Nemesis by Emma L. Adams Page A

relied on magic to get around that obvious error. Stupid mistake to make.
    A new weapon appeared in my hand, and we danced around each other, me mostly crawling, as forcing it to keep low was the only way to reach the weak point.
    The chalder vox lunged again, and I dodged, backflipping to land on its head. Quickly, I drove the point of the dagger in before gravity caught up and I fell to the ground. At least I landed on my feet.
    “Nicely done,” said Amanda. “Kay was right. You’re a natural.”
    I grinned. That’s more like it. I was where I belonged.
    Also: Kay had said that? I hoped Amanda would think my flushed cheeks were a result of the exertion.
    “Let’s try again, okay?”
    Simple, I thought, and then my heart started beating faster when I reached a certain name on the menu. Dreyverns. Goblin-like monsters which had almost killed Nell.
    I’ll kill them . They worked in packs to overwhelm you, but as long as you disarmed them fast, a human could take on several of them at once. Three five-foot-high, scaly creatures wielding wicked knives appeared before my eyes. Grasping my own weapon, I faced them down, delivering a kick that sent the knife spinning out of the leader’s hand. I grinned as it pierced the foot of another dreyvern. Ha.
    The other one waved its knife at me, and I feinted a strike and then went for its weapon. Not quite fast enough. The blade grazed the top of my hand, and the sudden flare of pain jarred me so much I froze– it’s not supposed to be real! And the second dreyvern stabbed its dagger into my shoulder.
    Blunt agony tore through my body. I struck back with my knife, but my arm felt limp, heavy. Shallow breaths came too fast, and instinct warred with what my senses were telling me. It’s not real. But it felt real. Every stab of pain.
    A voice echoed through my head, barely restraining a laugh: You’re gonna kill worlds, Ada.
    The thud of a body hitting the wall of a warehouse. Sobbing. The world caving in–
    Gasping, I ripped off the helmet, dropping to my knees. Lucky the floor was padded. My hand jumped to my shoulder, but the pain had disappeared when I’d taken off the helmet. Though the echo remained, as though my mind needed a minute to grasp that I hadn’t actually been stabbed.
    “Holy shit,” I whispered. Breathe. I had to remind my lungs taking in air was kind of necessary. My pulse raced, and light-headedness swept through me.
    “Ada! Are you all right?” Amanda’s voice came from nearby.
    “Oh. Sorry, I freaked out when I got hit. I’m okay.” Somehow, I kept my voice even. My heart still beat too fast.
    “Happens to the best of us. You did well for your first time.”
    No. I didn’t. I shouldn’t still be freaking out. It was weeks since that day. I was safe. Delta and the others were gone.
    Thanks to me.
    ***
    Every muscle ached when I left the complex later. When caught up in virtual reality, I lived in the moment, and the sudden energy drain came as a shock. At least I didn’t have any bruises from getting hit. Which was more than I could say from Nell’s over-enthusiastic combat lessons. Still, Alliance guards weren’t supposed to panic when faced with monsters. I’d never panicked before, not even the first time Nell had taken me to the Passages and we’d run into a couple of dreyverns. I’d kicked one of them in the head, and Nell had had to drag me away.
    Eight-year-old me was more hard-core than twenty-one-year-old me, apparently.
    I headed back to Central to meet Jeth. But there was someone else I wanted to see, too. I didn’t know if he’d be there, and God knew it’d be all kinds of awkward if my brother saw us together, but of course I wanted to. Though I hoped he wouldn’t find out about how I’d screwed up in the simulations. I gave myself a mental shake, hoping to displace the lingering shame and anxiety. I didn’t quite succeed.
    Pull yourself together.
    The gates were open as people were driving home, so I crossed the car