Awakening (Book One of the Eklektos Series)

Chapter Twenty Nine

There were still a few hours until sunrise, but Kali couldn't sleep. Instead, she climbed onto one of the deep windowsills and closed her eyes. Leaning against the glass, her mind raced as she waited for the sun to rise. Her stomach prickled and her arm throbbed, but most painful were the new burns on her arms.

The thing she hated most about hospitals wasn't the overpowering clinical smell. It was the lack of distractions. There was nothing to keep her out of her own head. She clutched at her hair, pushing her forehead onto her knees, struggling to breathe. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the drip still hanging by the bed. Sickness rooted itself in her throat and she shuddered, desperately trying to ignore the veins tingling in her hands and arms.

After what seemed like forever, her thoughts dimmed to a low buzz in the back of her mind. Someone cleared their throat in the doorway and Kali started, slipping off the windowsill. She groaned heavily before pulling herself up to see Hannah watching her. She automatically widened her stance. "What do you want?"

"Rude." Hannah crossed her arms, but casually shrugged "He wants you in class."

"Of course he does." Kali grimaced, carefully stretching to test her muscles. Rolling her shoulders, she winced and muttered "Do I have time to shower?"

"You got ten minutes." Hannah frowned; she had clearly been expecting a fight. Sure enough, she admitted "I was looking forward to dragging you out by your hair."

A smile tugged at the corner of Kali's mouth. "Sorry to disappoint."

Hannah chuckled. The sound startled Kali; it was an almost foreign concept for her. Any kind of mirth from a girl like Hannah was strange. Hannah narrowed her eyes to inspect Kali and confessed "Tracy told us what happened. She said you guys fought...but I've seen you fight. It didn't sound like that's the way it went down. What happened?"

"She stabbed me." Kali stated, grabbing her shoes. She turned her back to her classmate, busying herself with her things, and added bitterly "In the back."

Hannah scowled. "Right...and I hear Trevor broke your arm."

"What's your point, Hannah?" Kali groaned; she was tired of trying to deal with subtext.

Hannah just watched her for a moment longer in silence. She pursed her lips and walked out of the room, calling "Don't take too long."

Kali frowned, confused. She couldn't find the energy to care what was going on in Hannah's head, so she pushed it aside. Her body had exhausted itself with the healing, and she felt tender all over. The pain in her arm had lessened to a dull ache, provided she didn't move too quickly. Her stomach rebelled every time she stretched it, but the pain was edging closer to nausea.

Instead of braving the endless gleaming hallways, Kali shoved the window open and tumbled outside. By the time she dragged herself back to her apartment, the shower seemed like a bad idea. Gritting her teeth, she settled for cleaning up in the sink; at least then she wouldn't have to worry about the dressings. It took much longer than she had anticipated to get herself feeling moderately human, and she wasn't entirely convinced it had been worth the effort.

By the time Kali finally arrived at the Colosseum, everyone was already there. She ignored Ares when he grunted "you're late" and jumped into the group running around the arena. She normally kept to an easy jog, sticking with Jem and Carl near the middle. She had thought it was to pace herself to get all the way through Ares' warmup. But she wondered if she had just been lazy. Her friends looked worried, but she ignored them and pushed herself into a run.

The three students in Kali's class that worked hardest were Hannah, Ryan, and Duncan. Hannah and Ryan wanted their dad's approval, and the only sure-fire way to win Ares' affection was through combat prowess. Duncan was Athena's, and he had a genuine interest in different combat theories and practices. He wanted to learn, so he worked hard. They were the ones that always led the group, so Kali decided that her target going forward was to keep up with them.