SWNOVELS Alluring Darkness: Chapter 21
The back of my neck prickles, but I don’t turn around. I already know that Eli is watching me from where he sits with his brothers higher up in the auditorium. Ignoring the way his gaze burns into the back of my head, I instead keep my attention fixed on the stage ahead where Professor Lawson has stepped up to the microphone.
“Good morning,” she says in a cheerful voice. “We are now just under two weeks away from the annual tournament.”
Whoops of excitement ring out from several people in the audience. Including Magda, who is sitting next to me. I steal a glance at her and then the two boys on my left. A wide grin decorates Magda’s usually so serious face. On my other side, Gabriel is giving Professor Lawson his polite boy-next-door smile while Paulo just watches her with his customary unreadable expression.
Apparently, I’m the only one who is outright dreading this bloody tournament. It’s easier to hide how terrible I am at everything when I’m in class. But in an actual competition, when I’m on a team with the Hunters? Everyone will see just how much I suck at everything. And I’m not looking forward to that.
“And do you know what that means?” Professor Lawson continues.
“Team training!” someone yells from the audience.
A ripple of excited laughter follows it.
“Correct.” Lawson hooks her loose brown curls behind her ears and flashes us a glittering smile. “Starting today, we will begin team training. In the mornings, all the way up until lunch, you will have classes as normal. But during the afternoons, you will have time to train as a team. What you choose to spend that time on is up to you.”
It takes great effort not to groan. I know that I technically want to keep Eli’s attention fixed on me, but spending every afternoon for two weeks alone with him and his three psycho brothers?
I risk a quick glance over my shoulder.
My heart lurches when I find all four Hunters staring straight at me with devilish grins on their faces.
Turning back to the stage, I massage my brows. This is going to be a rough couple of weeks.
“Any questions?” Professor Lawson asks. When no one speaks up, she nods. “Excellent. Then may the odds be ever in your favor.”
Everyone just looks back at her in silence.
She heaves an exasperated sigh and then snaps her fingers before pointing towards the door. “That means, get to class.”
Clothes rustle and shoes thud against the ground as we all get up from our seats and start heading for the door.
My morning class is about how to stay hidden in different environments. Just like every other class, it’s not something I excel at, but I know that it’s at least going to be better than whatever this afternoon brings.
I follow the others out of the main campus area and towards a building that almost looks like an aircraft hangar. I’ve been inside it before, of course, but the sight still takes my breath away.
The massive building has been split into sections. One part is full of trees and bushes, turning it into a forest. Another part has buildings and stone streets just like a busy city. A third one has been built like a park. And so on.
We move towards the open area at the front where our instructor is waiting.
My heart stalls and I almost walk right into the person in front of me when I find Connor standing there next to our instructor. The bruises that were covering his face and body have now healed, which means that he no longer stands out in a crowd. His gray eyes linger on me for an extra second before simply moving on and scanning the rest of the people around me.
“Today, we have Connor Smith with us to help demonstrate how to efficiently move unseen through an area,” our teacher begins.
I barely hear the rest of the instructions because I can’t stop staring at the blank expression on Connor’s face.
A stab of pain shoots through my heart. I wish I could tell him what I’m really doing here. That I’m not trying to take his place or undermine his efforts. That I’m here to help him. But if he ever finds out what Eli has done to me, he will go after him, and that would only end in more bloodshed.
Once the mandatory demonstrations are done, I move to the section as far away from Connor as possible. It’s the forest part. A few other students picked that one as well, but I don’t pay them any mind as I walk between the trees and breathe in air that smells like grass and dirt.
It helps ground me again, and I run through the instructions and tips we received, as well as what Connor showed. I knew that Connor is good. People tell me that all the time. But actually seeing it with my own eyes was something else. The way he moved, the way he blended in even though we all knew what to look for, was absolutely incredible. He really is going to be one of the greatest of all time. As long as I can make sure that Eli Hunter doesn’t—
“You’re dead.”
I jerk back at the unexpected sound of that voice, his voice, and my spine bumps against the muzzle of a gun. Twisting my head, I look over my shoulder to find Eli standing right behind me with a gun to my back. Amusement dances in his eyes.
I scowl at him. “I hadn’t even started yet.”
“Too bad, princess. This profession doesn’t wait for you to start. If you’re not ready, you die.”
Spinning around to face him, I shove his hand and the gun to the side as I glare up at him. “What are you even doing here? You’re not in this class.”
“I have to see where your skill level is at, so that I know what we need to work on this afternoon.” A smirk lifts his lips. “As a team.”
I snort.
His gaze sharpens, and he gives me a look dripping with challenge. I just raise my eyebrows expectantly. Lifting his arm, he flicks his wrist, using the gun to motion at the vegetation around us.
“Go ahead then,” he says, a taunting edge to his voice. “I’m giving you two minutes to get ready and find somewhere to hide.”
I don’t waste a second. Darting away from him, I hurry into the trees. There are a few other students here, practicing how to move quietly across a forest floor, but they barely spare me a glance as I search for somewhere to hide.
A cluster of trees appears up ahead. Sprinting towards it, I dive in behind one of the thick trunks since I’m pretty sure that my time is up now.
The rough bark scrapes against my skin as I press myself to the tree. My heart flutters in my chest. I glance around the edge. Nothing.
One minute passes.
Two.
A smug grin threatens to break out on my face. Guess I’m not as terrible as everyone thinks.
I lean forward a little, casting another glance around the trunk.
A gun appears at my temple from the other side. “You’re dead.”
Since I can’t move my head now, I just slide my gaze to where Eli is standing half behind me. I didn’t even hear him sneak up on me.
He removes the gun from my temple and then jerks his chin. “Try again.”
Branches flash past my vision as I dart away. This time, I try hiding behind a large rock instead. My heart patters in my chest as I sit there crouched behind it while scanning the forest around me. This time, I will see him coming.
I suck in a sharp breath between my teeth as the cold muzzle of a gun is pressed against the back of my head.
“You’re dead,” Eli repeats yet again. Then he removes it. “Go.”
With frustration crackling inside me, I sprint away from the useless rock and try another hiding place.
I’ve only spent about a minute covered by some thick low-hanging branches before I hear, “You’re dead.”
I hide behind some bushes.
“Dead.”
I try a massive boulder next.
“Dead.”
Then I try another tree. Peeking out around it after barely a couple of minutes, I find a gun between my eyes.
“Bang.” Eli smirks at me. “You’re dead.”
Anger ripples through me as I sprint through the trees and approach the park section instead. If he’s so damn good, then let’s see if he can figure out that I’ve switched sections entirely.
Connor is standing a short distance away, talking to our instructor. Since I don’t want to get too close to them, I decide on the bushes behind one of the park benches. Crouching down behind them, I narrow my eyes as I scan the area furiously. This time, I will see him coming.
Hope flutters in my chest when another few minutes pass and Eli still hasn’t shown up. I watch the other students practicing throughout the park. Connor helps instruct some of them. Yet again, my heart aches. He’s even helping other people get better, so why the hell did someone have to put him on Eli’s shit list. It’s so fucking cruel and unfair.
A yelp slips past my lips as someone plants a boot between my shoulder blades and shoves me out from behind the bushes. I topple forward and barely have time to yank my hands up and brace my palms on the ground before I slam face down on the grass.
I start to push myself up, but before I can, the boot appears between my shoulder blades again, shoving me back down. I let out a huff.
Turning my face to the side, I look up and find Eli standing over me with his boot on my back and his gun pointed at my head. Vicious amusement lurks on his lethally handsome face as he tuts and shakes his head at me. “Oh Raina, this truly is pathetic.” While holstering his gun, he huffs out a laugh. “Well, at least it was informative.”
Before I can come up with a retort, he abruptly takes his boot off my back, spins around, and stalks away without another word.
Pushing myself up, I get to my feet while brushing blades of grass and crushed leaves off my clothes. The park around me has gone oddly silent. I look up.
Everyone is watching me. Some look confused as they glance between me and Eli’s retreating back. Others look thoroughly amused. My brother, on the other hand, is looking at me with disappointment… and shame.
I swallow down the burning feeling that crawls up my throat.
Connor starts towards me.
For a moment, I can’t decide what to do. I can’t let people know that we’re siblings, so I can’t make it seem like we know each other. But he has been helping the other students too, so it shouldn’t be strange for him to come over and offer some tips after watching this humiliating display of nonexistent hiding skills.
Before I can decide what to do, Connor reaches me. But to my surprise, he doesn’t stop. He keeps walking past right next to me, as if he is heading towards someone else.
However, when he is right beside me, he speaks in a low voice full of pain and embarrassment.
“You shouldn’t be here.”