One Life

FOUR

. . .

. . .SLEEP DOESN'T COME easy. Even with a bedroom somehow far more grandiose than my own, with silk bedding and homey red, white and gold decor surrounding me, I spend the night tossing and turning as if I were sleeping on a bed of nails.

I hear Zidia's warning echo. See Kane's clouded, terrified eyes meeting mine. Feel the nerves of what tomorrow will bring creep up in an unwelcome embrace. Everything I expected from the One Life Competition seemed to screech to a halt, turning and running in the other direction. What do I do now?

I wish I could talk to Father, or Tala, even. Father would know what to do. Tala would be an excellent complaint outlet, being a complaining machine herself. She might even crack a good joke and make it all feel better. But they're not here, and I'm left to my own devices on how to reset my course.

I'm not sure what time it is when my mind finally silences, but I wake up with my hair in disarray and the feeling that I weigh a thousand pounds.

A team of stylists enter my room and laugh at my groggy state before laying out my clothes for the day: a training suit for the morning, and a white dress and traditional Sunstar headpiece for the evening promo shoots and dinner. I change out of the pyjamas provided by the staff and into my training suit. Then, after a tense breakfast with Nox and Nymisa—who is apparently eager to get to know her new teammate despite his crude standoffishness—we make our way in an elevator to the training centre on the building's top floor.

The elevator doors open to reveal a top-class gym similar to the one at the Sol Academy. There are all sorts of spaces to practise different abilities, with obstacle courses, target stations, free sparring spaces, and a wall filled with different weapons. Nox and I aren't too awestruck, but Nymisa is astounded.

"My school had an empty classroom for training," she gawks. "This place has—"

"Your school sounds embarrassing," grunts Nox.

Nymisa frowns pointedly at him. "That's not polite. I'd like an apology."

Nox laughs. "Sure. I don't know what it's like on your side of the Aura, but this is the Onasa. If you're going to be my partner, you'll need to grow some teeth."

Nymisa isn't too bothered by his rudeness and heads further into the gym. Nox glances at me irately, probably as miserable about the switch as I am. We haven't been able to talk about it yet.

All of the Onaian contestants are already here, and most of the Vaelis besides Griffin, Gwen and... Kane. Across the gym Odessa and Helios are shooting fireblasts at each other while Cyra and Jameson watch like hungry hyaenas, eager to get their turn. Joaquin stands at the side impatiently, seemingly trying to talk to Odessa and failing. Donatella shoots a knife at the target wall and slows time to re-aim it mid-shot. It still misses.

Delphi scales an obstacle course slowly. Teros climbs after, grabs her arm and sends her over the side, fast asleep. He snickers and continues working.

Nobody is working with their new partners.

"This is bullshit," Nox grumbles in my ear, watching Nymisa fiddle with a set of nunchucks on the weaponry wall and drop them. "We've trained our whole lives for this, only to get stuck with idiot Vaelis who haven't had real food in a week. I say you and I ditch our partners and team up."

The idea makes my chest swell with optimism until reality slams its weight back down like a sledgehammer. "Only partners can win together, or one person alone. That can't happen."