. Although she was grateful that the reptiles had allowed her to continue training with them after her evaluation, the early mornings and constant beatings were taking their toll.
Marcus sighed, sitting down next to her. “There’s another way you could have stopped me, too, you know.”
Ember looked at him in surprise. Though she did spar with him—which always ended in a crushing defeat—he was the sarcastic type, and it was usually Amir or Elliot who gave her advice. “How?”
He pointed at a spot on his outer thigh. “I have an old injury right here. I hide it well, but if you were to strike it directly, it would disable me for at least a moment.”
Ember looked back at him, confused. “How would I know that, though?”
He shook his head, bothered that he was being asked to explain. “Your infrared vision, obviously. It’s far more useful than you think.” He reached out, flicking her cheek in a markedly irritating manner. As he leaned closer, she noticed that a series of shallow pits lined his jaw. They differed in number and placement from her own, the reason that she had overlooked them before.
“Listen closely,” he said, lowering his voice. “You’re aware that infrared vision works by detecting heat, yes? Well, even the slightest injury can disrupt the way that blood flows and change the skin temperature.”
Ember looked at him with interest, offense forgotten. “Are you saying it’s possible to find someone’s weak points just by looking at them?”
Marcus nodded. “If you hone your ability, it’s possible to sense even temporary fatigue. In fact, you may be able to find a weakness before the Linnaean themself knows of it.”
“That’s incredible,” Ember said, her mind racing as she considered his words. “But it must be a difficult technique if each ailment causes its own pattern.”
“Precisely. Asymmetry is the first indication, and it takes time to analyze. Each color corresponds to its own temperature range. Swelling will increase temperature, while chronic degeneration will decrease it.”
Ember bit her lip. Why did I never consider the meaning of the colors?
“Try it,” Marcus said, gesturing at his injury again. “The blue pattern is where the tissue is the coolest, and the yellow is where it’s hottest. On the most basic level, the lighter the color, the higher the temperature.”
Ember turned her head, focusing on his thigh, and activated her infrared vision. His leg glowed red, orange, and green, forming blotches that pulsed like otherworldly creatures. She leaned close, trying to identify the pattern of the injury, but the shapes slipped from her grasp, gyrating and undulating too quickly for her to pin them down. She closed her eyes, delegating every ounce of her focus to the heat signals.
“Augh!” she exclaimed, pulling away as her heat pits throbbed. For a moment, both forms of vision failed, and she almost fell into Marcus’s lap.
“What are you two doing?” Elliot asked, wiping the dirt from his hands.
“None of your business,” Marcus said with a glare, and Ember realized that even the prefect may not know the python’s technique.
Elliot raised a hand in surrender, backing out of earshot, and Marcus waited for her to regain her balance. “What did you see?”
She shook her head. “The image was too unstable.”
“That’s how it was for me, too. You’ve probably never tried to direct your sense like that, so it’s going to take a lot of practice.”
Ember nodded, deciding that researching the new skill should be her immediate priority. If I can master it, it will be an undeniable advantage.
“Thank you,” she said, looking up at Marcus. “I appreciate it.”
He huffed, assuming his usual guarded expression. “Don’t mention it, really. There are not many snakes around here, that’s all.”
Ember smiled, realizing that at some point in the last two weeks, she had earned his respect. “As you say,” she agreed, lowering her head. “I hope you won’t mind if I come to you for help again.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well… if you must.”