Calluna

Chapter Ten

The Flower

Walking into the training room the next morning, I keep my head lowered and my gaze on the floor. The room silences, swords going still, and voices being shushed. I don't have the strength to look any of them in the eye.

            "Luna, what happened last night? We saw..." Nico trails off. I also see another pair of shoes in my vision. Theron.

            My cheeks burn with shame, but I find the courage to raise my gaze, only the smallest amount. "Nothing," I murmur. "There's nothing you could have done. He... he just wanted to scare me... let me know that he knows when I lie."

            "Well of course he knows." It's another voice. Briar. I didn't notice her earlier. She's as quiet as a fox. "He knows when you lie and when we lie. He can tell from the smallest twitch of an eye, or the tiniest bead of sweat."

            A lump forms in my throat but I push against it. "Briar, I want to... uh thank you for last night, when you—"

            "Oh, do shut up, purple eyes. I should never have covered for you. It was stupid of me to think I could have fooled him. Continuing to prolong your fate will make it all the more painful when it comes."

            My fate. When I learn my ability. When I have to marry that monster. I close my eyes tightly, shutting out the world. "I... I just need more time..."

            "More time for what? For you to develop your power? For you to try to gain enough strength to do what? Fight Atreus? You will lose. No amount of time or training will allow you to beat that man."

            "You don't know—"

            "I know much better than you. I trained with Atreus for the first fifteen years of my life. Accept your fate, Luna. You will not help yourself by prolonging it."

            I finally find the strength to raise my gaze to hers. Her golden eyes burn with rage, irritation, but there's a hint of sadness I wish I didn't see. I'm confused. He trained with her before? I thought she didn't know his ability, I thought no one did.

            She sighs, raking her hand through her golden hair, flinging it over her shoulder. "You have a little more time," she says, suddenly lowering her voice. "Atreus is gone."

            "Gone?" I whisper.

            "Yes, well, he's gone from the palace, anyway. For about a month or two. Both the king and the prince are on a visit to the southern military base to investigate a possible threat. Nothing to worry about, though. Atreus is a commander in the southern region, so these visits occur frequently." She makes a face that I think is a smile, a friendly smile, and turns towards the arena, motioning for me to follow. "Your training is not done yet, purple eyes. You still have a long way to go."

            I turn back to Nico and Theron, and they both follow, as confused as me.

            "I don't understand," I say. "If my ability is regeneration then why do I need to keep training?"

            Briar turns back to look at me as if I'm the stupidest person alive. "You think your power is just regeneration? Oh no. Absolutely not. No offense to Nico but regeneration is useful in some ways, but it's not powerful enough for you to be Atreus's wife. Besides, Luna, your eyes are purple, not pink."

            Instructor, who I didn't notice was even in the room, approaches us both, with a small grin, as if she's excited about something. "We believe you might have more than one power, Calluna. It's uncommon, but not unheard of for a colored-eyed person to have two or even three powers. King Osiris, for example, has the ability to read and control minds. Others who have light blue eyes are sometimes able to manipulate ice, along with water. You see, this might be the reason your eyes are so unique and unheard of to us, Calluna. You might have a combination of abilities no one's had before."