Defender: The Divine Courage Trilogy Book 1, page 15
Hinlee whispered loud enough for Dominic to hear, “You don’t have to talk to him, you know.”
“I know,” she croaked and walked out into the hallway.
Dominic started pacing, sticking his hand into his hair, and breathed heavily. When he had finally decided on the right words, he turned to her and said, “I didn’t do any of that. That picture was taken over three years ago.”
“I know.”
Her words caught him off guard, and he asked. “Wait, you do?”
“Yeah. Her name was Machelle, right? She was the racer that got you and Liam season passes that one time.”
“Yeah, that’s her.” He shook his head. “If you weren’t upset with me, then why were you ignoring me?”
“I’m mad at Liam. I’m mad that I let my curiosity over your message win out over Vallen’s advice. And I’m mad that everything you do now will turn into a story about me as well. That’s why I was ignoring you.”
“Larken, I—”
“I just need a break, Dominic. I need a chance to figure out who I am away from the Hale family. I need to focus on me and not what the reporters are saying about me. I’m having a hard enough time here, in case you haven’t heard.”
“I heard that you cut off a guy’s hand for grabbing you.” His lips twitched. “But I somehow don’t think that’s accurate.”
“I broke his nose and he was discharged,” she said, rubbing her right temple. “But that’s not the point. The point is that I need to be Larken for a little bit. Not Miss Hale, Daughter of the Military. You understand?”
Dominic let his head fall back, and he sighed deeply through parted lips. He closed his eyes and stood like that for a long while. When he looked at her again, his brown eyes were hurt, but he cupped her cheek and said, “Whatever you need. I will do whatever it is you need, Lark.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled. “Look, I gotta get back. I’m supposed to be bonding with my squad right now.”
“Sure. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.” He smiled and then added, “You don’t have to answer, but I’ll message you. Just in case.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek like he always did now when he told her goodbye. Larken closed her eyes, wanting to hide the emotion she knew he would be able to see there. When he pulled away, she turned and quickly slipped back into the common room. She shut the door and leaned against it, letting her head rest there. No one said anything, and no one said anything when she walked past them and then locked herself in her room for the rest of the night.
CHAPTER 16
Larken grunted as sweat dripped down her face. There weren’t many people in the gym this soon after breakfast, and it was relatively quiet. Soren should have been running his own drills with his glaive, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away from her. It would appear that neither could anyone else.
All of the practice droids were on standby, waiting for their human partners to give them a command, but they were all watching as Larken took on three herself, just like he was. And, judging by the way the androids attacked her, they were turned all the way up to the max difficulty. She shouted, swinging her sword over her head. The longer the fight went on, the more careless she became. Soren’s stomach twisted as he watched her punish herself.
The emotion that rolled off of her was thick enough that every breath he took tasted like shame and rage. Not only had Brecker risen to her defense the night before, but Loxly had been ready to spring across the room at a moment’s notice. Soren also didn’t miss the way Levi’s fist balled up when Larken stepped out into the hall. Though, Levi was probably more upset over the antics of her brother than with Braves. Even Soren had wanted to hide Larken away from it all. She had continually proven herself over and over again the past month, and now she was back at the beginning. No one would see the girl who was capable of taking down her opponent in one move; they would only see Captain Dominic Braves’s scorned lover.
Larken was punched in the stomach by one of the androids. She retaliated by screaming and cutting the thing’s head off. She sliced another in half and tore the arms from the third with her bare hands. Soren was in motion before the last android hit the ground. If there hadn’t been anyone watching her before, they were now. She was breathing heavily when he reached her, and he could smell the floral deodorant she wore. He grabbed her elbow and murmured, “That’s enough.”
Larken didn’t move. She just stood there, staring at the dismembered head and the various wires sticking from its neck.
“Let’s head back to the dorm. You’ve had enough training for today.”
She still didn’t respond, but she let him lead her away from the small gym. He didn’t know what her schedule for the day looked like, but he would override it if he had to. The dark bags under her eyes told him that she hadn’t slept well the night before, and the black mood that rolled off her felt so different from her usual demeanor that he found himself not knowing how to act around her.
“What do you have next?” Soren asked, wanting to focus on something other than her wilting emotions.
“I have to go to the medic.”
“Are you ill?” he asked.
“No. I go every other Friday.”
“Your adjustments.” He remembered then.
Larken didn’t say anything, but she rolled her right shoulder as if the mere mention of it pained her.
“We can go there first.”
She pulled out her communicator. “I’ll see if Jodi can see me early.”
Her communicator went off a few times, but since Larken didn’t say anything as they continued on their way, he figured that Jodi could see them. A team of soldiers rushed past them, and Captain Andrews gave him a quick nod, which he returned.
Soren would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little curious about what had happened to Larken that the fancy Hale medic couldn’t fix. He knew that General Maxwell had sent her a custom mattress and that she had to get adjusted, whatever that meant, but what happened? Loxly had only said that she had done something stupid, but when he had pressed the sharpshooter, he claimed that that was all she had said about it. Soren had gone through every file on Larken Hale that was available to him, but the only thing he could find was the recurring phrase, SUSTAINED MINOR SHOULDER INJURY. Something was definitely being withheld from him, and Soren didn’t like it one bit.
When they reached the medic area that Jodi had been assigned to for the day, they went in. The girl from the first time they had brought Larken there sat in the waiting room with her feet propped up on the chair next to her. Her hair had been dark green at the time, but now it was a mess of pale blue and steel grey that had been pulled back into a giant bun. She still wore dark makeup, but this time in shades of blue instead of green. The emerald stud in her nose had also been exchanged for a sapphire. She didn’t look up from her communicator when they walked in. Blowing a bubble, she let it grow until it popped over her bottom lip and then mused, “You brought a friend.”
“He sort of followed me.”
“That makes two. You need to tell me your secret.”
“If I did,” Larken said, making her way to the back, “you would get bored.”
Jodi sighed and got to her feet, smoothing the wrinkles from her coat. “I suppose you’re right.”
Soren had no idea what they were talking about, but he felt like he should feel a little insulted. Jodi caught the door before it could swing shut and looked over her shoulder. She raised a thin eyebrow, asking silently if he was coming. He followed, unable to suppress his curiosity. Larken was already disappearing into a room at the end of the hall, and Jodi looked up at him, her eyes dancing mischievously. “Hope you have a strong stomach, Captain.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he grunted.
“Oh, I’d hate to ruin the surprise,” she said, and then quickened her steps.
They entered the room that Larken had, and Soren found her sitting on a tall bench with stiff black leather cushions on the surface. Her hands gripped the edge and she slumped forward slightly. She looked up at them and her eyes fell on Soren. They narrowed and he felt her unspoken challenge.
I dare you to stay.
Jodi, getting her first real look at Larken, frowned. “You look like crap.”
Larken only asked, “Blue today, huh?”
“It reminds me of the sky.”
“It suits you.”
“Thanks,” Jodi said and then walked to the cabinets.
Soren didn’t know if Jodi was purposely ignoring what had happened to Larken, or if she honestly didn’t know. He couldn’t get a good read on her and felt like she knew a lot more than what she was letting on.
Jodi pulled on some gloves, letting the left one snap against her wrist. “Shall we?”
Larken rolled her shoulder again.
Jodi opened a drawer and pulled a syringe from it with an impossibly long needle. Soren felt his eyes narrow to the point and wondered if it hurt. He had never liked needles or medics for that matter. It’s the reason he let his nose heal on its own after he broke it when he was thirteen.
Jodi just marched forward and dropped the syringe on a portable silver table next to the bench Larken was on. Larken twisted to the side, kicking her legs up onto the bench. She grabbed her left shoulder and laid back. Jodi loomed over her, grabbing her elbow and moving Larken’s arm exactly where she wanted it. Jodi looked up at Soren, her eyes dancing, before leaning onto Larken fully and pushing. A horrible series of pops filled the air and Larken sighed in relief. Soren watched in horror as Jodi did the same thing to Larken’s hips, back, and neck. His skin crawled at the sounds, and he wanted to scratch it.
Larken sat up and moved her feet back to the floor. She put her arms over her head and grabbed her right elbow. Leaning first to the left, and then to the right, she stretched out her back and rolled her shoulders as she let her arms fall. She rolled her neck too, sighing contentedly. Soren couldn’t understand how she could feel so rejuvenated when those pops had sounded so painful.
Jodi grabbed the syringe again and asked, “Ready?”
Without waiting for an answer, Jodi stuck Larken at the base of the neck and injected the contents of the vial into Larken’s muscle. “Um, ow!”
“Stop whining.”
“I swear, you like that part too much.”
Jodi smirked. “Can you blame me?”
She pulled the needle free, and Larken brought her hand up to the spot, kneading it. Jodi cleared everything away and finished by tossing her gloves into a hazardous waste bin. “Don’t—”
“Push myself too hard, and if I feel any swelling or discomfort, come right back. Got it.”
Larken hopped off the table, and Jodi sneered, “You’ve got a smart mouth.”
Larken rolled her right shoulder a few times. “So I’ve been told.”
“Get out of here,” Jodi said, smirking.
“Still on for tomorrow?”
“You bet.”
“What’s tomorrow?” Soren asked, speaking for the first time since walking into that exam room.
“Larken is taking me out for waffles and bringing me a new book.”
Larken waved and started out of the room, leaving Soren to follow. He was still trying to settle his stomach and get that sound out of his ears. He had so many questions, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answers.
They were halfway back to the dorm when Larken broke the silence. “It doesn’t hurt.”
Soren looked down at her. The bags under her eyes were still dark, but she had perked up a great deal. “What doesn’t?”
“The popping. It’s just a build-up of gas in my joints being released. I don’t feel a thing.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“You look like you still might be sick.”
“Okay, then what did she do?”
“She pushed my spine back into place.”
A new wave of nausea rolled over him and he had to force himself to breathe through his nose.
“It’s no different from setting a broken leg. I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.”
He said nothing.
Larken stopped and looked up at him. Her lips twitched and she asked, “Wait, that’s why Levi was the one carrying the medical pack when you rescued Vallen and me, wasn’t it?”
Soren kept walking and muttered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“My first day, you were bragging about how good Levi was at first-aid. But, you have to be just as good as a Captain. So, why is Levi always the one to take the role of field-medic in our group training?”
Soren didn’t meet her eyes as he plowed down the hall to their dorm.
“You don’t have the stomach for it.”
“I can handle myself just fine on the field.”
“Then tell me what the label on the vial you kept staring at said.”
Soren let go of the knob he had just grabbed and turned to Larken. The spark that had been missing from her teal eyes all day was starting to come back, and he didn’t have the heart to be the one to make it disappear again. Taking a deep breath, he grunted, “It said, chemically altered poison that you don’t need.”
The spark fully ignited, and Larken’s eyes danced. “It was a muscle relaxer. It’s how I can manage to go two weeks instead of every day.”
Soren’s stomach soured again. “You used to do that every day?”
“Yeah, for only about a year.” She pushed past him and opened the door, revealing the common room. Looking over her shoulder, Larken whispered, “Vallen always felt sick afterward too.”
Soren followed Larken into the common room, feeling a little bit better about himself. If General Vallen Maxwell, the fiercest man alive, felt sick after watching Larken’s adjustments, then he couldn’t be considered weak. Right?
Brecker appeared before Larken could drop onto one of the couches. “You’re early.”
“I was kidnapped,” she said, indicating Soren with a nod of her head.
“Oh, well, I was told to send you to your room when you got here.”
“But, Dad!”
“Just go look,” Brecker huffed, rolling his eyes.
The little color she had drained from her face, and she asked, “What did you do to my room?”
Brecker dropped onto the couch across from the one Larken was about to fall onto. “It wasn’t me.”
Larked nearly tripped on the leg of the coffee table in her haste to get to her room. Soren, fearing that maybe Braves did something weird to it, was close behind her. When they got there, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong. There were no flowers, no gift baskets, nothing. Only a piece of folded paper on her pillow. Larken rushed to her bed and unfolded the note. Soren followed and read what it said over her shoulder.
For when you need to block out the voices.
Larken looked up and made a weird choking sound. Following her gaze, Soren looked up and saw little speakers in the corners of her room. She dropped the note onto her bed and went back out to the common room. She popped her hip and crossed her arms. “Brecker, when did they install that?”
“First thing this morning. You also got a box I was told to stick in the fridge.”
Larken was moving before Brecker finished speaking. Soren watched as she wrenched the fridge open and then pulled a box out. She placed it on the counter and opened the lid. Her head dropped and her shoulders heaved like she took a deep breath to gain control over her emotions. He could barely hear her trying to sniff back her tears, but he saw her wipe at her face. After a moment, she exhaled deeply. Then, she pulled a drawer open and took out a knife. She didn’t turn around, but she called, “Anyone want pie?”
“Pie?” Brecker asked, looking up from his communicator, no doubt messaging Hinlee.
“Chocolate cream,” she answered.
“Sure.”
“Soren?” she asked.
He grunted, taking a seat on the couch adjacent to Brecker’s. There was a clinking in the kitchen and Larken appeared with three plates. Both Brecker and him were handed small plates with a single slice, while Larken had a full-sized dinner plate with three. Whipped cream completely covered the top of all the slices, making him think that the whole pie had to be covered with it. Brecker gave his thanks and dug in. Soren had instead scraped off all of the white fluff. He had barely gotten the sickly-sweet mess off his fork when Larken leaned over and scooped it off his plate and stuffed it into her mouth.
Soren ignored her antics and Brecker asked, “So what’s with the pie?”
“Whenever I got into a fight with Liam, or any other members of my family, Vallen would get one. We would skip training for the day and just eat pie.” She looked at Soren. “He doesn’t like whipped cream either.”
“And the top-secret delivery?” Brecker continued.
“Sound system. I used to have one in my old room.”
Brecker tried to get more out of Larken, but that was all she said about it. And, judging by the way she had tried to hide her tears in her room all those nights ago, Soren could imagine why she didn’t want to share why she had them at the Military Manor.
The three sat and talked some, but Brecker had to leave soon for flight training. Soren pulled out his communicator and cleared the rest of Larken’s schedule. She could go to the gym or whatever she wanted, but he wouldn’t force her to leave if she didn’t want to. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t give her any special treatment, but he had also planned on her being able to leave her old life behind.
Soren stood, ready to leave for the shooting range. But one look at Larken had him pausing. “You gonna be okay?”
She nodded, staring at her empty plate.
“You sure?”
Another nod.
“Message me if you need something.”
She nodded again, looking like the full weight of the day was finally hitting her. Larken stood and turned away, eyes glossy. Soren let her go and she left the common room. She had always been on her own, but she had also always had General Maxwell. Soren wasn’t sure if the pie had helped things or made them worse. He could only hope that all of this would blow over soon.
