Queen's Shadow || Kingdom at the End of the World - Book II

[8] Spark

Kayla rubbed at her eyes. Her eyelids dragged dryly. A headache thrummed behind them, brought upon by too little sleep and too much thinking.

It was long past curfew. Kayla expected to find at least a few trainees sneaking around, but the halls were empty. Her steps echoed in the silence. Kayla felt exposed. Her senses were heightened, heart drumming with adrenaline. She closed her eyes in an attempt to find calm.

Dimitri stared back at her from within the darkness of her own mind, face bruised, eyes paling.

Kayla shook her head. The memory lingered, staining the shadows at her periphery red. She walked faster. The threat was in her mind, inescapable and unconquerable.

A soft, rhythmic sound disturbed the silence. It grew louder as Kayla neared the training hall. Kayla tried the door and found it unlocked. A single lantern burned inside. It illuminated a corner of the room, where a girl had snapped to attention. Haunted eyes turned to Kayla before dropping to the floor.

Kayla walked further inside, toward the circle of light. The girl watched her approach from beneath her lashes. It was the young cadet from Musser's training class, the one who had nearly fractured a wrist during the lesson Kayla had led.

"I did not catch your name yesterday," Kayla said.

"It's Rin, M'am," the girl replied softly.

"How long have you been here, Rin?" Kayla asked.

"Not long," Rin said, too quickly. Kayla raised a brow.

"Just over an hour," the girl amended. Her face gleamed with sweat. Her small body shook minutely, the muscles overused.

Kayla held in a sigh. "Training modules are carefully structured for a reason, cadet."

"I am really sorry," Rin said.

"You will be, when you can't get out of bed tomorrow," Kayla said. "Run through the kata again."

Rin glanced at Kayla with wide eyes. She moved back into position hesitantly, and began the exercise anew when Kayla said nothing to discourage her.

The kata started slowly. Rin's body weaved through the space defined by the practice mat, growing more fluid with every movement. Her arms made gentle arcs through the air. Her legs swept over the floor in low, slow kicks, each punctuated by a soft exhale.

Rin's hands clenched into fists. The dance transformed into a battle suddenly, like a lighting breaking through a cloudy sky. Punches and hip-level kicks came in staggered succession. Haggard breathing filled the silence, disjointed and distressing.

"Enough," Kayla said.

The girl broke form. She bent over and gripped her knees, panting heavily. Sweat slicked her hair to her cheeks.

Kayla caught the girl before she tumbled face-first onto the floor. She guided her down to sit on the mat, legs folded beneath her. Rin whispered her thanks. She fidgeted, her quiet the kind that preceded questions.

"You did well," Kayla said, resigning herself to a conversation she was probably not in mind to hold.

Rin hunched in on herself. "I couldn't keep it up. I can't keep up."

They were no longer talking about the kata. "You were holding your own yesterday," Kayla offered.

"Barely. I need to–" Rin inhaled deeply. The exhale came out shaky. "I just... I have to make service this year."

Kayla let the silence build between them. Rin rocked back and forth – a gentle, unconscious movement meant to self-soothe. "What happens after the exams?" the girl asked at length.