“Good thing it wasn’t.”
“You’re training with the imperius tomorrow,” he decrees. “You’ll need to get up two hours earlier.”
“No, I’m—”
“Be there.” He’s already walking away. “Or I’ll come find you.”
IDON’T WAITfor the Primus to come find me.
Instead, I’m awake before anyone else, bitter thoughts invading my mind as I slip from my bunk.
There’s something roiling in my gut when I think about meeting with the Primus. Something that I can’t quite identify.
Something that feels almost like … dread.
It’s probably only natural. He’s the Primus after all. The highly trained killer who will put his body between the emperor and anyone who attempts to harm him.
He’s waiting for me in the training hall, where the rest of the imperius are spread out, sparring, sprinting, and sneering as they glance my way.
“Do you ever take that off?” I wave a hand at the helmet wrapped around the Primus’s head, the black metal that comes to two points along his cheekbones, the strange mesh that covers his eyes.
As usual, he ignores me, gesturing to a spot just a few feet from where he’s standing on the mat.
My heart leaps into my throat.
“Look, whatever point you’re trying to prove, you don’t need to bother. I know I’m slow and out of shape. I’m working with what I’ve got.”
He just waits me out.
“Silence. Cute.”
I can almost sense a hint of amusement from him when he gestures again.
Heart in my throat, I step onto the mat.
His fist swings toward me. I duck, stepping to the side as I kick out. But he’s not there. He’s already behind me, driving his hand into the small of my back.
I drop to my knees.
Gathering my strength, I make my way to my feet.
He pushes me again.
Stumbling, I twist, barely managing to stay upright.
I can feel eyes on us. Heat travels up the back of my neck, but I face him once more.
“Still slow,” he muses in that rough voice. Again, there’s something familiar in it. Something that makes it painful for me to suck in my next breath. And my next.
But he’s already stepping forward once more. He’s shockingly light on his feet for such a large man, even considering his vampire speed, and I turn my body, my every sense on high alert.
He tilts his head again, and my stomach drops. A dull pressure begins at the base of my neck, radiating up my skull.
When his arm swings toward me next, I’m distracted. I dart backward, but not fast enough. His open palm hits the side of my head, and he curses.
My head spins and I drop to my knees.
He leans down. “I didn’t hit you that hard.”
