Chapter 248
“Oh, put me down,” I sigh, defeated, going limp and smacking at Jackson’s back as Jesse and Rafe likewise step aside, checking in on each other, speaking softly. “I’m shamed enough by my lack of athleticism, you don’t have to rub it in.”
“You did very good today,” Jacks lies, setting me back down on my feet and slipping his hands into his pockets, I think to avoid the urge to touch me more, to pull me in tight against him like I very much want him to.
My wolf howls sharply at being so denied and I sigh, grinning at my mate. But then I glance at my brother, deep in conversation with my cousin, and step closer to Jackson. “So, what was that about?”
“Rafe was in a mood,” Jacks says casually, glancing over at him. “We talked it out.”
“Well?” I press, stepping even closer and peering up at him eagerly. “What did he say?”
“Um, he said it’s a bro secret,” Jacks says, his face breaking into a brilliant grin. “And that I don’t have to tell you everything. And that he and I are allowed to have privacy, because we’re friends, without you butting in.”
I scoff, aghast, even as – secretly, inwardly – I’m thrilled to see the pair of them growing closer. But still – the great sin of denying me gossip deserves immediate punishment. I pitch forward, giving Jacks a hearty shove that, as usual, doesn’t make him budge at all. “Jacks! That’s so unfair! I tell you everything!”
“Which is your choice, Clark,” Jacks says, smirking at me as he works hard to keep his hands in his pockets, knowing that public displays of affection are forbidden. Even though I can tell that it’s killing him a little bit right now.
“You’ll pay for this.” I growl, leaning forward with my hands on my hips, glaring up into his face.
“Can’t wait,” he counters, leaning forward until our faces are quite close. Much closer than they should be. My breath hitches a little in my chest.
“If you two are done being…weird,” Jesse calls over to us, and we both turn towards him with guilty smiles. “Then shall we go to class? We’re running late, since two of the four of us decided to go on an emotional journey.”
Rafe laughs but smacks Jesse on the shoulder, heading inside. I grin, glad to see my brother in a better mood – because we all knew something was up this morning. I turn my smile on Jackson as we follow the pair of them into the castle, glad that he was there for my brother, glad that he apparently helped.
“What do you have going on today?” Jacks asks, returning my smile.
But unfortunately, it’s precisely the wrong question to ask. My smile drops immediately into a scowl as we enter the elevator after Rafe and Jesse. “Marksmanship,” I say with a sigh. “I’m crazy nervous about it.”
“Why?” Jacks asks, frowning at me and wrapping a warm arm around my shoulders after the doors shut and we have a moment of relative privacy. “You’re a great shot and the Captain likes you – he bet on you. You made him a bunch of money.”
“My inheritance,” Jesse sighs, mockingly mournful. I grin at him, but then look back to Jacks.
“I just…want to be good at it,” I say with a sigh. “And now that I’m the only student, I feel a great deal of pressure. I know I’m being irrational, I’m just…nervous.”
“You’ll be great,” Jacks says, giving me a squeeze and a kiss on my hair just before the doors open on his floor. “Stay confident! You’ll shoot better if you’re confident!”
Then he gives me a final grin before turning and walking away down the hall, waving over his shoulder as he goes.
“Look at him, learning to wave goodbye when he leaves,” Jesse murmurs as the elevator doors slide shut. “Becoming so cultured.”
“Yeah, he’s doing good,” Rafe says fondly, his eyes still on the doors.
And I step close to my brother, happy and pleased that he’s found a real friend in my mate.
When I get to the gym where we usually hold the sniping-track classes, the Captain is waiting for me. But to my surprise, he immediately hefts a bag with a thick fabric strap up onto his shoulder when he sees me, lifting his chin towards the door.
“Back out,” he says, a tiny smile deepening one corner of his mouth. “We’ve got a new spot for you, Clark.”
“Oh,” I say, stepping aside quickly so he doesn’t bowl me over as strides out the door. And then I quickly follow as he moves down the hall, doing my best to stay at his side even if it means that I have to do a ridiculous little trot instead of a walk. “Where are we going?”
“Outside,” the Captain says, glancing down at me. “I’m making the call, Shrimp. Your training record thus far suggests that you should focus on one weapon – and that you can handle it.”
My eyes light up as I glance down again at the bag over his shoulder, thrilled suddenly, dying to know what’s in there.
But the captain’s rich laugh brings my eyes back up to him as he pushes a door open and we step out into the sunshine. “Don’t get too excited, Princess,” he murmurs, shaking his head and beginning to stride across the field with me in tow. “Your training is about to get very, very monotonous.”
Desperate to know what he means by that, I follow quickly as the Captain leads us over to one side of the field with what looks like…god, I don’t know, a telephone pole? With a big flat wooden deck on top? As we go, we talk quietly about my missing comrades – both of whom he informs me failed the Chemistry exam, to my chagrin – as well as the need for snipers within our nation.
“As you can thus imagine,” the captain says, slowing his pace a little as we approach the pole. “Your training in this field is very important to us, Clark. I fought hard for Neumann to pass one of the other boys through, but he refused – said he wouldn’t have a dummy in his classroom or up in the blinds.”
I frown, glancing upwards, wondering if that’s what this is – a blind.
“Welp,” The Captain says, giving my shoulder a little shove towards the pole, which has metal spokes sticking out on either side. “Up you go, Cadet.”
My eyes go wide as I return them to him. “Me? All the way up there?”
“What,” the captain says, laughing at me a little. “You’re not scared of heights, are you?”
I scowl a little, because the truth is that I am, just a little bit – they make my knees go wobbly. But, well, I guess it’s time to get over that. I reach out for the first handle but before I do, the Captain stops me and slings the bag over my shoulder. I stumble backwards a little bit at the weight and he laughs at me.
“Gonna have to get used to that,” he says with a happy sigh. Then he gives my shoulder another friendly shove and I start up the pole, pulling myself up arm over arm, step by step, secretly grateful to Rafe and Jesse for making me do so many pull-ups.
When I get to the stop, my arms are shaking both from the strain and also, a bit, from the dizzying height. I mean, I’m probably not even that high up…but god, it feels like it, on this tiny platform that only has a single very flimsy-looking rail all around it.
I quickly scoot backwards on my butt to make room for the Captain, who follows behind me. “W-why are we so high up?” I ask, reaching anxiously for the rail to steady myself.
“Because,” the captain answers, looking at me evenly as he pulls his whole body up onto the platform and sits as casually as if he’s having a picnic in a meadow. “The grounds around Atalaxia where the majority of the fighting is happening right now are rigid and cliffy with lots of vantage points that make it quite auspicious for a sniper – especially one who can shoot far and from great heights. I’d usually start a young Cadet like you on the ground, but if we have to send you to the front, I want you trained in the kinds of shooting that will best benefit the cause.”
I look at the Captain seriously and give a single nod, letting him know that I understand, that I’ll work hard at it.
“Good,” he says simply, turning his attention back to the package in front of him. I lean forward, eager, as he unzips it.
And when he finally pushes the canvas back?
Immediately I let go of the rail, forgetting all about my fear of heights. Because what’s inside…god, it’s just so…pretty.
