Soulbroken Read online

  The Headmaster was sitting behind his large desk, peering over his square spectacles at a letter, scribbled on parchment and featuring the official seal of the Zettai Council—the political leaders of Skilled society. It was an intimating thing to see, that seal, but maybe that was just because of who the Zettai Council were, and what they represented. That group of Barrons and Healers had, after all, been in charge of all matters concerning Skilled society for hundreds of years. The original Council was comprised of highly trained, highly influential Skilled people, and now their great-great-grandchildren, just as well-trained and influential, made up the Council. Their word was law. In Skilled society, their word was everything.

  As I approached, Quill folded the letter and slid it inside one of the drawers to his right. I couldn't help but wonder what it might have said, but I bit my tongue bitterly and waited for him to speak. He waved at one of the chairs nearest me. It was only then that I noticed the tears in his uniform, the still-healing bruises on his neck, and the dried blood on his forehead. Quill had been fighting. And after he'd fought, his Healer had made him well before he hurried back here to attend to business that needed attending to, despite the war torn battlefield that the academy had just become. I had misjudged him. "Sit, Kaya. Please."

  Despite mistaking him for a coward, and feeling badly that I had, I hissed my next words at him. I wanted answers. I deserved answers. "I want to know about Darius, Headmaster. You had to know he was a Barron and not one of the Unskilled. And I think you knew that he was my Soulbound Barron. I want to know if you had any idea that we were Soulbound before you sent me that letter, and forced me to come here. And I want to know now."

  The bruising on his neck shifted from bluish-purple to yellowish-green. The look in his eyes said that I was toeing a line that I'd best back off from. "You are in no position to make demands. Now sit."

  It was difficult to take his direction, to lower myself into that seat, but I did sit, slowly, my entire being engulfed in anger and betrayal. "Why would you have me Bound to Trayton, knowing that I was Soulbound to Darius? It doesn't make any sense."

  "STOP TALKING!" His shout was booming and echoed into the room, so loudly that I wondered whether it had rattled the books on the shelves around us. I sat back in my chair, eyes wide, mouth shut. For the moment, anyway.

  My arms ached from swinging my katana in battle. It was a good ache. A just ache. An ache with reason and good sense. I was happy to hurt for a worthy cause. But it did make me pause. Where was my katana now? A warrior was no good without her weapon. But then I remembered dropping it to the ground when I saw that Darius had been so terribly injured. He'd been dying, and all I'd wanted at the time was to save him, to help him if I could. And help him I had.

  My katana was still, as far as I knew, lying on the battlefield. If it were a living thing, I'd wager it would be as confused and angry as I was. Abandoned and alone, covered in blood. We were too similar at this moment. But then we were one, after all--my katana and I.

  Headmaster Quill had relaxed back in his chair and laced his chubby fingers together, resting his palms on his round belly. He eyed me for a long time before speaking, and when he did, it was with a calm, curious tone--not his usual judgment. "Miss Oshiro, it seems that we have an issue that must be immediately dealt with. You forget your place--again--and it is my duty to remind you of just that."

  He was referring, of course, to that fact that I'd been on the battlefield instead of watching from the sidelines and twiddling my thumbs like a good little Healer. I blew out a snort. "Word travels fast around here."

  "It does when someone is a repeat offender." He stared at me for a long, silent moment--one in which I wasn't sure where to focus my attention. On his beady little eyes, on the desk between us, on the door to the outside world. After a while, he spoke again, right after I'd decided not to tear my gaze away from his. It was a sign of weakness, after all, to move your eyes from your enemy's. And Quill was that, no matter what anyone might tell me about him. "Must I, once again, Miss Oshiro, point out the fact that you were born a Healer, and as such, are tasked with healing? It seems painfully obvious to me, but it's apparently something of which you are incapable of comprehending without repeated reminders."

  "Oh, I'm well aware of the word scribbled on my birth certificate, Headmaster. Much in the way that I had been made so well aware that my Soulbound Barron had died." At my mention of his lie, we locked eyes, and I stood my ground. "We are more than a label deems us to be."

  The air around us was thick and heavy, and for a moment, we both drank it in, knowing that we would never be more than enemies, and that one of us was a liar. Maybe both of us. After all, I had lied about my training sessions with Darius, and I'd lied again when I let him and Trayton believe that I would walk away from my right to protect myself. But if I was a liar, at least I was the better of the two of us, at least I was the lesser of two evils.

  "For a Healer, fighting is a serious offence, Kaya. And since this is the second time that we've had to have a conversation about your role as a Healer, I'm afraid that you must be made to understand precisely how serious an offence this is." He sat forward at last, and peered meaningfully at me over the rims of his glasses. "Have you heard from your parents recently?"

  "You know I haven't." My heart seized. Was he doing what I thought he was doing? I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is that a threat, Headmaster? Because I don't appreciate threats."

  He pushed his chair back hard and stood, pointing a finger at me. His face flushed bright red, and for a moment, I stumbled, surprised that so much fury could be contained inside such an unassuming form. "And I don't appreciate disobedient students! I will do whatever it takes, Miss Oshiro, to get you to comprehend the fact that these rules, the rules against Healers going to battle, were put in place in order to protect people--namely, Healers. Even with the training that Darius has illegally afforded you--"

  "You knew that we would be drawn to one another, so that's pretty much your fault, if you think about it."

  He paused, and during his pause, the corner of his mouth twitched in irritation. After taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, ignoring my interruption, he started again. "Even with the training that Darius has illegally afforded you, you are more of a liability on the battleground than an asset. Healers weren't made to fight. They were made to heal, and you'd just better get used to the idea."

  Anger and complete insult burned on the edges of me. It was all I could do not to stand up and punch that man dead in the face.

  Quill adjusted the glasses on the end of his nose. His skin returned to a normal flesh color. As he returned to his seat, he spoke again, but this time without the venom. "As punishment for training you, Darius will be transferred to Darkmoon Academy immediately. You, however, will be required to participate in counseling in order to accept the limitations of being a Healer. You'll also have extra duties."

  "I don't mind the rose gardens." The words had left my lips before I'd noticed, but the moment I did, I regretted saying them.

  The left corner of Quill's mouth lifted in a smirk. He scribbled something on a stack of papers to his left, but I couldn't make out his hurried handwriting well enough to read what he wrote. "Which is precisely why you won't be serving your extra duties there any longer. You'll now report here, to my office, every day following your classes, to assist me in whatever way I require at the time."

  Sinking down in my seat, I cursed myself for giving voice to anything at all that might assist in Quill's punishment. What the fak was I thinking? Might as well tell him that I enjoy breathing air, and then hand him something to suffocate me with.

  He finished scribbling and then flipped the paper over, so that I couldn't bother translating his scribbles. Then he met my gaze once again. "Being that this is your second offence, you will come under review by the Zettai Council, but not for some time, as there are certain things that take precedence over a student's rule-breaking. Such as Instructor Baak's betra
yal. But the moment your review is due, I'll be certain to inform you."

  At the mention of my former teacher, an image passed through my mind. The image was of Instructor Baak's wild, insane eyes during her last moments of life. Perhaps against my good sense, I wondered aloud, "About Instructor Baak. Exactly how could such a seemingly loyal Healer switch loyalties to King Darrek without the Council noticing?"

  "That is none of your concern. What is of your concern is how you'll be removing the layers of dust from each of my bookshelves this week. Nothing more." He looked from me to the door over my shoulder and back. "Good day, Miss Oshiro."

  Sitting forward in my seat, I fought to keep calm. "What about Darius and I, Headmaster? Why didn't anyone tell me that he and I are Soul--"

  "I said good day, Miss Oshiro. I have other issues to attend to--organizing the Master Healers' recovery efforts, corpse disposal, addressing the repairs to the wall and south gate-- "

  "Then why stop in the middle of all of that? Why come here just to be a dek to me?!" I was standing now, but I couldn't recall having actually stood. My palms were pressed against his desktop and my chest was heaving.

  Concentrating on another random paper, he scribbled something on it that I didn't care to read, and sighed, as if our conversation had ended minutes ago and I hadn't quite figured that out yet. "Because the Zettai Council insisted I drop everything and do so. Not that I understand why. You're just a brat who can't do as you're told."

  Was that all that I was? Was that how Quill really viewed me? Because I was much more dangerous than he had any clue. "I want answers, Quill. And if you don't give me answers, I'm going to expose the fact that Darius and I are Soulbound, and you knew the entire time."

  "And the moment after you do, I'll send my guards to make you an orphan."

  My heart all but stopped. He meant it. He really meant it. If I uttered a word, he was going to have my parents killed. I stood there, stammering, not knowing what to say, and hating that I was appearing so weak and helpless in front of the likes of Quill.

  "Two can play at this game, Miss Oshiro. Now good day." His face was flushing red again, despite the calm timbre of his voice, and I knew that he wouldn't discuss the fact that Darius and I were Soulbound. Which meant that he had known all along that Darius was actually a Barron, and that Trayton was being Bound to someone who was still Soulbound to another. But why?

  My jaw tightened, and a hundred insults came to mind, but I gave voice to none of them. What good would it do? It was a fruitless effort to try to garner any information about this from Quill. Besides, I had more important things to attend to. Like Darius, and exactly why he never told me that we were Soulbound.

  I opened the door and stepped outside to find Edmond waiting and the head guard nowhere in sight. Thankful for such a small miracle, I met Edmond's gaze, wishing that it were Maddox that I was speaking to. I missed Maddox, missed having her as my guard. And right now, I very much needed her at my side. I wondered if she 'd been injured at all, or killed in battle, and I hoped beyond hope that she was okay. I had to find her, to know that Tril was still a better place for having her in it. But first, I had answers to get. "Is there anywhere in particular you're supposed to escort me right now, Edmond?"

  Edmond shook his head. "Not until dinner time. Everyone's been ordered to assist with clean-up. Of course, your assistance is limited to within the walls of the Academy."

  Of course. Couldn't have me wandering around unfettered. I might do something useful, like chop off a Graplar's head before it had a chance to eat someone. "Has Darius returned from the battlefield yet?"

  He nodded, and for the first time, I noticed the hint of his Trace peeking out from behind his bangs. It was black. I wondered briefly what had become of his Healer, and why he'd never spoken of them. But then, Edmond was a man of few words. "I saw him heading into his cabin just a moment ago."

  I tugged his sleeve, dragging him after me down the hall, toward the doors to the outside. "Let's go. I have to talk to him."

  My actions were blissfully met without complaint.

  The courtyard was empty, the dead girl's body having been carried off to parts unknown, her blood washed away from the cobblestone completely. But as I moved past the spot where she had laid, my heart ached for her, and for her parents, who'd be crushed by the news of her death. Maybe I could have saved her if I'd been there. Maybe I couldn't have. But the idea that no one had been able to rescue her from such a horrible fate--a fate that Avery had suffered as well not so long ago--troubled me deeply. There were other bodies, of course. Hundreds of bodies. But the image of the girl had stuck with me. Maybe it was because she reminded me of Avery. And of my absolute failure to do anything to protect her.

  I'd just reached Darius's door when a stern voice behind me called out, "He's gone."

  It only took a second for me to turn around, but that second felt as if it stretched on for days. Probably because I'd easily recognized the speaker's voice, and wasn't looking forward to encountering more of that accusing, pained, betrayed tone. When at last I faced Trayton, he said, "Darius is gone. He left just a few moments ago for Darkmoon Academy."

  My hand hesitated on the door knob for a moment, wondering if it was true, if Darius had really left already, and for good, without a word to me. Not that I really believed that Trayton would lie to me. But people did strange things in fits of jealousy, and Trayton was certainly jealous. Whether it was of my Soulbound connection to Darius or our stolen moments together, I wasn't certain. With a sharp breath, I yanked the door open and hurried inside, not knowing what it was that I was expecting to find.

  Darius's room was empty, apart from the simple furniture. Drawers of his desk stood open and hollow. The armoire held no clothing. The bed, where I had sat while Darius had tended my Graplar bite, had been stripped. It was as if he hadn't ever been here. It was as if he'd been erased. The crack in my heart widened to that the size of a chasm.

  A hand closed over my shoulder and spun me around. I hadn't even heard Trayton's feet moving over the cobblestone. When our eyes met, they were full of equal amounts of anger--his for reasons I could only guess, mine for his unprovoked manhandling of me. No one had a right to touch me without permission--that much my parents had taught me. Not even a boy I felt affection for. Especially not him. I shook Trayton off and moved back down the stairs, needing to get away from this place as quickly as I could. "What do you want, Trayton?"

  He sputtered as he followed me into the courtyard, as if there were too many items to list in a single breath. Then he threw his arms up in an exaggerated shrug. "An apology. An explanation. Something!"

  "For what exactly?" I wasn't about to apologize. Not for standing up for myself. Not for fighting in a battle where I was needed. And certainly not for something I had no control over--namely, being Soulbound to Darius.

  Trayton leaned closer, so close that I could feel his breath on my cheeks. It smelled sweet, and I could easily recall a time when his words had been just as sweet. But all sweetness was gone now. Replaced by bitter words, and harsh, undeserved judgment. "You know for what. I saw you, Kaya. I saw you heal him. Don't deny it. How long have you known? Have you always known? Why didn't you tell me before we were Bound? You could have--"

  "I didn't know!" My words came out in a shout, but I hadn't intended for them to. Clutching uselessly at them, as if I could draw them back in and speak them again, I whispered, "I didn't know, Trayton. Do you think I'd do that? That I'd go through with our binding ceremony, knowing that I was..."

  My voice caught in my throat. Soulbound. I was Soulbound. To Darius. I still couldn't quite wrap my head around it.

  Trayton's jaw twitched, and he must have known the word that I'd been about to say. "Well, he's gone now. Forever. He'll never be allowed back at Shadow Academy with this kind of scandal tailing him. So there's that."

  As much as I didn't want for them to, his words hurt. Darius was gone. Forever gone, if Trayton's musings were right. An
d now I might not ever get the answers I so desperately needed. His words hurt for another reason, too. Because Trayton had wanted them to hurt me. The very idea that my Barron could be capable of such cruelty--even in a moment of anger--astounded me. I met his eyes and let my anger fall away. There would be a time for anger, but not now. Not when he was refusing to learn the truth beyond what he'd imagined. "Do you really think that I tricked you? That I lied?"

  His anger melted away for a moment to reveal his heartfelt pain. It hurt me to see it, and I felt immensely guilty at the idea that I had caused him any grief at all. When he spoke, his words were quiet, barely a breath on the wind. "I don't know what to think. I just know that when I crested that hill, the last thing I expected to see was you cradling Darius's head in your hands."

  I shook my head, relieved that the raised, hateful tone he'd been using had dwindled. "He was terribly injured. He was dying. I would have grieved for anyone in his position."

  A pause. Mostly from Trayton. But I hesitated too. Because I knew that what I was saying was only a half-truth.

  He waited for me to speak, to admit to the other half of that truth. When I didn't speak, he did, and each word slashed through my heart like a dagger. His tone wasn't sharp at all, but the words he chose, the words I didn't want to hear, were.

  "But it meant more that it was Darius in your arms. Am I right?"