Chapter 66

Rowena

The gymnasium erupted with cheers and applause as the announcer's voice boomed over the speakers, signaling the start of the cheerleading ceremony. My gaze instinctively drifted towards Eric, standing tall and proud amongst the victorious warriors from our camp.

A pang of sadness tugged at my heart as I realized that, according to the rules of the competition, he would soon be allowed to select one of the winning cheerleaders to accompany him on a date to an upcoming dance.

It was only natural, I supposed—he was our camp’s top warrior after all, and had proven his prowess by securing victory in the final team round.

Still, the thought of Eric going on a date with one of the overly made-up, giggly cheerleaders left a bitter taste in my mouth. What did I expect, though? He was a skilled, desirable warrior in the prime of his life.

Of course the cheerleaders would be fawning all over him.

Just picturing the cheerleaders being with him made my gut twist. I quickly looked away, my cheeks flushing red at the thought. He’s my brother, I thought to myself as I busied myself with putting away the medical supplies I had used to help Liam get to the infirmary. Emma was still with him, fawning over his broken wrist.

I tried to shake the melancholy thoughts out of my mind as the first group of cheerleaders took their positions on the mat, moving through their rehearsed routine with feline grace. Their movements were quick and snappy, punctuated by bright smiles and gestures that were clearly aimed at catching the eyes of the warriors.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Eric speaking with Alex off to the side, the two warriors shaking hands after what appeared to be a sincere conversation. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

I had noticed how Eric had essentially ignored Alex during their team game, no doubt assuming that he wasn’t worth the effort given his lower status as a warrior. Maybe Eric had realized that he was wrong in that assumption.

My smile faltered, however, when Eric suddenly broke away from Alex and began making his way towards me through the crowd. A swirl of nerves danced in the pit of my stomach as he drew nearer, his eyes locking with mine in that intense, unwavering way that never failed to set my heart racing.

I quickly looked away, my hands moving of their own accord in the medical supply bag—as though that would somehow hide the redness that was creeping into my own cheeks.

“Hey,” he said simply as he reached my side, arching an inquisitive eyebrow at me. “You got a minute?”

“I’m supposed to be watching in case anyone gets hurt.”

Eric sighed. “You’ve already done enough by helping that warrior earlier,” he said. “Surely you can talk for just a minute.”

I nodded mutely, my throat feeling strangely constricted as I rose to my feet and followed him towards a relatively secluded alcove near the back of the gymnasium. As soon as we were out of earshot of the others, I turned around to face him, planting my hands on my hips as if that would somehow give me the confidence that I lacked.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked.

Eric drew in a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck, and glanced over at where Alex was now sitting on the bleachers with his friends. I knew what this was about.

“This is about Alex, isn’t it?” I asked. “I saw how you and Adrian both ignored him earlier. You’re both lucky that your haughty attitudes didn’t cost you the match. Not to mention the fact that you and Adrian hardly treated each other like teammates, either.”

I wish they had, I thought to myself as my gaze drifted toward the cheerleaders, who were still doing their routine to the beat of a pop song. I swallowed and quickly looked back at Eric, reminding myself that he was my brother, and that I was in no place to stop him from going on a date.

To his credit, Eric didn’t try to deflect or make excuses. He simply nodded in response to my scolding, his expression solemn. “You’re right. I already apologized to Alex for misjudging him, but as for Adrian…” He shook his head, his jaw tensing. “I’m sorry, Rowena, but after what he did to you, I just can’t bring myself to view him as a teammate. I don’t care about cooperating with that asshole.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the unexpected vehemence in his tone—and the surprising flare of what felt like excitement that blossomed in my chest at his staunch defense of me. Still, as a combat manager in training, I couldn’t let it go unaddressed.

“Eric,” I said carefully, “I appreciate you looking out for me, I really do. But in the heat of battle, you have to put personal feelings aside for the good of the team. You know that.”

A slight smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. “Going all combat manager on me, are you?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’m being serious, Eric. You should know better at this point in your training.”

His shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly, and he finally nodded. “You’re right,” he murmured, letting out a slow breath. “I’ll... try to do better about that in the future.”

A heavy silence stretched between us then. My gaze drifted first across his downcast blue eyes, then his sweat-caked blond hair, and then past him, toward the cheerleaders who had just finished their routine and were now clearing off of the mats to make way for our team.

Finally, Eric seemed to shake himself out of his reverie, his eyes drifting downwards to study my strangely healed ankle.

“How is your ankle feeling?” he asked, taking a small step closer. “May I...?”

My heart did a flip but I nodded again, sitting on a nearby bleacher. I bent to roll up the leg of my pants so he could get a better look. Eric crouched in front of me, his fingers trailing over the area that had previously been swollen and discolored.

A shiver raced up my spine at the sensation of his warm fingers against my skin. It didn’t hurt anymore, surprisingly.

“It’s much better,” I managed, silently willing my pulse to steady itself. “I’m not sure what happened, exactly. One minute I could barely put any weight on it, and the next…” I trailed off with a helpless shrug. “I guess the adrenaline of seeing that warrior get hurt must have kicked in and made me temporarily forget about the pain.”

Eric hummed pensively, continuing his careful examination of my ankle. After a few moments, he met my gaze again, his expression unreadable.

“Or…” he said slowly, “it could be something else.”

I arched a questioning eyebrow. “Like what?”

Before he could respond, a sudden wave of cheers from the crowd drew both of our attention back towards the mat. Our team—Heather’s team—had begun their routine.

I couldn’t help but watch, transfixed, as Heather was thrown into the air by her teammates. She arched her back perfectly, her slender limbs outstretched like a beautiful bird in flight.

Eric was transfixed, too.