FULL NOVELXO Chapter CHAPTER XXXIII: LEI
When she heard the voice saying to find her friends, she gasped, startled. It sounded like Skhy’s voice but there was something amiss as if someone imitated his voice. She tried to concentrate on relaxing her breathing and heart despite the growing anxiety about not being able to see anything. Once the loud and painful beating in her chest slowed down, she heard soft noises in her surroundings. She concentrated on the background noises and recognized people’s footsteps and people breathing around her. Some seemed faint, others louder and nearer than the rest.
“Skhy? Tessa?” she called after she swallowed the lump of fear in her throat.
“They won’t hear your voice.” The same voice was so close to her ear that she screamed and leaped away. Habit made her subconsciously reach out for her power but she only felt cold air in the emptiness.
“What are- who are-”
“But they can hear other noises,” it continued. Looking around was useless because she couldn’t see anything. It was the same when she closes her eyes at night in a dark room.
Tilting her head, she silently listened to the noises around her, trying to distinguish them from the loud beating of her heart and concentrating on those nearest to her. On her right, the closest noise, someone was stomping their feet on the ground. She thought it was a code but she figured it was random impatient stomping. Slowly, she made her way to the noise. The ground was solid but she was afraid she might fall from a cliff. Surely Neus won’t place us near a cliff, would he? Doubt answered her in the back of her mind so she took the steps slowly and carefully.
She raised her hands, which she also couldn’t see, and tried to feel for anyone or anything in front of her as she walk. The stomping got louder. When her fingers brushed over a cloth, the stomping stopped and the body recoiled away from her. The person started breathing rapidly and heavily.
“No no no no.” She sighed after she realized that the person won’t hear her like she won’t hear the person’s voice. Moving quickly, she felt for their arm. Before the person could run away, she held it with both hands and started writing her name with her pointing finger on the person’s lower arm. L-E-I. W-H-O?
The person sighed in relief and wrote on Lei’s arm. N-A-T-E. She suddenly felt excited. They figured out a way to communicate in the darkness, but the persons must be touching. When Nate released her arm, she subconsciously reached out and gripped the hem of his shirt. She was afraid that they might get separated. She heard him skip a few breaths. She wondered what he was saying.
Then, as if switching on the light in a dark room, the mist’s darkness vanished. Lei’s eyes adjusted to the light after only three blinks. When she had a clear view of her surroundings, she frowned when she noticed that darkness still surround them, different darkness. Glancing up, her eyes widened at the crescent moon looming above in the sky which had turned a darker shade of blue but not entirely dark as night. She looked down and found her friends in strange positions. Skhy had his arm around Faz’s neck, locked him in place. Both of them looked exhausted and breathing heavily as if they had been fighting. Aria was hugging Tessa tightly; Tessa looking terrified while suspicion clouded Aria’s expression. Clyne had his hands on Neus’ face; the mentor and Clyne looking annoyed. All of them were still standing surrounded by the pillars in the ruins. Lei glanced up at Nate who looked amused at Clyne and Neus. When she noticed that she was still gripping Nate’s shirt, she quickly removed her hand away, looking embarrassed. Everyone stepped away from each other when they noticed that they were out of the mist.
“That was unpleasant,” Neus mumbled, glaring at Clyne. “And disappointing.”
“We've been there for hours?” Clyne said in disbelief, ignoring the mentor’s comments.
“Yes,” Neus answered, “I was getting impatient.” He was no longer looking at his students. His gaze seemed far away.
“Go now.” Without waiting for the Seven’s response and without any explanation, he walked away and vanished after a few steps. This surprised Lei because she thought Neus won’t let them go without a few scolding or letting them train until morn.
“Something’s wrong,” Nate whispered beside her. Before she could ask, her friends started discussing what happened to them.
“Neus kept whispering near my ear,” Clyne narrated, “So I grabbed his face to stop.” He grinned which made Skhy, Tessa, and Aria chuckle.
“Did the two of you fight?” Tessa asked Skhy and Hunter.
“One thing led to another,” Hunter replied, trying to dismiss the issue.
“When he realized it was me, he started pulling pranks,” Skhy explained with a smile playing on his lips. Tessa giggled which made Hunter smirk. She looked around until her weary golden eyes landed on Lei. She quickly made her way to Lei.
“You ok?” she asked. Lei nodded and glanced at Nate who had a smile on his face but it looked forced.
“Yeah,” Lei replied. “It’s just, Neus looked weird earlier.”
“I noticed, too.” Tessa brushed her long hair with her fingers. “Maybe he’s like that usually? I don’t know.”
“How long do we have?” she suddenly asked. Lei’s eyebrow lifted, confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Before the war.” Lei felt like cold water was thrown at her. They had been busy training that she had not thought about the future war. Or I have been trying hard to forget it.
“I’m not sure,” she managed to answer, “Two months at least.” Her throat was dry.
“Let’s go.” She turned to Skhy when she heard his voice. “Let’s rest for today.”
Lei silently followed the others to the manor. Her friends started talking but her thoughts drifted to her aunt and the academy. She wondered if everyone was safe. She wondered how the others were preparing for the war. She realized again that she and the others had been so caught up with the prophecy of the Seven that she had not taken time to talk to her family’s friends in the academy. The conversation with Skhy and Carol’s friends – Eloise, Ice, and Levvy – had been short and brief. She had only experienced the academy life for four months, and in two months, she might not be alive. This is why we’re born. To win a war. And to die in it, if necessary. She clenched her fists, nails digging into her flesh. She knew that she wanted to fight, she promised, but at the back of her mind, a lingering thought pulsed. Is that all we are?
When she felt Skhy’s warm hand on her shoulder, she stopped walking. They arrived in front of the manor when the darkness had consumed the sky except for the crescent moon and countless stars. She looked up and found him staring at her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concern written in his bright blue eyes.
“Huh?”
“You look distracted.” His hand remained on her shoulder which would have made her heart flutter if not for her heavy mind. “Like Nate.” She glanced at Nate’s back. Their friends gained distance from Skhy and Lei, and they had not noticed that the two stopped walking. She urged Skhy to walk.
“I’m just thinking,” she replied simply. She didn’t want to share what she had been thinking because she knew that each of the Regalis had been haunted by the same thoughts. It was nothing unusual.
“About?” Skhy pressed. The Seven entered the manor. Everyone turned to Skhy except Lei, waiting for instructions.
“We eat after two hours?” he suggested. The others nodded before walking up the stairs. Skhy caught up with her.
“Maybe we can talk later?” Lei wanted nothing but to talk to him alone but she didn’t want to bother him with her fear and anxiety. She hesitated before answering.
“Sure,” she replied softly. “After dinner.” Without waiting for his response, she spun around and went to the girls’ room.
Dinner was silent and uneventful while a heavy weight hung in the air. No one acknowledged it until the staff returned to the kitchen.
“Is everyone well enough?” Skhy asked, his gaze glancing at the kitchen door. They sat at a long table farthest from the kitchen. Skhy, Lei, and Nate sat on one side; Hunter, Tessa, Aria, and Clyne on the other.
“The right question is,” Hunter started, “is everyone ready enough.” He took a spoonful of his food.
“Of course, we’re not prepared,” Tessa replied softly. She looked like she wanted to say more. Lei could hear her friend’s thoughts. We can’t use our elementals and weapons. “But we have to do something.”
“I’m also talking about facing what knights will do if we’re caught.” Tessa eyed him curiously, even Lei was startled. Hunter seemed to be the kind of person who would lunge into any danger without thinking of the consequences.
“Are you scared?” Hunter gave Tessa a playful scowl.
“I think it’s better if there are more of us. Also…” Nate’s voice trailed as he stared at his half-eaten dinner. There was a hint of hesitation in his eyes but it quickly vanished that Lei thought she imagined it. “I know everyone’s curious.”
“You’re right about that,” Aria commented before drinking her water.
Lei glanced at Skhy who looked like he was deep in thought.
“I agree,” he said finally. “But it’s easier to get caught if we move in one group. There’s a lot of us.”
“So we separate.” Clyne had cleared his food first.
“Do you remember the way?” Lei directed the question to the boys. The four nodded.
Their conversation ceased when someone loudly pushed the cafeteria door open making the Seven turn toward the noise. Navi and Cora burst in and quickly turned toward the kitchen door. The mentors didn’t notice the trainees. Lei wondered if they chose to ignore them or if they truly did not see them. But she noticed the dark circles around their eyes, but she also saw anger and impatience swirling in them. Their shoulders, their whole body, was tensed. They were talking between themselves in hush voices so Lei couldn’t hear what they were talking about before the mentors disappeared through the kitchen door.
Lei turned to her friends who seemed baffled and curious like she was, but no one commented about it. They hastily and quietly finished their dinner. She couldn’t help but glance at the kitchen door before the Seven left the cafeteria.
As they walked up the stairs, they decided on their plan, whispering as they go. Lei glanced at Skhy’s back as he stood in the middle of the group. She was both relieved and disappointed that they won’t be able to talk alone again.