Eira Riley has a secret to hide, even though she doesn't want to. She loves her powers of ice and snow.
When dark forces enter her world, she is forced to stand up against them. In fact, Eira wasn't that unwilling to do so. For once, she'll no long...
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Saturday morning, 6 am, Eira groggily pulled herself out of the bed and stumbled downstairs.
Why did it have to be so early in the morning? I'm a sleepy-head.
She had lied to her mum yesterday that she and Skyler were going to join a swimming club and were expected at training every Saturday. Her mother believed her but only now, Eira realised how fragile that lie was.
One, she had to come back smelling like chlorine or two, at least she had to come back with wet hair and wet swimsuits.
The more I got into this Ryder business, the more lies I've told my mum.
Eira couldn't help but feel guilty.
Why didn't I say tennis instead?
Eating her quick and nutritious breakfast, she grabbed her swim gear and headed to the direction of a "gym".
On her phone, Skyler already helped her install a new Ryder app. It had a map in there that pointed to all the unmarked places that were exclusive to Ryders. Jason had provided her with an address that could only be found on this app.
Eira felt a tingle down her spine. She was thrilled.
Her thrilling moment, unfortunately, was short-lived. Her GPS pointed her to a bushwalking track. An area overgrown and abandoned. The usual pathway was uncleared and Eira was forced to step on soil and undergrowth.
Bushes and weeds scraped past her ankle. Often she stopped to scratch one leg against the other to relieve her from the itchiness.
"Oh this is torture," Eira muttered.
She kept going, meeting some flat ground. Whipping some leaves and branches out of the way, Eira gasped when she saw the structure.
"An actual gym," she looked around, "in the middle of a freaking forest."
One hand on her head in disbelief, she couldn't help but stifle a laugh. No one would ever bother checking here; no one would ever know this was a Ryders gym.
Eira walked out, her feet meeting fresh grass. The sun peeked its head out from the clouds. She checked the address and the map on her phone again.
"Yep."
The door creaked open, the square structure was well lit with opaque skylight. Eira slipped inside and closed the door behind her.
"Morning."
Eira jumped, spooked. She relaxed when she saw that familiar face.
"Morning." She said, offering a polite smile. She considered apologising for her behaviour at the nurse bay, but that was expelled when her eyes were freshened by Jason's new look... in his athletic, sports-wear.
She cleared her throat and threw her bag down. "So, what are we working on?"
Jason slanted a smirk and took off his hoodie. Eira did the same with her black jacket.
