A viscous smile broke over Leta’s lips with the sense of morbid excitement.
No one but her had probably been giddy to get the shit kicked out of her before, but she didn’t care.
Atreus held up a hand to calm her strange enthusiasm. “ First, we need you to understand your limits. Whether you’re a Queen or a… Monarch… you’re no good to the Chosen if you’re useless in battle. Come.” He gestured to the door that they entered through.
Allister gave her a flourishing bow as she neared, a sarcastic smile crinkling the edges of his eyes. “This way, your Majesty.”
Leta frowned, then turned her head to look back at Atreus behind her. “Totally serious question here. Am I allowed to hit him upside the head every time he does that?”
“You’re a Queen. Supposedly, something more than that. I can’t tell you no.” Atreus deadpanned.
Leta smiled happily as she turned back to the giant and made to follow through with the threat. He was quicker than expected, his head ducking to the side as her palm sailed past.
Allister straightened, still smiling. “Reflexes are better than a Mundane but not spectacular. Something we can work with.”
The gleeful look in the giant’s eyes tempered the burning anger in her stomach with a mix of confusion and trepidation.
The pair led her through the hallway into the center courtyard, where Hayato and Koa were taking a break from their sparring. As they approached, the pair stood up and bowed low before standing straight at attention like true soldiers.
“At ease.” When the two relaxed, Atreus gestured to Leta by his side. “Her Majesty has committed herself to training. You’re both relieved of training today and will attend to your other duties until our evening debrief. Dismissed.”
Hayato and Koa shared a look before bowing low again to her and backing up to their discarded weapons.
Leta ran her tongue behind her cheek and looked at Atreus, “Do you guys do memos? What do I have to do to get that bowing nonsense to stop?”
Allister shrugged, “Most will when ya ask. Some will be easier to break the habit of than others.”
Atreus sized her up and down, arms crossed as he tried to figure something out in his mind. “You’re skin and bones, so that will need to be remedied. The Talents that you possess, list them for me.”
No please or thank you. Just a demand for a result with a conviction that he would get it.
As with Afra yesterday, she went down her list of abilities, even going over her stats and explaining her higher than average strength and stamina.
She could tell that Allister was trying to put puzzle pieces together in his brain how best to approach her powers, but furrowed brows said he was having trouble doing so.
Atreus seemed the most interested in her lightning, a talent that was apparently not a normal ability for Arisen.
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“Give me an example. Nothing destructive, but so I can observe.”
Leta nodded, remembering that neither of the men had witnessed her channeling the storm or her fight on the hospital roof.
Hold her arms out, she breathed as the tiny cracks of electricity arched over her fingers and hands, caressing her skin moths drawn to a flame. Was it weird that the dancing light had begun to feel familiar?
The two men watched the sparks dance up her arms to tangle in her hair, the blonde strands beginning to float as the static played over her head.
“Enough.” Atreus held up a hand and she dutifully dropped the energy, though it took a moment for her to shake the energy from her hair.
“How strong can you make that?”
“In a single blast? 300 million volts, enough to power more than 50 homes for a day. Sustained? Somewhere around 200 million. Not enough for a normal lightning bolt but enough to do some serious damage. However, any clothes or things touching me will start to burn the longer I channel that energy.”
Allister whistled in approval. “Stun guns max out at 30,000 volts.”
“And that trick you did on the roof.” Atreus ignored the giant’s impressed voice, his calculating face piecing information together. “The glass shards. What was that?”
“There was a lot of dust and ash on the roof. I remembered the fulgurite I made on Santorini, so I tried to recreate that. I used the telekinesis to scoop up dirt and hold it in the air, then channeled my electricity into a punch so the fulgurite would have some momentum.”
“Hm…”
Leta waited for him to say more, but he just stood there looking in the distance, lost in thought.
Finally, he shouted, “Samuel!”
Leta turned and looked up to where The General was gazing. On the second-floor walkway around the courtyard, a young boy of around ten watched them with rapt interest, his dark eyes going wide in his surprise at being caught.
She could see his mocha-skinned cheeks flush even from this distance as he pointed at himself.
“Yes, you.” Atreus’s words were firm but gentle like an old soldier addressing a young squire who dreamed of being a knight, “The Queen’s powers could cause some damage to the structures if she misfires. We’ll need to set up some rods around the courtyard to catch and stray bolts.”
“Y-yes, sir!” The boy nodded and made to run before he paused and turned back to her with a low bow before scurrying away.
He wasn’t the only one.
From the second floor, Yelena, Koa, Hayato, and the stout Indian woman from last night stood among the columns and arches watching. Yelena watched with an oddly hopeful look while Koa and Hayato followed her movements with a fascinated curiosity. The middle-aged Indian woman had her arms crossed over a blacksmith’s apron, seemingly not impressed.
“Ah.” She waved her hand at the young woman dismissively. “You dragged me out of my shop for a child’s skirmish when you promised me a battle. I’m going back.”
“But, don’t you-” Yelana started but the older woman was already walking away with a huff, muttering something that sounded like curse words under her breath.
“Don’t worry about Kaviah,” Allister chuckled, “That’s just how she is. She’s dedicated to her craft and harder to crack than the weapons she makes.”
Atreus gave Koa and Hayato a sharp look, “Isn’t it your day to help in the scriptorium? Why are you leaving Huda alone to it?”
“The Mundane is poking around in there.” Hayato responded, “Why clean up after his every step only for him to make another mess? I say just let him have his fill and then clean up after.”
“Ãrchontas ton oikodesponton…” Atreus sighed, “Fine. Then, you’ll both be coming down here and participating in this evaluation. If I have to educate one person I might as well I make sure I’m educating the lot of you. Start by getting the mats prepped.”
Leta could hear Koa grumbling but the two began collecting their weapons.
Atreus looked back at her and continued.
“What physical martial arts training have you had?”
“I did karate for two weeks at summer camp when I was eight.” Leta provided with a straight face.
Atreus stared at her for a while. The silence only broke when Allister snickered off to the side.
“Fuck.. Hayato! Koa!” Atreus called up to the second floor, looking as if his future was about to be a lot more painful than theirs, “Grab Afra too. This could be a long lesson.”