Soulbound (16 page)

“Now, as you may or may not be aware, the art of Healing is divided into two factions: the botanical aspect and the natural aspect. Botanically, Healers are able to aid in the healing of Barrons and other Healers with the
aid of various herbs, salves, oils, and other plant-based medicines. Naturally, Healers are able to heal those that they are either Bound or Soulbound to with touch. Of course, healing naturally is a much easier and much simpler task, but as there are so few Healers compared to the number of Barrons in existence, it’s vital that we understand the botanical method of healing. Not everyone has a Bound or Soulbound Healer, so it falls on our shoulders as Healers to assist all Barrons.” Instructor Harnett smiled at the class. It was an honest smile. One that told me that she understood that being a Healer was more of a duty than a blessing. “Now, if you’ll all please take notes, I’ll walk you through the basics of how to create rose oil.”

Most of the class let out a collective groan, but I didn’t. For the first time since entering the south gate, I found myself mildly interested in what Shadow Academy had to offer. I opened my notebook and poised my pen on the page, eager to hear what Instructor Harnett had to say.

I
nstructor Baak was circling me and my fellow Healing 101 classmates like some kind of panicked vulture, so worried that one of us—and I think we all knew which one—was going to positively ruin the day. The sun was a pleasant warmth on my shoulders, and I smiled up into it. Beside me, Trayton was smiling. I couldn’t see it, but I could sense it. He’d been smiling ever since we found out he’d be joining me on this little field trip. At first, I was terrified when Instructor Baak told us we were venturing outside school walls. But knowing that Trayton was joining me—he and a sizable group of well-trained Barrons—settled my stomach a bit. Even though butterflies were dancing inside of it.

“Please line up in an orderly fashion: Healers on the right, Barrons to the left. We’ll proceed through the gate as quickly and orderly as we can, but remember that it will take time considering the size of our group. A
Master Healer and three guards are awaiting you outside the wall. I will follow you, along with three more guards, for your safety.” Her eyes fell on me briefly, and I stepped in line beside Trayton, forgetting about the sunshine momentarily. The smile stretching across my lips was genuine, and when Trayton laced his fingers with mine, my smile stretched on into eternity. He gave my hand a little squeeze, sending a small flutter through my heart.

About ten groups of Barrons and Healers stretched out in front of us, with another ten or twelve pairings behind us. As we all shuffled forward, happy chatter erupted through the crowd. Clearly I wasn’t the only one who was excited about seeing my Barron. Someone behind me laughed, and I gave Trayton’s hand a squeeze. It was a good day. A much needed one. And it wasn’t often, I was certain, that such an optimistic vibe rippled its way through the stone walls surrounding Shadow Academy. For a moment—one that I was certain would be all too brief—I was hopeful, positive, and happy. Three things that I hadn’t experienced much of since leaving my parents behind in Kessler.

Raden was standing at the gate with a clipboard, running through names. He seemed very distracted by the entire ordeal, and I could only imagine the security risks involved for taking so many ill-trained Healers outside. Couldn’t we stage this battlefield inside the wall? After all, it was supposed to be a mock-up of post-battle trauma and how we should handle the situation. Did
we really need to be in actual danger? Yes. Apparently, according to Instructor Baak, we did.

“Next!” Raden barked, and we shuffled forward. Trayton parted his lips to speak, but apparently, Raden already knew our names. “Next!”

A bizarre mixture of thrill and dread rushed through my veins as we crossed over the threshold, not knowing what the day might hold. I’d half expected the woods outside to be filled with shadows and haunting sounds, but instead I was met with the twittering of songbirds and generous sunshine filtering in through the leaves above. Several yards outside the gate, our group gathered, awaiting further instructions.

Once everyone was outside and our Barron guards were standing sentinel around us, Instructor Baak instructed several Healers to pass out bandages and other medical supplies. As they did so, she said, “Now, despite the beautiful day, a terrible battle has just taken place here, leaving your Barron terribly injured. Inside each of the medical kits, you will find a slip of paper indicating how your Barron was injured. You have twenty minutes to locate any additional supplies and treat the wound. Your time begins now.”

A Healer boy that normally sat in the back of our class handed me a small box then, and I flipped open the lid. Inside were bandages, a small jar of ointment, scissors, and three small bundles of herbs. Stuck to the inside of the lid was a piece of paper. As I unfolded it,
Trayton sank to the ground dramatically, peering up at me with a smirk. “So what’s wrong with me?”

Nudging him with my toe and chuckling, I read the note aloud. “Your Barron has suffered a shallow Graplar bite to the left pectoral.”

“Ooh. Sounds painful.” His eyes were sparkling. “How on Tril will you fix me?”

I took a seat beside him on the forest floor, mulling over my options and trying hard to ignore the irresistible flirtatiousness that was coming off Trayton in waves. Two of the herb bundles were fairly easy to identify. One was Sprigweed and the other Cragbark. But neither would be of much help when it came to a Graplar bite, and I had no clue what the third bundle even was. It smelled vaguely fruity and felt like silk on my skin, but I had no idea what its healing properties might be. Biting the inside of my cheek in deep thought, I sighed. “I’m not sure I can. You might not survive this.”

Trayton propped himself up on his elbow and surveyed my medical kit, a frown on his face. “Damn. It was a good life. I was hoping to continue living it.”

Laughter rolled out of me, and I gave him a light shove. “Stop it! I’m trying to fix you.”

“Maybe you should start by cleaning my wound?” He raised an eyebrow at me, a dangerous twinkle in his eye.

I rolled my eyes. “Just take your shirt off.”

“I can’t. I’m injured.”

When our eyes met, we both laughed so hard that
Instructor Baak shot us a glare, killing our revelry. Clearing my throat, I said, “Seriously. I have like ten minutes left to fix you.”

“You’re the boss.”

Ten minutes later, Trayton was wrapped haphazardly in bandages and slathered in gooey ointment. Instructor Baak surveyed my handiwork and uttered one word that should have hurt to hear, but didn’t, for some reason. “Fail.”

As she walked away, Trayton frowned. “Fak. I died.”

Laughter ripped out of me so hard and so fast that tears spilled down my cheeks.

Hours later, Trayton and I were sitting in the dining hall, munching on freshly baked oat cookies and telling Maddox about our misadventures in healing. Maddox wasn’t nearly as amused as either of us had been, but I guess it was one of those things where you really had to be there in order to truly appreciate the humor. She sighed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t see what’s so funny about killing your Barron.”

“I didn’t kill him. Not exactly.”

Trayton smirked. “To be fair, you didn’t exactly save me, either.”

I gave his arm a light smack. “Whose side are you on anyway?”

“Mistroot.” Both Trayton and I looked up when Maddox spoke, confusion filling our eyes. Maddox rolled
her eyes again, as if the reasons behind her drastic subject change were obvious. “The herb you couldn’t identify? It’s Mistroot.”

Trayton nodded. “Oh yeah. The fruity smell? A dead giveaway.”

My jaw nearly hit the table as it dropped. “You both know this? And Trayton, you couldn’t tell me it was Mistroot when you were lying out there dying of a Graplar bite?”

He shrugged and plucked another cookie from the tray on the table in front of us. “Life or death aside, that would have been cheating.”

Maddox and I locked eyes then and burst out laughing. Trayton stared oblivious, having no clue why his staunch adherence to the rules would seem so absurd. Once I recovered, I picked up the tray and carried it toward the trash bin. I must have misgauged a step, because my tray hit someone and clattered to the floor, sending small plates, cookie crumbs, and glasses half full of milk to the floor and all over the front of the person I’d run into. I stared dumbfounded at the crumbs and milk as they clung to the front of his shirt and dribbled down. When I raised my chin, daring to look Darius in the eyes, I wasn’t at all surprised to see that his face was turning red with fury. But even then, when he screamed at me, I jolted. “Extra duties!”

He turned to stomp off in a huff and I stepped in front of him, blocking his path. The crowd around me
fell into a hush. But I was tired of Darius punishing me without reason. “Why? It was an accident, Darius!”

He was gritting his teeth, and when he spoke again, it was in a low growl. “There are no accidents.”

I glared, but it had no effect on him whatsoever. He turned and walked around me, exiting the dining hall. From behind me, Maddox placed a concerned hand on my shoulder, but I shook her off. Whatever this animosity was, wherever it had come from, it was between Darius and me, and only he and I could settle it.

T
he heels of my palms stung from the tiny bits of thorns that were wedged under the skin, and all I really wanted to do was find Darius and punch him in his stupid face. But Maddox had other plans. “Let’s go get some powdered sugar rings to munch on.”

“Maddox,” I sighed, not wanting doughnuts at all, but too exhausted to resist her whims. “Okay, but let’s not take long. Extra duties really took it out of me.”

“Don’t worry, Princess. We’ll be in and out. I swear.” She nodded and smiled, and for one, brief, idiotic moment, I believed her sincerity.

Three hours later, after Maddox had gorged herself on dining hall pastries and I’d insisted on getting to bed early, I lay there under my covers, eyes wide open, every inch of my nerves on edge. I just couldn’t shake every mean thing that Darius had ever said to me, every dirty look, every unkind prickle that emanated
from him to me. Finally, I whipped the covers from me and headed into the parlor, hoping that Maddox hadn’t dozed off in a post-doughnut coma. Luckily, she was sitting on the chaise, a book in her hand. She looked up at me, only mildly surprised by my mid-night presence. “Hey. Sugar ring?”

My left eyebrow twitched, but only slightly. “No thanks.”

She shrugged and popped the last powdered sugar ring into her mouth. As she was chewing, she said, “Couldn’t sleep?”

Shaking my head, I plopped down next to her. “I’m just so irritated.”

She flashed me a knowing look. “Darius, right?”

When I groaned, she said, “Why don’t you just go over to his cabin, pound on the door, and demand to know what the hell his problem is, once and for all?”

“I can’t. He’s a teacher, remember?” Biting my bottom lip, I refused to give voice to the real reason that I was hesitant to confront Darius. The truth was, I was a little afraid of him.

Maddox shook her head. “Get over there and stand up for yourself already. After all, if you don’t, who will?”

Her words, her meaning, her undeniable rightness sank into my pores then. There was no one else. Not Maddox, not Trayton, not my parents. There was only me. I had to stand up to Darius, or he’d never stop treating me this way.

At first, I didn’t say anything in response to Maddox. But then I looked down at my hands—hands that were shaking with such anger and frustration, and I knew that she was absolutely right. I had to confront Darius, and now, not later, or he would go on picking on me for the rest of my time at Shadow Academy. “Okay, let’s go.”

Maddox raised an eyebrow and held up her book. “You’re on your own. I just hit a good part.”

My jaw hit the floor. “Maddox, I can’t go out there alone! What about the Graplars?”

“I don’t know if you noticed when you got here,” she said with a smirk, “but the whole school is surrounded by a big fakkin’ wall.”

I considered this for a moment, and debated whether or not Maddox had completely lost her mind, but the odds seemed in her favor. I really didn’t think that she’d let me get eaten by one of those horrible beasts, no matter how terrible a guard she was. Maddox liked me. And I liked her, trusted her. So with a deep breath, I stood up again and cast her a wary glance. “And if the headmaster catches me out past curfew and without my guard?”

Maddox shook her head slowly, sucking powdered sugar from her fingers, her eyes locked on her book the entire time. “Not a chance. He and a bunch of the Elder Barrons are at some big dinner celebration at Trayton’s parents’ place twenty miles from here. Pretty much if you want to sneak around campus and get away with it, tonight’s the perfect night for it.”

Insult filled me and I spit out, “I don’t want to sneak around with Darius.”

Maddox raised a sharp eyebrow at me. “I never said with Darius. Wow, guilty conscience much? Are you going to confront him or not?”

“Yes.” My heart rattled nervously in my chest. “Yes, I am.”

As I opened the door to the hall, my heart thundered inside my chest. I never fancied myself as much of a rule breaker. That had always been Avery’s style, not mine. I was always the one coaxing her away from sneaking around with the Bowery boys or staying out past curfew. She was the one who’d talked me into “borrowing” her father’s cart one evening, and if it weren’t for her disrespect of authority, I’d never know what really went on in the guard shack at the edge of town after hours. Avery was the rule breaker, not me.

But Avery wasn’t around anymore. So maybe now it was my job to break a few rules. Especially if I had good reason to.

A small part of me—okay, a large part, admittedly—was afraid what would happen if I got caught sneaking out alone after hours. What would happen to my parents? What would happen to Maddox? Would Trayton get in trouble? My mind filled with worried thoughts.