Chapter 2

Khai paced on the dirt path ahead of him in a foul mood. He'd forgotten his ID card in his car when he came back to the academy this morning and now he was late for lunch.

'Elliot better save me some food.' he thought.

He went to Monserrat this morning to pick up his best friends Austin and Elliot after they went to the town for a night out. Most students partied at Monserrat before classes officially started, specially the Wahrens. Once classes would begin, going out past midnight was out of question on weekdays and while students were usually tempted to break the rules, they were so tired from training that they passed out before lights out.

The party was just getting fun last night when Khai received a call from Gordon to meet him early the next morning. If his commander asked that he meet him, then Khai would have to oblige. He had no choice.

He cursed his luck at being a legacy. Every male ancestor that Khai could recollect was a tri-star Wahren. His late father was the captain to his Wahren Unit while his late grandfather was a Wahren Commander, like Gordon. Legacies stepped into Arcane burdened with inflated expectations and Khai was no exception.

His meeting with Gordon this morning was to lay out his training plan so he could start training to be a captain along with the other legacies. He frowned as he recollected the training plan. He was bored already. He was better than most legacies he'd met and the fact that he knew it before he could even fight one of them, annoyed him.

He fished out his key fob from the pocket of his jeans and held it in his hand. He sensed a small figure running towards him from the corner of his eyes. A girl, but he ignored her while assuming that just another student was rushing out of the parking lot. She wasn't in his walking path so he didn't even bother to glance at her.

He thought he heard a branch snap behind him and turned around to look when the girl ran straight into him, tumbling over his right foot and falling to the ground.

Electric sparks coursed through his hand that had brushed against her arm. Khai's eyes widened, before his brows furrowed in confusion.

'What was that?' He wondered. Never had he felt something like that, albeit for a split second.

He turned around, his curious eyes looking at a small figure crouched on her knees on the ground. His eyes followed her jet-black hair that cascaded down her shoulders in sleek, shiny locks. Although she wore black, her hair still stood out, reflecting the sunlight that fell on it's beautiful waves.

She hissed in pain and Khai walked to her front, to look at what happened. When she looked up at him, Khai's breath hitched as his eyes swept over her features.

Her eyes were a mesmerizing hazelnut color, with flecks of gold and green that seemed to dance in the light. Her skin was pale and as smooth and delicate as porcelain, with a warm, rosy glow that made her appear both ethereal and alive. Her features were delicate and refined, with a pointed chin and a small, straight nose. Her lips were full and pink, and her eyes were framed by long, dark lashes. She was a vision of beauty, with an air of mystery and allure that was hard to resist.

She was beyond the most beautiful thing Khai had ever laid his eyes on. His heart was skipping beats and his eyes refused to blink.

He continued staring at her face, for what seemed like eternity, until a lone tear rolled down her cheek. He snapped out of his daze and saw that the girl was in pain and evidently annoyed from falling. He could've caught her, if not for the sparks he felt when she bumped into him.

"Are you hurt?" He asked. He grimaced at his words that came out stiffer than usual, to hide his racing heartbeats.

Anaya was rushing out of the parking lot when she saw a tall, foreboding figure making his way towards her. The young man was well over 6 feet tall with tan skin and ruffled black hair. He wore a white t-shirt and blue denim, his hands fishing his pockets for something. Running while staring at him, Anaya accidentally dropped her keys a few feet before where he was. She swung her feet to collect them, tumbling when she felt like she ran into a wall.

She fell to the ground and fell so hard on her hands that a sharp stone stabbed her right hand, lodging itself into her palm. Blood oozed from the wounded spot and Anaya hissed as an intense pain rushed through her.

She looked up to see the young man, who looked not too older than her, staring down at her. He didn't make any efforts to help her or apologize to her. He was just staring at her, like she was a strange creature that fell from the sky.

She knit her eyebrows together in annoyance. 'What is wrong with him?' She thought. 'Did she have to ask for help?'

Anaya wasn't oblivious to how men stared at her. When her sister and her walked about town with their mother, men stopped to stare all the time. If one of them ever tripped, men rushed to help them, dropping whatever was in their hands.

Yet, here she was, wincing in pain and this man barely moved a finger. The throbbing pain was unbearable and she closed her eyes tightly to try and breathe through it. A tear escaped her eyes when she opened them and she looked at the man in annoyance.

"Are you hurt?" She heard him finally ask her. His voice was rude and his expression, inscrutable. His lips were set into a thin line, like he was annoyed that he had to deal with her right now. Well, she was annoyed too. He took forever to even ask if she was hurt, so she had no confidence that he would help.

Blood oozed from her palm. She held her wrist tightly with her other hand and pushed it up for him to see. "What do you think?" She snapped.

Khai's eyes moved from her upset face to her bloodied hand and felt his own blood run cold. He rushed to his knees and held her hand in his, examining the wound while trying to calm himself down. There they were, the sparks he felt from earlier. But he easily ignored them at the sight of her blood.

"Shit! I'm so sorry. I'm really…" He exclaimed. "Come with me, you need a doctor."

His touch was surprisingly gentle and his sudden reaction made Anaya widen her eyes. She momentarily forgot her pain until a sudden pang hit her again. She winced and nodded, trying to get up so she could walk with him.

"My keys.." she whispered, trying not to cry as the pain continued to course through her.

Khai stretched to grab her keys and helped her up, careful not to hurt her while holding all her weight. She was a little more than feather light, he noticed.

"Got them. Keep your hand elevated, like this." He held her hand up so the blood flow would ease and when her blood trickled to her wrist where he held her hand, he wanted to punch himself. Why didn't he catch her? Was he useless? Fuck.

"Can you walk?" He tried to keep his voice steady, but worry leaked out of his words.

"I only hurt my hand." She deadpanned. Khai didn't even notice. He started to rush to the academy's clinic, but slowed down within moments, when he realized that she was struggling to keep up. He fought the urge to carry her in his arms and run to the clinic.

'That would definitely be weird.' He told himself. He took deep breaths to steady his heart. The blood needed to stop and that's all he could think about.