Web of Knowledge - Chapter 23: Expression Part 2

Kalden opened his eyes as beams of sunlight streamed in through the blinds. He normally woke up well before the sun, but he’d been distracted last night and forgot to set his alarm.

Akari breathed softly in the bed beside him. Her face was half-buried in her pillow, but the citrusy scent of her hair filled his nostrils, and her skin was warm where their bodies touched. She looked so small and peaceful while she slept. Nothing like the dangerous Apprentice he’d fought.

Nothing serious had happened last night. In fact, they’d talked for less than an hour before collapsing here together. Airship travel was always draining, not to mention the midterm exam. Battle was the surest way to push past your limits. Not just your body’s limits, but your soul and your channels. That was why they worked so hard to compete in the interschool battlegrounds. Steel sharpened steel, and facing the best Apprentices in the world was the quickest path to Artisan.

Kalden sat up when he caught a glimpse of glowing blue mana in his bedroom mirror.

“Oh.” Glim made a grand show of confusion, as if she’d floated in here by accident. “Good morning, you two.”

“For Talek’s sake,” Akari muttered into her pillow. “I told you to lock your door.”

“Yeah …” Kalden had forgotten to do that, too. The Darklights had Grandmaster-level wards around their property, so he rarely thought about mundane locks. However, those locks had other uses. For one thing, Glim wasn’t allowed to enter locked rooms without explicit permission. She also couldn’t enter rooms when people were undressed, but he and Akari had both worn their clothes to bed.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” the mana spirit said with feigned innocence. “But Elend told me to wake you up. It’s already seven o’clock, and—”

Glim’s words cut off as a piece of dark clothing struck the mirror. No sooner had it hit than she vanished entirely.

Kalden turned to see Akari’s bare back as she snuggled back into the blankets. She’d definitely been wearing a bra last night, hadn’t she? Not anymore.

They lay there for a few more minutes, then Akari stretched her legs, letting her feet brush up against his. Finally, she grabbed her glasses from the nightstand and propped herself up on the pillow, using the sheets to cover her chest. “Guess we should get up.”

“Big day ahead,” he agreed.

Akari stretched like a cat, and the sheets came dangerously close to falling free. For someone who acted so shy in social situations, she was surprisingly confident about being half-naked.

“You’re doing that on purpose,” Kalden said.

She shrugged. “Maybe I like making Kalden Trengsen blush.”

He wasn’t exactly blushing, but he also couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I can’t believe we waited all summer for this. You were right in front of me this whole time …”

His self-confidence had taken a hit after his injury—that much was clear now. And he’d overcompensated for that by throwing himself into his training. But he’d ignored the problem rather than accepting it. He’d pushed away the very person who could have made him happier, which seemed so stupid in hindsight.

“You’re telling me.” Akari put her back to him as she hopped out of bed. Then she threw on her dark gray hoodie and zipped. “Guess we should have fought each other a long time ago.”

She spent a second digging around the pockets of her hoodie, then she pulled out a vial of transparent mana, uncorked it, and took a long swig.

“What’s that?” Kalden asked.

“Liquid space mana.” Akari winced as it went down her throat. “Feels weird on an empty stomach.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Should I even ask why you’re drinking that first thing in the morning?”

Akari crept across the room and slid open a window that faced the house, letting in a burst of cool air. She extended a palm outward and shot a space Missile toward the upper levels of the Darklight’s estate. With that done, she shot a second Missile at Kalden’s floor, forming a portal, roughly two feet in diameter.

Kalden leaned forward, peering through the portal to see a bird's-eye view of Akari’s bedroom. She kicked her shoes unceremoniously through the opening, and t he rest of her clothes followed.

“See you soon.” Akari stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. Then she jumped through the portal and landed on her own bed.

Kalden spent the next half hour showering and getting dressed for the day. With that done, he headed into the main estate where he found Relia sitting at one of the kitchen barstools.

Various Jumpstart bags sat on the granite countertop, along with two foam carriers of disposable coffee cups. Kalden and Akari wouldn’t be able to eat for eight hours after this, so the Darklights had sent their drivers to pick up a giant breakfast.

“Morning,” Relia said as Kalden rummaged through the nearest bag. “Have you seen Akari?”

“Yeah,” Kalden said. “She’s upstairs in her room” Kalden opened a styrofoam to-go box which contained a three-egg omelet and a side of hash browns. He pulled a fork from the silverware drawer, and took a bite, filling his mouth with the tastes of peppers, onions, and bacon. He normally started the day with more traditional mana-building foods, but he’d get plenty of mana during today’s ritual.

“You sure?” Relia glanced up at the ceiling. “I checked last night, and …” she trailed off, narrowing her eyes. “And how would you know if you just came from the poolhouse?”

“I know why.” Glim appeared in the nearest mirror, a smug smile on her blue face.

Before the mana spirit could say anything, Elend passed through the room wearing his workout clothes. He paused when he saw Glim’s expression, and the two shared an enigmatic look.

“No one likes a tattletale.” Elend held out his hand and pulled her into his soul as he headed toward the basement dojo.

“Wait,” Relia said. “What?”

Akari strode into the kitchen a second later. She must have actually dried her hair this morning because it only looked slightly damp rather than dripping wet. Her face looked a bit too casual as she grabbed a cardboard Jumpstart cup and took a sip.

“Wait,” Relia said again. “Are you two finally a couple?”

Kalden kept the surprise off his face as he took another bite of his omelet. Relia might be clueless about some subjects, but this wasn’t one of them, and he hadn’t truly expected to keep this a secret for more than a few minutes.

As for her question … well, that was complicated. They’d started discussing their relationship last night before bed. They’d even arranged to go on their first date the following weekend. Still, they’d more time to properly discuss—

“Yep,” Akari replied.

Okay, never mind.

“Seriously?” Relia sat up straighter on her barstool. “What happened last night? Tell me all the details!” Then she wrinkled her nose as if realizing what she’d said. “Actually, no. Not all of them.”

“Not much to tell.” Akari’s lips curled up in a grin. “But I guess—”

“No misleading innuendos,” Kalden said.

Her face rearranged itself into a glare. “I didn’t even say anything.”

“You were about to. I know that smile.”

Relia’s eyes darted back and forth between them as she ate. “It was that dramatic exam fight, wasn’t it?”

“That might’ve been a factor,” Kalden admitted.

“Darn it,” Relia muttered. “I duel hot guys in class all the time. How come I never end up in their beds afterward?”

“Try letting them win next time,” Akari suggested.

Kalden didn’t even dignify that with a response. She’d gone all out in that last fight, and they both knew it. Then again, if she’d had a bit more experience with her Apprentice body … well, all the more reason to keep training as hard as he could. They needed to push each other.

Akari leaned against him as they ate, smiling all the while. Normally, Akari smiled in a cocky or sarcastic way, but this looked far more genuine. He’d never seen her smile like that in all the time he’d known her—from their first meeting in that supply closet to all their training and travels afterward.

But they had a busy day ahead. Their midterm exams were finally behind them, along with all the time-consuming distractions.

Now, they were finally ready to aspect their mana.