Vampire Academy: New Generations

Chapter 11

"You need something to wear?" Eden asked. "Hmm?" I glanced over at her. We were waiting for Mr. Nagy's Slavic art class to start, and I was preoccupied with listening to Mia adamantly deny the claims about her parents to one of her friends. "It's not like they're servants or anything," she exclaimed, clearly flustered. Straightening her face, she tried for haughtiness. "They're practically advisors. The Drozdovs don't decide anything without them." I choked on something between a laugh and a snort, and Eden shook her head. "You're enjoying this way too much." I thought about what Vegas had said. "I was gonna say it's amusing but now I'm kinda meh. What'd you just ask me?" I asked as I dug through my bag, messily looking for another hair-tie. I made a face when I found 3 broken ones. I didn't know where I was going to score some more and desperately needed some to secure my wild hair.

"I asked if you need something to wear tonight," she asked, noticing how preoccupied I was. "Well, yeah, of course, I do. But none of your stuff fits me." I answered, trying not to look at her. She looked at me, noticing my expression, but didn't seem to ask. "What are you going to do?" She asked as I shrugged my shoulders. "Improvise, like always. I don't really care anyway. I'm just glad Kirova's letting me go." I said happily. We had an assembly tonight because a royal group was visiting the school, including Queen Vasalisa herself. Honestly, that wasn't what excited me the most. This was the first time she'd visited the Academy but it was pretty common and a lot less cool than it sounded.

I was more psyched that I'd gotten permission to go because everyone else would be there. It was a chance to hang out with actual people for a change and not stay locked in my dorm room. A little freedom was definitely worth the pain of sitting through a few boring speeches. But Trevor would be there. Pushing the thought to the back of my thoughts, I tried to pay attention to what was happening during class. And when class finally ended, I didn't stay to chat with Eden after school like I usually did. Vegas had stuck to his promise about extra trainings, and I was trying to stick to mine. I now had two additional hours of practice with him, one before and one after school. He clearly knew a lot—his six molnija marks proved as much—and I burned to have him teach me what he knew.

When I arrived at the gym, I noticed he was wearing a T-shirt and loose running pants, as opposed to his usual formal black... everything. I couldn't help but feel a knot in my stomach from Trevor's words. But... I really wanted to learn. Plus, Trevor was drunk. Maybe the alcohol was just making him think things. Yeah. That made sense. Shrugging off the bad feelings, I walked in, and almost immediately, we began to practice. He positioned me so that we stood face to face with each other on the mat. Well, more like face to chest, but that's just details. "What's the first problem you'll run into when facing a Strigoi?" He asked. "They're immortal?" I asked. "Think of something you relate to." He suggested. "My height?" he nodded. "You're pretty short. Shorter than most others." He said as I rolled my eyes. "I'm taller than your IQ," I grumbled out as he slightly smiled. "Either way, their height makes it difficult but not impossible. You can usually use a person's extra height and weight against them." He said as he turned and demonstrated several maneuvers, pointing out where to move and how to strike someone.

Going through the motions with him, I gained some insight into why I took such a regular beating in group practice. I absorbed his techniques quickly and couldn't wait to actually use them. Near the end of our time together, he let me try. "Go ahead," he said. "Try to hit me." I looked at him for a minute and then realized I didn't need to be told twice. Lunging forward, I tried to land a blow and was promptly blocked and knocked down onto the mat. Pain surged through my body, but I refused to give in to it. I jumped up again, hoping to catch him off guard. I didn't. After several more failed attempts, I held out my hands in a gesture of truce from where I lay crumpled on the ground. "Okay, okay!" I yelled aloud before he kept beating me up. Vegas stood straight. "What the hell am I doing wrong?" I whined out, taking his outstretched arm to help me get up. "Nothing." He shrugged. I narrowed my eyes. "Your actions and methods are perfect." He said with a smile. But I wasn't as convinced. "If I wasn't doing anything wrong, I'd have rendered you unconscious by now," I said as he smirked. A good look for him. "Unlikely. Your moves are all correct, but this is the first time you've really tried. I've done it for years." I shook my head and rolled my eyes at his older-and-wiser manner. He'd once told me he was twenty, hardly 2 years elder to me.