Free Invaded by Melissa Landers Page B

pride.
     “And make much rest. Tomorrow we meet at intermediate course.”
    “Sleep”—pant-gasp-wheeze—“
l’ina
”—pant-gasp-wheeze—“got it.”
    Cara waved good-bye to Satan and dragged her rubbery legs toward the main building.
     The cafeteria would serve lunch in fifteen minutes, which meant she had to shower
     and dress in ten.
    Her body gave her a second wind by the time she reached the courtyard. She noticed
     Troy there but didn’t bother to wave. He was engaged in a game of sticks with a couple
     of jerks named
     Odom and Skall. They usually hung out with Dahla, who was watching the game from the
     opposite side of the lawn.
    Each boy gripped a wooden staff and circled his opponents, waiting for an opportunity
     to knock one another to the ground. Players weren’t allowed to strike the left side
     of the body, and
     they could only hit below the waist. They didn’t wear cups, either. Only the hard-core
     L’eihrs played sticks, and Troy was surprisingly good at it. He deflected each attack
     with
     lightning speed and struck back twice as hard, keeping Odom and Skall on the defensive.
    Cara moved in closer.
    Troy had pulled his black curls into a ponytail, and sweat dripped between his bare
     shoulder blades as he twirled his staff. Typically, Cara didn’t pay much attention
     to her
     brother’s body—because,
ew
—but she couldn’t help noticing how much he’d bulked up on L’eihr. He was seriously
     ripped, holding his own against the two
     largest clones in the Aegis. Even when Odom and Skall teamed up against him, Troy
     left them limping in pain, whacking one in the gut and the other in the thigh. Without
     hesitating, he swept his
     staff behind both men’s ankles and knocked them to the grass.
    Cara summoned enough strength in her noodle arms to applaud her brother. “Woo-hoo,”
     she called while clapping wildly. “Go, Troy! You kicked—”
    In a flash, something solid hit the backs of Cara’s knees, and she fell, hard. When
     she opened her eyes, she was staring at the beige sky and struggling to breathe. After
     blinking a few
     times, she pushed up on her elbows and realized Skall had used his stick to flatten
     her.
    Dahla broke into hysterical laughter while Skall jumped to his feet. They pointed
     at Cara, clearly teasing her in their native language. A few onlookers joined in mocking
     her, and she half
     expected her brother to laugh the loudest.
    But Troy was not amused.
    His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. He threw down his staff and charged Skall
     without warning, planting his shoulder in the clone’s midsection. For the second time,
     Skall landed on
     his ass, but this was no game. Troy used the side of his hand to slam Skall’s windpipe,
     leaving him coughing and retching in the grass.
    Odom rushed to his friend’s aid, but Troy stopped him with an expression that said,
The Marines taught me how to pull a man’s nuts through his throat. Want a demonstration?
Odom backed away, and Skall glared at Cara while he rubbed his neck. His message was
     also clear:
Your brother won’t always be here to protect you.
    “Let’s go.” Troy helped her to standing and brushed loose bits of grass from her uniform.
     Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her up the front steps and into
     the Aegis lobby. When they reached Cara’s door, Troy held her at arm’s length and
     inspected her for damage.
    “You all right?” he asked.
    “Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of me.” She knew Troy wouldn’t like it, but she
     gave him a hug.
    As she predicted, he squirmed away. “Gross, Pepper. I’m all sweaty.” He sniffed the
     air a few times. “And you smell.”
    She glanced down the hall into the lobby, where Odom, Skall, and Dahla had just stalked
     inside. “Do you think they’ll tell the headmaster?” L’eihrs didn’t tolerate
     fighting, and she didn’t want Troy whipped with that awful electric lash.
    “I doubt it.” Troy stretched