Page 85 of The Last Aether

Any amusement fled Eva’s face. “Haven’t you heard? Riven doesn’t want a damn thing to do with me, thanks to this—”

“Watch your mouth,” Atlas snapped.

“Eva, I’m not trying to steal your friend. I’ll make that clear with Riven—”

She pinned me with a glare. “I don’t need your pity. Seeing you get your ass kicked will be just fine instead.” She turned and stormed to the other side of the gym.

Kerry let out a low whistle. “That one is…intense.”

“That’s one word for it,” I grumbled.

Atlas started rubbing my shoulders again. “Ignore her.”

“I’m an asshole.”

His hands stilled. “You are not.”

“What would you call someone who drives two friends apart like that?”

“You had your reasons, Pip. And it’s not like she made things any better.”

I let out a huff of breath. “I was jealous.”

Atlas smiled against my hair. “I know. And so does Riven. But he’s the one who created this mess with all his secrets.”

Kerry’s eyes flared in interest, but she didn’t ask for any additional information.

“I need to tell him that I’m not trying to ruin their relationship.”

Kerry stared at me. “You’re okay with him being friends with his ex?”

His fake ex that he never had any history with? Sure. The fake ex who was probably in love with him? That was a little bit of a tougher pill to swallow. “They’ve been friends since birth. It wouldn’t be right for me to try to convince him not to talk to her.”

Kerry shook her head. “You’re a better woman than I am.”

I wasn’t better. In fact, maybe the only thing I was succeeding at was being dumb. But I couldn’t live with the guilt of breaking up a decades-long friendship over insecurity and messy history. Not if I wanted to be the kind of aether who brought people together.

Sarge’s whistle sounded, slicing through the air. “Enough with all the yammering.” Her gaze narrowed as it surveyed everyone in the room. “I see we’ve got a larger-than-normal crowd. I hope that’s because you’ve all missed my illustrious teaching so much.”

A few snickers sounded from the group, but mostly people went silent, not wanting to piss the woman off.

“Move to your fight circles for your first pairings. Everyone else, shut up,” she barked.

Kerry instantly took off for her assigned circle, but Atlas caught my arm before I could leave. I turned to face him. There was so much swirling in those hazel depths. “Strike first, Aura. Show no mercy. There’s a time for compassion, but this isn’t it.”

I swallowed hard but nodded.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead.

I moved towards my fight circle before I got yelled at by Sarge. Drue was already waiting for me. She grinned and it was all teeth. “Done making out with your freak show of a boyfriend?”

My spine snapped straight, but I didn’t say a word.

Her grin only widened. “Cat got your tongue? Or did your boyfriend cut it out? I heard he was a monster just like his father.”

She said the words loud enough that they carried. To the students around us. To Atlas.

Then the whistle blew.