A Knight's Purpose (Book 1) ✔️

Chapter 30 - A Tense Start

The next morning, I start to worry when we make it all the way to our little room in Enforcement and Maia still hasn't said anything to me. She barely spoke to April, which had the lynx glaring at me the entire drive. And it wasn't a friendly glare, it was a you killed my cat I've come to take revenge kind of glare.

So, of course, the uncomfortable drive was even more awkward than it had been the past few days.

I set down my bag with a sigh as April gives me one last especially deadly glare before leaving for her office. I plop down and pull out the contract Teacher had walked me through the previous day, skimming to make sure I hadn't missed anything that would get me in serious trouble.

Sereya, however, doesn't sit. Instead, she grabs the extra mesh bag she'd packed and stomps towards the door.

Aaaaand that's enough of that.

I stand and move to block her. She glares at me. What is it with people glaring at me today?

I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow at her. "You want to tell me where you're going? Teacher should be here soon."

She huffs and manages to hold out a few moments before crossing her arms. "It's Saturday morning which means it's combat practice."

"You don't look terribly excited about that. Where's combat practice?"

She wrinkles her nose. "It's in the basement. All the Enforcement kids can come in on Saturdays and they teach us self defense."

Her unhappy expression doesn't change.

"Does Teacher go with you?"

She shakes her head, beginning to tap her foot impatiently. "No, some of the officers rotate. Teacher doesn't always stop in on weekends but if he does it's generally just to pick up my homework." Her frown twists in disgust at the thought of her homework.

Something still seems fishy but I move aside.

"I'll walk you down."

She shrugs, her usual verve for life dampened, and leads me to the elevators. We make it all the way to the basement and I'm starting to realize most of her silence this morning was probably because of this and not what I told her yesterday, which is a huge relief.

The basement is mostly made up of large gyms for practicing combat or magic. We head into gymnasium number four and she peels off to go change into what I now realize are exercise clothes in her mesh bag.

I open the metal doors and walk in keeping a watchful mental eye on my bond to Sereya, only to duck as a knife comes flying at my head. I turn, mouth hanging open, to find a group of wide eyed boys staring at me in horror. I pivot, picking up the knife from the floor, relieved to see it was blunted, before stalking to the group.

Five teenage shifter boys shrink as I glare at them, trying my best to emulate April's death glare from this morning.

Given their reaction, I think I got most of it right.

"What, exactly, do you think you are doing throwing knives at a door people walk through?" My voice is clipped and as their gaze darts to my mouth I let my incisors lengthen so they know I'm really pissed. Not just upset, close to furious.

A brave raven haired boy stammers at me for a second before swallowing, his own incisors lengthening and retreating as he fights for control. "We weren't throwing it at the door, ma'am. Bradley threw it at the target but that magician," He pauses to point and glare at a boy standing by the knife target which is on the same wall as the door I came through.

The magician pales as he catches my eyes.

"He used magic to misdirect the knife. That's why it flew into the door, ma'am." The shifter boy tries to look sorry. He fails quite miserably.