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  At first they answered each question in a hesitant way, or just shook their heads if they didn’t know for sure. The instructor soon had them more motivated, though, as she made them run a lap of the room or squat jump ten times whenever they gave up on a question or gave an incorrect answer.

  ‘Adrenaline for those tired brains!’ she would yell at them as they exerted themselves.

  Soon, Siray was recalling vague facts she had absorbed a long time ago, and the three of them swiftly learned to assist each other when they could, to try and spare each other from further physical effort.

  In fact, the instructor didn’t seem to mind if they openly discussed the questions out loud together, in order to try and arrive at an answer, so they did that more and more, reducing the number of laps and jumps significantly.

  After the gruelling questioning session, the instructor had them begin drills with the padded fighting sticks. Recalling the fight she, Baindan, and Deson had had just the other day with those same weapons, Siray smirked as she thought they should all be able to perform well for the instructor.

  She soon realised how much they all had to learn when the instructor had them start and stop repeatedly, correcting their technique.

  Baindan, of course, was rarely corrected on the basic drills, but he still didn’t take kindly to the instructor correcting him when some of his stances and grips were a bit unique.

  They didn’t switch to any other weapon during the session but focused solely on the fighting stick, drilling over and over again.

  When Siray’s arm noticeably throbbed, she paused in the middle of one stance to look down at it. Expecting to see some white text, she frowned when only a blank screen met her eyes.

  Glancing back up in case her lapse in focus caused her to run another lap, she saw the instructor was just looking up from her own device.

  ‘That’s the end of the session,’ the female said promptly. She indicated that the three of them should place their fighting sticks by the wall before she moved across to the door and activated its opening mechanism.

  After Siray had stepped out into the hall, the instructor did not exit the room behind her but remained inside and closed the door again.

  A little relieved that the instructor would not be joining them in the hall, Siray let her shoulders slump with exhaustion as the sound of two more doors being activated met her ears. As the rest of her friends emerged from the other training rooms, their faces reflecting a similar weariness, they all began moving down the hall and towards the bank of risers in silence.

  After progressing through the security check with the guards, they took a riser down to the living and recreation level and proceeded into the meals hall.

  As the aroma of warm food hit her, Siray’s stomach rumbled violently, and she moved as fast as her tired legs could take her to join the queue for the servery. At this time, the meals hall was only just beginning to fill, and Siray was able to find a large section of table where her whole group could eat together. When they were all bent over their meals, she took a good look around at their faces.

  Kovi, Wexner, and Tamot looked exhausted, and their grey clothes were dark with sweat.

  Genlie was sitting at the table with her head in one hand as she slowly ate.

  ‘How was your session?’ Siray dared to ask her.

  Genlie cocked an eyebrow, not lifting her head from her hand. ‘I Changed so many times that my brain’s gone numb. But I’m pretty sure I’m in my normal form because I’m managing to eat. You’ll tell me if I’m not, right?’

  Siray nodded, smiling both in sympathy and at Genlie’s humour. Then she turned to Tamot, grimacing at his expression. ‘Do I even want to know what your session was like?’

  Tamot, Wexner, and Kovi all shook their heads.

  But then Kovi said, ‘Whatever the instructor tells you to do, do it quickly, otherwise you’ll end up doing double the work.’

  Siray nodded, mentally filing away the comment. ‘Thanks.

  ‘And,’ Tamot swallowed, ‘even if you think you might be sick, just keep going until you actually do throw up or pass out. Then you can have a couple of moments rest.’

  Siray stared at him. ‘Okay,’ she said a little uncertainly. She turned back to Genlie, Jorgi, and Loce. ‘The weapons instructor looks like a weak breeze might topple her, but she’s mean. Try to answer all her questions correctly, otherwise she’ll have you doing laps and jumps. You can even help each other out with the answers.’

  Genlie nodded. ‘Thanks for the advice.’

  Jorgi said, ‘With the Change instructor, really get into whatever discussion he starts. If you don’t engage, he’ll make you Change. Over and over again.’

  Siray nodded silently. What had they signed up for? Shaking her head, she refocused on her meal, but although she had filled up her plate, Siray could eat little before giving up and moving to the bin to scrape off her dish.

  Thankfully, the break between the first two training sessions was long enough that they could comfortably eat and still have time to do other small tasks before they had to return to the training level. As Siray’s band had yet to start its next countdown, she decided to go freshen up a little in the washroom. As she headed down the hallway, she saw Zale coming towards her, talking to another male.

  When he saw her approaching, he spoke rapidly to his friend and then stopped and waited for her.

  Nodding at the other male politely as he went by, Siray smiled as she approached Zale. ‘Morning.’

  ‘Hi. I was just going to grab some breakfast. Want to join me?’ He gestured to the meals hall.

  Siray shook her head. ‘I’ve just eaten, actually. And now I’m going to go wash my hands under some soothing, cool water.’ She held her hands up so he could see the redness and blisters starting to form.

  ‘So, you’ve had your first weapons session. Remind me after the evening meal, and I’ll get you some cream that should take care of that. Or’—he shrugged—‘you can go straight to the healing level.’

  Siray wrinkled her nose. ‘Nope. As much as I like Nafren, I really don’t want to go back there so soon. I’ll take your offer.’

  Zale smiled. ‘What do you have next?’

  As if prompted, the device on Siray’s arm thrummed, and she glanced down at it. Fitness. 1,000 …

  ‘Fitness. And the countdown has just started,’ she told Zale with a sigh.

  He looked sympathetic, but as she started to move away, he said, ‘Just remember, the session will end.’

  Siray glanced back at him, not knowing whether to thank him or shoot him a grim look, but he just waved and moved off into the meals hall.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ARRIVING AT the washroom, Siray activated the door pad and stepped into room, moving briskly towards the sink to switch on the tap. As the cool water poured over her aching hands, she sighed loudly in relief.

  ‘Couldn’t handle weapons training?’

  Siray tensed a little at the haughty tone and, looking up into the mirror, saw Melora’s freckled face a little way behind her.

  ‘I handled it just fine,’ Siray assured her flatly before swivelling her gaze back to her hands.

  Melora moved closer to the mirror to check her hair. ‘You know, there is a reason for the healers being stationed here.’

  Siray switched off the tap and shook her hands. ‘I know. I’m going to get some cream later.’ She spun away from the bench and mirror, heading for the door.

  ‘That’s right. You have more training to complete. You better hurry along, then.’

  Siray stopped at the words just before the door and twisted her head to look over her shoulder, her patience thinning.

  ‘My advice,’ offered Melora in a kinder voice as she failed to register Siray’s glare, ‘is to get there early, and the instructor might go easier on you.’ She looked into the mirror to give Siray a superior smile, as if conferring great wisdom.

  Siray’s face blanked in surprise. Was Melora actually being
nice? After staring at the female for another heartbeat, she nodded. ‘Thanks. I’ll do that.’ Turning and activating the door, she stepped through and moved swiftly down the hallway, scanning for her friends. Not seeing them, she headed for their room, glancing down at her arm as she rounded a corner.

  782.

  She broke into a jog and, reaching the door, slapped at the activation pad for the room. Sticking her head inside, she called out, ‘Baindan, Deson—we’re going down early!’

  Mutterings from inside, then movement as both males made their way to the door, Siray backing away to give them room.

  As the pair stepped into the hallway, Baindan asked, ‘Why are we heading down early?’

  ‘Only slightly earlier,’ Siray qualified. ‘And we’re going because I just got a tip from someone that the fitness instructor might go a little easier on us if we’re there ahead of the scheduled start.’

  Baindan nodded, his mood apparently lifting. ‘Well, then, I’m happy to oblige.’

  Deson voiced his agreement, and the three of them proceeded through security to take a riser down to the training level. After they had passed through security, they walked down the hallway as they had that morning, and upon reaching the closed doors of the training rooms, proceeded to wait.

  Siray looked at the countdown on her device. 469. The sound of boots moving briskly along the hallway towards her made her look up to see the three instructors making their way towards the training rooms, chatting quietly amongst themselves as they drew closer.

  The weapons instructor barely glanced at them before she entered the room marked ‘T1’ but did pause briefly to gesture at Siray, Deson, and Baindan to the male instructor trailing her.

  He slowed and stopped before them, smiling, as the third instructor disappeared into another room. ‘Well, now—you must be group one. And here early. I like that.’

  Siray’s gaze flicked to Deson and Baindan knowingly, pleased, before she turned her attention back to smile at the instructor.

  ‘It shows me you’re keen and eager to work off some energy!’ exclaimed the male, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

  The smile dropped from Siray’s face, but the instructor wasn’t finished.

  ‘I like soldiers that have extra stamina—most groups usually need a lighter session after a morning with Instructor Dalria.’ He opened the door. ‘But clearly you three are made of something tougher! Seeing as you’re here early, we may as well begin now and work in some extra drills.’ He motioned for them to enter the room.

  Siray didn’t need to look at Deson and Baindan to know what they were thinking right then, but she was forced to as the pair both gestured for her to enter the room first in mock courtesy. She grimaced in acknowledgment of her error and entered the room, vowing not to trust Melora’s word ever again.

  Kovi and Wexner hadn’t been exaggerating when they had said the session was tough—may even have understated how strenuous it was, given both males' relatively high levels of fitness. Early into the session, Siray, Baindan, and Deson were drenched in sweat. The instructor had started off with laps—as if they hadn’t done enough of those in the morning—then moved on to foot and hand drills.

  When he finally called a halt, Siray thought they were going to be given a short break.

  Instead, the instructor said, ‘Now that you’re all warmed up, I’m going to get you really working!’

  And then he had them do drills where they had to leap in sequence across the width of the room, then sprint back to the start. This was followed by climbing drills and, subsequently, agility exercises.

  It just kept going, and it made Siray long for the sessions where Trainer Dirl and Gesad had made them run up Bluff Hill.

  At one point, Siray thought she might actually pass out from fatigue. The instructor had them running a short distance, dropping into a forward roll, then bouncing up onto their feet to repeat the exercise.

  During one such roll, Siray got dizzy as she tried to stand and dropped once more to the ground, without rolling.

  Baindan stumbled across and helped her to sit up.

  ‘A little out of shape, are we?’ the instructor asked, coming across to peer down at her. ‘Not to worry, you just take a moment and then get back into it when you’re ready.’ He smiled and moved away again, giving her room.

  Relieved, Siray was just thinking she might be so unwell that she had to sit out the rest of the session when the instructor turned to Baindan and Deson.

  ‘While we wait for Siray to rejoin us, I want you both to grab one of those bars and hold them up like this until I say so.’ The instructor pointed to the objects and demonstrated the required position, extending his arms out at chest height before him.

  As Baindan and Deson staggered across to pick up the bars, Siray guessed at the instructor’s intent and groaned inwardly. Pushing herself up slowly to her feet as the males struggled to keep their arms out straight with the weight balanced across them, she lurched across to pick up the remaining bar to join them.

  The instructor did eventually wind down the session, though his method of using more protracted movements seemed to make Siray’s muscles burn even worse than when she could manoeuvre about more freely. He threw in stretches to help them improve their range of control and flexibility, and he had just asked them to do a side hold when Siray felt her arm throb.

  Throwing a hopeful glance at her arm, she saw the screen remained dark. Session over. She relaxed her arm, allowing her body to collapse to the ground, the moment of pure stillness one of bliss.

  ‘Up you get,’ the instructor said.

  Barely holding back her groan, Siray rolled onto all fours, heaved herself to her feet, and wobbled out of the room on fatigued legs behind Baindan and Deson. Once more, they met the others coming out into the hallway, and while some nods were exchanged, no words were spoken until they were all upstairs again.

  When they had been in training at their former camp, Siray and her group had rarely eaten a midday meal, but here, with these kind of gruelling sessions, her body was demanding fuel. It was no small relief when they walked into the meals hall.

  Wexner, who was looking a bit better than the rest of the group, eyed Siray, Deson, and Baindan from across the table before commenting, ‘You guys look even worse than I felt after the fitness session.’

  Siray didn’t say anything but bent her head more closely to her plate, almost too exhausted to eat despite her complaining stomach.

  ‘Apparently,’ said Deson wryly, ‘Siray was told that if we showed up early to the fitness session, the instructor might be a little easier on us, but we just had to do extra drills.’

  ‘That’s understating it,’ added Baindan, pulling his sweat soaked shirt away from his body a little.

  ‘Who told you that?’ enquired Genlie, referring to the first part of Deson’s statement.

  ‘Melora,’ Siray mumbled, not looking up.

  ‘Ah. Yes, I think she might have an issue with you,’ Genlie remarked.

  Siray lifted her chin to frown at Genlie, her mood sour. ‘You know something I don’t?’

  Genlie tilted her head. ‘Well, I’d say it’s got something to do with—’ She stopped. And looked down at her arm.

  Siray felt it at the same time. Her device was thrumming against her arm.

  Genlie gave a long, drawn-out groan. ‘And now I’ve got fitness training.’ She put her head in her hands, and Kovi, who was sitting next to her, rubbed her back.

  At least that was one positive—Siray’s group had already done the toughest sessions of the day. Her mood improved slightly. ‘At least you won’t have to think, Genlie,’ she told her friend. ‘Move, yes—but not think.’

  Genlie sat up a little straighter and nodded. ‘You’re right. Although, I’m going to opt for the world’s longest shower afterwards.’

  Siray nodded. ‘We’ll both need it.’

  They all sat chatting for a while longer, each of them checking their arms every so often
to see how much time they had left before the next training session.

  When they could put off moving no longer, they all dumped their dirty plates into the trolley near the door and headed up to the training level.

  The third session was more interesting than the others to Siray, but even though it was far less physically demanding, it still left her drained. The instructor, whose name was Varta, talked to them about their animal forms and the advantage to each. He spoke about battle tactics that used their strengths, both when in their animal form and when in their normal form, and about the best placement in a fight for other animal forms. He gave each of them various battle scenarios, asking them to provide him with the best battle plan they could create in a limited time and then walk him through it in detail.

  In each instance, Varta would point out the holes and risks in their plans and make them revise their strategy for the scenario over and over until he was happy.

  And then he would have them Change randomly back and forth from their normal forms into their animal forms.

  Varta seemed to take particular delight in having Baindan Change between his multiple forms—the cripwof, the rilander, and the kitespray—and it was obvious to Siray that Captain Huroy had briefed all the instructors about her and her friends. Thankfully for Baindan, Siray thought, no one else knew that he could take more than three forms.

  At one point while Baindan was Changing between his forms, Varta watching him closely, Siray exchanged a look with Deson. Thank the Mother we managed to keep our second form a secret, she thought at him.

  I know, he responded. Though once or twice I’ve almost slipped up …

  Siray dipped her head slightly in acknowledgment of his admission. Varta’s random demands for them to Change at intervals had almost caught her out a couple of times, and she now forced herself to take a breath before she Changed each time, just to be sure she chose her yeibon form in each instance.

  Sometime later, when the device on Siray’s arm throbbed to signal the end the session, Siray stumbled from the room with the others, using all her control to stop her legs from collapsing beneath her.