Jace approaches, eyes wild with fire. I take a swipe at him, which he casually sidesteps as he pulls a dagger from his belt.
“Better. What’s your next move, witch?”
I rush toward him like a bull, but he evades me easily, and I go flying into Zadyn’s door so hard that I fall through it, landing in a heap of splintered wood. A shrill female shriek rings out, but I don’t have time to search for the source. My head swims as I slowly attempt to get to my feet.
“What the fuck is going on?” Zadyn shouts, rushing toward me, wearing nothing but a bedsheet.
Jace kicks in what’s left of the busted door and steps through.
“Training,” he says wickedly, his golden eyes red and swollen from my assault.
“This is over. Now,” Zadyn snaps, gripping me by the arms to help me kneel.
“Touch her, and I will drive this clean through your chest,” Jace threatens, his voice even.
“She’s hurt! What the hell is wrong with you? This isn’t training—this is abuse!” Zadyn growls in Jace’s face, more furious than I’ve ever seen him. Jace bellies up to him, welcoming the challenge of male dominance.
“She’s tough. She’ll survive. Step back, or you’ll be the one that gets hurt.”
“Don’t you touch him,” I spit from the ground, venom coating my voice.
“Are you going to stop me?” Something terrifying gleams in his eyes. A cruel challenge.
In a flash, Zadyn has him pinned against the wall. They grapple with each other before Jace lands a thick punch to his jaw. I shout and rush him, clawing at his arms, his leathers. But he’s a mountain.
“Get off of him!” I pound Jace’s back pathetically. He throws Zadyn to the ground and draws a second dagger.
“Pick it up,” he spits, tossing the blade to the floor. Zadyn glares at him, but obeys.
“Stop it. Right now,” I demand, eyeing the dagger Jace twirls idly in his lethal hand.
“Make me, little witch.” He rushes Zadyn, and they roll, taking out the nearby desk with a loud crash.
I scan frantically for Jace’s sword, but my muscles lock when I see him lift the dagger over Zadyn’s heart and bring it down.
My answering scream is earth-rending. It feels like a tether snapping inside of me. The last straw of my sanity rupturing in a flood of rage, pain, and fire. Every inch of me feels like a flame as I unleash my anguish into the world. It shoots out of me from a well so deep it actually frightens me.
Because uncapped, I don’t know that I can ever rein it in again.
Everything around me fades. I see and hear nothing.
Then I am being gripped around the waist and thrown from the room.
Someone shouts my name, shaking me. But I can’t open my eyes. I can’t move. I am stuck in total darkness.
A splash of cold washes over my head, my face, and I suck in a breath, trying to make sense of the whispered shouts overhead.
“Wake up,” someone says, their voice edged with panic.
Slowly, my eyelids peel back. So many eyes, so many heads, peering down at me.
“Get Warryn.Now!” Jace’s command is tight and muffled to my ringing ears. He looks down at me wide-eyed. I shift my gaze to Zadyn, whose expression is that of concern.
“She’s still burning up.”
“Get her in the bath,” Jace says. “Ice cold.”
I’m lifted into the air and then gently submerged in cool water. Its icy temperature increases with every difficult breath I take until the cold reaches the point of pain. I try to lift myself up. Strong hands slide beneath my arms and haul me out of the freezing bath. Someone wraps me in a towel and sets my feet over the edge of the tub. I shiver in my soaked, bloodstained night dress and open my eyes to Zadyn holding me upright on the ledge of the tub.
