Riza

“And you just let her go?” Bren’s voice rose over the clatter of dishes.

I shushed him.

He dipped his head and glanced around, but everyone was too busy with their breakfast to pay us any attention.

“Why were you out there so late anyway?” he asked in a lower voice.

I prodded my mashed potatoes. “Couldn’t sleep.”

And I’d spent the rest of the night lying awake in bed, thinking over how stupid I’d been. Any moment the alarm could sound, telling everyone of the break-in. I had not only violated curfew, but I was seen near the site. What excuses would I make when they brought me in for questioning?

“Okay…” Bren continued carefully, “so someone sneaked his girl in. It happens.”

I had found her near the library, which was next to the records office. If she broke into either one of these, it couldn’t mean anything good. But the commissary was right across the square too. I ran a hand through my short hair, ruffling it. Not every civilian trespassing on a military base was a thief, right?

I shook my head. “Too far from the dorms for a visit.”

Bren shrugged. “Remember that one time…” his gaze trailed to the back of the room.

I gave him a look. Of course I remembered. It was all they talked about for a year. One time someone decided to fool around in the cafeteria. They got caught. We had trackers among the patrol and the girl was bad at concealing her presence. Punishment was swift. The student was publicly lashed and then assigned a month of labour without pay. The girl was arrested, questioned, and released after her family paid a hefty fine.

But she wasn’t an elemental…

“What’s the matter?” Bren asked.

I let out a sigh and continued to play with the potatoes on my plate. “Nothing.”

How could I check if something was missing? Where would I even begin? What would I do if I found something?

“Oh no, you don’t get to pull that one on me.” Bren’s mismatched brown eyes bore into me. “Spill.”

I blew out a breath. “I think she may have been an unregistered.”

He inhaled a sharp breath. “You should’ve led in with that.” His brows pinched in concern. “Did you report it?” I shook my head, and he cursed. “Kal, you know better.”

I exhaled a frustrated breath. “I know, I froze. And then she was gone.”

His lips pressed into a line as he silently judged me.

Elementals had to register, no exceptions. Anyone with a power that could affect their immediate surroundings and harm innocent people was a hazard. Concealing such powers was irresponsible. The Governance helped manage risk by issuing wristbands that tempered physical abilities.

The girl from last night didn’t have a registration band, and she couldn’t have jumped or climbed the wall so fast with normal strength.

“Maybe she was acting out a dare,” I muttered.

We had plenty of unsupervised youth in these parts, and they tended to get themselves into the stupidest of situations. That was the most frequent type of report we had to process and file.

Bren cocked a brow. “Don’t change the subject. She was unregistered.”

“I don’t know that for sure,” I muttered, resisting the urge to keep grinding my beans into mush.

“What if she took something? What if she was a saboteur? What if…” I tuned out as he listed every possibility and its consequence. I’d already gone through all of them myself.

She was young, so maybe her powers had just manifested.

“She doesn’t deserve what trespassers get,” I retorted, interrupting his ceaseless stream of speculations. And if she was unregistered… “They’d make an example out of her.”

Bren crossed his arms, but he didn’t contradict me.

‘Tell you what,’ he said to me mentally. ‘Forget it ever happened. If anyone asks, you spent the night sleeping.’

‘But…’ It was my duty to report her, especially after that guard had seen me.

‘You know how much trouble you’ll get into,’ he said, his eyes locking on mine. ‘Even if she did nothing.’

How much damage could a girl her size do? We didn’t have any sensitive information on-site, and all weaponry was behind metal doors on the opposite side of the compound. I rubbed my temples. The lack of sleep and ceaseless churning thoughts made my head pound.

“Man,” Bren chuckled after a moment, “she must have been pretty. You do stupid things for a pretty face.”

I crossed my arms. “That’s not true.”

He leaned back, watching me with an arched brow. “No? What about what’s-her-face, blondie? A few cute words and she had you running the field to exhaustion.”

I pouted. “That’s different.”

“Uh-huh. You didn’t even get anything out of it.” He watched me for a moment and then sighed. “Your secret’s safe with me, but next time you decide to take a night walk, keep me in the loop so I can beat some mental sense into you.”

I nodded, finally taking a bite of my mashed potatoes.

“Speaking of beauties,” Bren lowered his voice, “did you see the new girl?” He inclined his head toward the front of the cafeteria.

The girl, who had just walked in, scanned the room and her brows creased in a frown. She gingerly picked up a tray and walked up to the food counter, where she fumbled with the food as she picked out her meal. I hadn’t seen her before, and Bren was right, she was beautiful in that classical southern way — bronze skin, generous curves, soft features, hair the colour of wheat, and eyes like a clear sky. Even though someone had done a hatchet job to cut her hair short, it only emphasised her heart-shaped face.

With her tray now full, she scanned the room again, and then meandered around in search of an empty table. She didn’t greet anyone, nor made eye contact with the people who stared at her curiously. Definitely new.

Bren abandoned his breakfast and circled around to sit on the bench next to me. It was the only way he could keep staring at her when she passed behind him and settled on the lone table by the wall.

“If you like her that much, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

He snapped out of his daydream, looking at me as if I was crazy. “You don’t just walk up to a girl like that.”

I shrugged. “How else will you get to know her?”

He stiffened. “I’ll meet her soon enough.”

We worked in the Registrar’s Office so orientation and question sessions were part of our job.

“Then stop ogling.” I scooped up another forkful, the food somewhat easing my headache.

“I’m not—”

“Yes, you are, and it’s not increasing your chances,” I said between bites.

She was ignoring us now, but I saw the look she threw him as she passed.

He smirked. “Okay then, let me see you do it.”

I rolled my eyes and got up. That wiped the smirk off his face. Despite his desperate attempts to call me back mentally, I made my way across the cafeteria.

“Whatever it is,” the girl said when I stopped by her table, “not interested.” She didn’t even bother to look from her food.

Regardless, I sat down across from her. “You must be used to turning heads,” I joked.

She lifted her eyes and stabbed down her fork with enough force to rattle her plate. As a new recruit, she had likely experienced some of the welcome rituals already. First years had it the worst. It was a part of the process. The upperclassmen delighted in tormenting them, and so far it looked like she was keeping it together. Tough attitude was better than none. But if she really wanted to win, she had to make friends.

I lifted my hands in surrender. “No need for food violence, I just came to say hello.”

Her glare didn’t ease.

“You’re new right?” I asked, keeping my tone light.

She raised a brow. “What gave that away?”

“I’m last year.” I pointed to my stripes, then put on my most serious face. “I’ll be straight with you. You probably get this a lot, but I think a few people including my friend over there,” I jabbed a thumb Bren’s way, “have developed a crush on you.” He was not as stereotypically southern as her, and his fair skin made his beet-red blush obvious across the distance.

She blinked, momentary surprised. It quickly morphed into suspicion. “If that’s the case,” she sat back, regarding me coolly, “why are you the one bothering me?”

I shrugged. “Maybe I want to make a fool of myself so you’ll lower your standards.”

She stifled a laugh but her face lit up with amusement. It made her eyes a darker blue, deep water rather than sky.

“But enough kidding around,” I said. “They don’t give you a welcome package here, and it’s kind of our responsibility to make sure new people can find their way around.” I paused, watching curiosity blossom on her face. “I work at the Registrar’s Office,” I explained, and her eyes lit up in recognition. “They’ll send you over for proper orientation in a few days, but since I saw you here, I thought I would give you the intro.” I went on, explaining what services and facilities were available, where she could find a map of the compound, where our office was and how to contact us.

“You should make some friends at your dorm,” I said. “Banding together makes it easier to get the upperclassmen off your back.”

She raised a brow. “So what you’re saying is that if I hadn’t shown up alone, you wouldn’t be here invading my space?” she said, but her eyes glinted with amusement.

“Probably not.”

Her lips quirked into a smile. “I’ll consider it then.”

“My friend noticed you first,” I gestured back to Bren, “but he’s a little shy.” She glanced at him, her earlier hostility fading. “I’ll help if you need to file any documentation. For all other enquiries, he’s your guy,” I said, and she nodded. “Well, I’ll leave you to your meal.”

She stood with me. “See you around… What did you say your name was?”

I smiled back. “You can call me Kal.” I shook her hand. “And that back there is Bren. We’re both in comms.” Her grip was firm but her skin was soft. She hadn’t seen much combat training.

“Riza,” she said as she let go. “Just started in the med corps.” She tucked a stray lock of blond hair behind an ear.

That explained it. “If you need anything, come over to the office. You can ask for me or Bren.” With a nod ‘goodbye’, I let her be.

Riza saw me off with another smile, and I felt her gaze on my shoulder as I walked back to Bren.

He threw up his hands when I settled down in his old spot. “You’re unbelievable.”

I swapped our trays and continued my meal. “It’s not that hard. You just need to be polite.” With my appetite restored, the everyday menu of potatoes and beans in various forms had taken a new appeal.

Bren groaned. “I don’t know how you do it.” He took a small bite of his bread. “I’m supposed to be the charming one.” He chewed, pouting.

Bren could put people in a better mood and make them more agreeable with whatever he was suggesting. As long as he was touching them anyway. In the spectrum of mental influences that wasn’t exceptional, but most everyday situations didn’t need more.

I shrugged. “You’ve got a lot to learn from me.”

He looked ready to smack me. Instead, he shook his head and turned back to his food. “There’s still time to pick another partner,” he muttered.

I laughed. “You’re about two years late.”

He looked up, smiling. “I always knew you would be trouble.”

I picked up my fork, brandishing it like a knife. “And that is why you picked me.”

We both laughed.

Someone slammed into me from behind and I almost landed face-first in my food.

“I’d watch who I associate with,” Evander said in a low voice, “don’t forget your place.”

My grip on the fork tightened, but I didn’t turn. Ignoring him usually made him lose interest. Yet he remained hovering.

A hand landed on my shoulder. “You hear what I said?”

Bren glared at him from across the table. “Back off.”

The two of them quietly glared at each other for a moment, then Evander huffed and moved on.

Bren met my eyes over the table once he was gone. “You should give him a piece of your mind next time he bothers you,” he said for what must be the hundredth time. “He backs off real fast after a good punch.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like you would get into a fight.”

“That’s my point.” Bren set his fork down. “The threat alone is enough. I’m not stupid enough to get into an actual fight with him.” He glanced over to where Evander had joined his groupies at their table. “Not if I want to show my face in the Capital one day. But,” he leaned over the table, “don’t tell anyone, Evan is not the bravest fellow,” he said with a perfectly straight face, making me laugh. “It’s not hard to scare him off when he drifts too far away from his pack.” He glanced at the group at Evander’s table again.

I studied the bulky intimidators Evander kept around as pets. Easier said than done.

“He’s still dangerous without an entourage.” I sipped from my cup. Brave or not, being able to both influence and intimidate made him formidable in a crowd.

Bren gave me a look. “You’d be surprised what a few right words at the right moment can do.”

I raised a brow. “And where do your right words go when a certain pretty face shows up?”

Bren stabbed his food with his fork, pouting. “You’re funny...”