Eve of Destruction by C.E. Stalbaum Page B

both sides were going to have to realize that.
    Eve smiled tiredly. “You’re not just a poor shuvo, by the way.”
    Zach cocked an eyebrow. “Did you forget the part where I said you’d have to pay for everything? I can’t even afford a ticket back.”
    She laughed. “You said before that Kalavan changed everything. It didn’t change me.”
    “You’re not telling me you still believe Vacal’s nonsense?”
    “No, but it wasn’t Kalavan that changed my mind.”
    He just stared at her, head shaking in confusion.
    “It was you,” she whispered.
    “Me? What did I do?”
    “You were you,” she told him. “One night when I was reading one of Vacal’s books I started thinking about where you would fit in this new world of his. You’re smart enough to go to school, but your family couldn’t afford it. I’m not sure what he would expect you to do. It was like he couldn’t even conceive of a torbo being smart enough to do anything on his own.”
    “I suppose that’s a compliment.”
    She shrugged. “It was meant to be. I eventually threw out his books and dropped his class. I wrote you a letter about it but decided not to send it. I don’t even remember why.”
    He reached out and squeezed her hand. She looked into his deep blue eyes, and it was like she’d suddenly opened a box of old memories. As children, she had always expected them to both go to the university and maybe even become teachers together. Once she got older and realized how he wouldn’t be able to afford it, she still had girlish fantasies of marrying him once she finished and living happily ever after…
    But that was a long time ago. Not in raw years, perhaps, but they had both changed a lot in their time apart—much more than she would have ever expected. Speaking about politics and Vacal, however, she realized grimly that perhaps she hadn’t necessarily changed for the better.
    Eve started to lean forward towards him when the curtain to their private cabin whooshed open. A gangly, middle-aged man loomed in front of it, his face flushed. Across the aisle behind him she could see his own empty seat with a half-finished bottle of brandy resting on the table.
    “Mage,” he sneered. There was no mistaking the revulsion in his eyes, and Eve scrunched back into her seat. 
    “Do you mind?” Zach asked. “No need to be rude.”
    “You want me to just sit here and listen to her lies?” the man growled. “We’ve done that long enough. I think I’ll have security throw you off this train at the next station.”
    “What?” Eve stammered. “I haven’t done anything! I paid for my ticket like anyone else.”
    “We’ll see what the police say about that. A mage sitting here talking treason...that will get their attention.”
    Her mouth fell open. “Treason? What are you —”
    “Keep your voice down,” Zach said calmly. “Sir, there’s no reason for you to be upset. Why don’t you just have a seat and we’ll be quiet the rest of the way.”
    He snorted. “I’m sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you, boy? Just sit tight until you get where you’re going, then you’ll go right back to drekking on us torbos. Isn’t that right?”
    Zach brought himself to his feet. He might not have been particularly tall, but he was as solid as they came. Even Eve found herself recoiling back from the intensity of his glare. He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo on his bicep that she had never seen before—it was the insignia of the Arkadian Army, if she wasn’t mistaken.
    “I cleaned up the mess at Kalavan,” Zach told him coldly. “I saw the bodies. I saw what happened first hand, and I fought like hell to kill the bastard that did it and all those who supported him. I bled for this country. What have you done?”
    The man swallowed heavily and leaned back. The rage in his eyes drained away, and confusion quickly rushed in to take its place. Whatever he’d been expecting when he tossed back that curtain, a soldier certainly