Dark Frost (Mythos Academy #3)(18)
Author: Jennifer Estep

Of course, when I’d kissed Logan a few weeks ago, I’d flashed on him and basically absorbed all of his fighting skills. Using my psychometry magic to see and tap into Logan’s memories and make them my own was how I’d kept Preston from killing us, but I never used my magic or Logan’s prowess against him while we were sparring. I wanted to develop some fighting skills of my own, something it finally seemed like I was doing.

I glanced over at Kenzie and Oliver, who were sprawled across the gym bleachers.

"Time?" I asked.

Kenzie checked his phone. "Two minutes, one second. Up more than a minute from our last session before the break."

"Looking good, Gypsy," Oliver said, grinning and giving me a thumbs-up.

I grinned back. Logan and I headed over to the bleachers. We’d been fighting with swords for half an hour now, and it was time to move on to ranged weapons, like bows, something Kenzie and Oliver used more than Logan did. While Kenzie and Logan set up the archery target and decided what kind of bow we’d practice with today, I walked over to where Oliver sat texting on his phone.

"So," I asked the Spartan. "How was your holiday?"

"Good," he said. "Lots of food, lots of family stuff, you know, the usual."

"And did you meet anyone cute over break?"

Oliver looked down at his phone, and a blush started to stain his cheeks. "Maybe."

I smiled. "Really? That’s great! You’ll have to give me all the juicy details."

Oliver shook his head and ran his fingers through his sandy blond hair. "I think it’s too soon for that. I mean, I’m not dating the guy yet or anything. Besides, I still have feelings for Kenzie."

Oliver glanced over at his best friend, who was debating the merits of different types of crossbows with Logan. Kenzie didn’t make my heart pound like Logan did, but he was cute in his own right, with his glossy black hair and dark eyes. Before the holiday break, I’d learned that Oliver had a serious, serious crush on him, though Kenzie, who was not g*y, had no idea.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked in a soft voice.

Oliver shook his head. "Nah. I’ll get over Kenzie, really, I will. It will just take some time." Another grin creased his face. "Maybe you’d like to talk, say, about that pretty new necklace you’re wearing? How are things with you and Logan?"

I ran my fingers over the silver strands wrapped around my throat. My gaze went to Logan, who was still talking to Kenzie. "It’s complicated. I mean, we didn’t exactly get a chance to talk yesterday, you know?"

Oliver’s face darkened. "I know. Logan called Kenzie and me last night and told us what had happened. I can’t believe the Reapers attacked the coliseum like that just because they thought the Helheim Dagger might be there. That was vicious, even for them."

I was about to answer him when one of the doors at the far end of the gym creaked open and three kids stepped inside-two girls and a guy.

They stood in the doorway, eyes wide, peering into the gym like they were expecting to see something really cool inside. I glanced around, wondering what they could be so interested in, but the gym looked the same as it always did. Championship banners in fencing, archery, and other sports dangling from the high ceiling, wooden bleachers jutting out from two of the walls, several racks of weapons stacked up against one another.

But the kids must have seen what they were looking for because the three of them walked forward, their shoes scuffing on the thick mats that covered most of the floor.

"Who are they?" I asked. "And what do you think they’re doing here?"

Oliver glanced over at them. "Some first-year students. I’m not sure what their names are, but I’ve seen them around campus."

At Mythos, the students ranged from the first-years, who were sixteen, all the way up to the sixth-years, who were twenty-one. The upper-class students mixed and socialized, but nobody had much to do with the first-years, not even the kids in my class, who were only a year or so older.

The three kids tiptoed forward and took seats on the bleachers a few feet away from Oliver and me. Then, they just sat there, staring at us like they were waiting for something amazing to happen. I noticed the guy was carrying a staff in addition to his backpack, while the girls both had scabbards that held swords. Nothing unusual there. Practically all the kids took their weapon of choice to classes with them. At Mythos, your weapon told everyone what kind of warrior you were, what kind of magic you had, and what you could do with it, and the swords, staffs, and bows were status symbols just as much as having the latest phone or laptop.

Logan and Kenzie finished setting up the archery target and headed back to the bleachers. Logan looked at the kids, then at Oliver and me. We both shrugged. We didn’t know who they were or what they wanted. Usually, it was just the four of us in the gym this early in the morning before classes started.

"Do you guys need something?" Logan asked.

"Oh, we thought we would, um, watch you," one of the girls said. "Someone told us that Logan Quinn trains every morning in the gym. That’s you, right?"

Logan frowned. "Yeah, but why would you guys want to watch me? It’s just weapons training. The same stuff we do in gym class every day."

"Because you killed Reapers at the coliseum yesterday," the guy explained, his eyes bright with excitement. "How awesome was it? I mean, actually getting to fight them? I bet it was supercool."

His words unleashed a flood of memories, and for a moment, I was back at the coliseum. The image of the Reaper stabbing Carson flashed through my mind, while Daphne’s screams echoed in my head. And the blood-all the blood that had splashed everywhere. The coppery stench of it filled my nose. My stomach twisted, and my heart pounded as if it had all just happened a second ago.

"Awesome?" I snapped. "It wasn’t awesome at all. It was hard and scary and dangerous, and I thought I was going to throw up the whole time. There was nothing awesome about it, and if you think there was, then you’re an idiot."

The guy’s mouth fell open, and he let out a huff. "Oh, please, you’re just jealous you didn’t kill as many Reapers as Logan did. I heard you just got one, while he killed, like, a dozen."

A dozen? Where was he getting that ridiculous number from? Logan had only killed two Reapers-not a dozen. Actually, Daphne had taken out the most Reapers, since the Valkyrie had killed three of them.

"Is that little punk impugning your fighting skills?" Vic muttered. "Why don’t we go show him who’s boss, eh, Gwen?"

I gripped Vic tighter, muffling the sound of his voice, but his words only made me that much angrier. So much so that I didn’t realize I’d taken a menacing step forward until I felt Logan’s hand on my arm.