Talia holds up a finger. “One, they’re apparently besties. Besties stick up for each other. Two,” she says, lifting a second finger, “Enya is jealous of me. My guess is that Sebastiana is here early either because Enya asked her to come early, or she’s worried about her friend. Either way, I’m the target.”
“I’m not going to let her beat up on you, Talia.”
She raises an arrogant eyebrow at me. “I’m number five on the leaderboard, Christian. I earned that spot. Your sister may be practicing for the Academy, but she hasn’t gone yet.”
I grin at my friend. “I didn’t mean to offend you. But my sister is pretty incredible.
“Noted.”
“”
I get food and we’ve just sat down when Enya joins us. I’m surprised since she didn’t spend time with us last night, but I’m glad she’s here. However, it’s apparent very quickly that she’s distracted.
“Is everything okay, Enya?” I ask her.
“Absolutely. Just thinking.
”
I don’t push her. I’ll talk to her later after Talia is gone or when the two of us are alone again.
After breakfast, Sebi comes bouncing down the stairs. Since her hair is a mess, I assume that she and Shane did more than eat while they were upstairs.
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“Ready to take me on, Talia?” she asks.
“Let’s do it. Sebastiana.”
The five of us make our way outside. Since Shane is distracted by Sebi sparring with Talia, I take lead on the match.
As soon as I call the match the two of them go at it. My sister doesn’t disappoint. She’s a powerful fighter, fast and intelligent in her execution. But Talia was right. She’s number five on the leaderboard for a reason and in the end, she pins Sebi.
“Winner,” I call, ending the match.
“Okay, tell me what you did and how you got me down,” Sebi says. Talia walks her through it, taking time to go through the steps Sebi took and how Talia found her weakness. Talia has always been a great teacher, and I assume that one day she’ll be an instructor at the Academy.
“You’re really good. Enya is too. Did you spar with her?” Sebi asks.
“No: I sparred with Shane this morning.”
“Shane’s good, but Enya has more experience. And I think we all know that men and women fight differently,” Sebi says.
“We definitely do,” Talia agrees.
Talia glances at me, but I shake my head. Enya is struggling with jealousy. It’s the reason I didn’t put them together earlier. I’m not sure Enya can separate her jealousy from her sparring right now.
“Well, I think it’s about time for me to head out,” Talia says. “I’m just going to take a shower, collect my things and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
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We all walk inside, and Talia jogs up the stairs to get ready to leave.
“Shane, come on. I want to hear about everything that you’ve been doing since I was last here,” Sebi says, dragging Shane away.
I look at Enya who is hanging around, still looking pensive.
“Are you sure everything is okay, Enya?”
“Yes, I’m good, thank you.”
I narrow my eyes at her. She’s not good. I’m just not sure what the problem is.
“Why don’t we talk after Talia leaves.”
“Okay,” she agrees easily.
“Did Sebi say something to upset you earlier?” I ask.
“What? Like what?” she asks, blushing. So, this IS about whatever Sebi said to her. I fight the urge to growl at my sister’s meddling.
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m asking.”
“I’m good, like I said.”
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