Plutonian

Chapter 32

The steel bench screeches slightly as Rosie takes a seat next to me. I am watching Leslie spar with a fighter whom I am unfamiliar with and I see him glance my way every few seconds with a smirk on his face as he out does his opponent on every move.

Leslie is skilled. I'll give him that. 

"Memorizing his moves? Mugging up before an exam doesn't always help, you know?" Rosie wipes her hands over her pants and watches him as well. 

I simply nod my head, my eyes focused completely on his foot work. He loves to bring his left foot out as a ruse only to use his right leg for attack instead. It's really quite devious since most people would be focused on the first move to defend themselves and lose time to deflect his actual attack. 

What Rosie doesn't know is that I have been mugging up on his moves for the past few days. I've memorized his fights, his stances, his trajectories, practiced them with Cyscus repeatedly. My eyes fall to the beige floor that sinks in where they step as I try to ignore the gnawing feeling in my chest that just won't go away. 

"You haven't eaten yet," Rosie states and I close my eyes. I just don't have the appetite. "You need energy for tomorrow's match."

I finally look up at her face. Her brown eyes are focused on mine and the worry in them almost warms my heart. We've become so close ever since the party and it feels so good to have her by my side here. 

"I guess I am worried," I answer and look away. I'm worried about Lucian, more specifically what he has been up to. 

He has been missing ever since the night I saw him in the garden. It's all a blur of images and slurred speeches but I briefly remember him coming home later than usual and expressing my worry for him. I woke up the next morning only to find him gone again and haven't seen him since. 

Cyscus didn't seem to know much either, only that there were a lot of adjustments being done somewhere near the north gate which only made me think of one thing-the slave quarters. 

There was something going on and I just know it's not good. The feeling of uncertainty wafted in the air around me like a murky miasma, seeping into my pores and settling in my veins like lead. I hated not knowing and with Lucian missing I had no answers. 

"Do you know if anything's happening at the north gate?" I surprise myself by asking Rosie this  question and she looks just as startled. 

"I wouldn't know," She answers cautiously. "Why do you ask?"

"Heard there was something going on. Thought you would know," I say, studying her odd reaction. Her expression is guarded and her shoulders are squared, almost defensively. It makes me wonder if she knows more than she is letting on. 

She leans in until the sides of our faces almost touch. "Did your commander tell you something?" 

My mouth opens but immediately clams shut, the situation eerily familiar to when I confided in Stela that I wanted to escape. Right before she ratted me out. 

"No," I say, my face flushing red. 

"It's fine, I know something's going on as well. Just be careful who you talk to about it," She whispers and her voice is so soft I almost miss her words. 

"I'd like to practice with Aria the Bone Breaker next," Leslie suddenly announces from the ring. He speaks loud and clear, pronouncing each word slowly in staccato making it impossible to ignore. 

If his intention was to draw everyone's attention to him, it definitely worked. Almost everyone who wasn't practicing turned his way and then mine. I didn't plan on fighting him one day before our match but the situation seemed impossible to escape without me looking like a coward.