“No, not yet.”
When I glance behind me, I find that Lysander has already backed me into a dark corner. There’s nowhere else for me to go except forward, closer to Lysander’s sword.
He approaches with a predator’s poise, his blade glinting as he passes it from one hand to the other. “Come on, Avrum. You are making this too easy. I like a challenge,” he says. “Raise your sword! I do not train cowards.”
“I’m not a coward.”
“Show me then.” Lysander thrusts his sword, and I manage to twist and dodge it. Barely.
Lysander growls in annoyance. “Where is that drive you had before? Where is that anger? Or do you want Henri to continue to have his way with Haven?”
His words spark the terrible memories from before, and the feelings that come along with them. Something awakens inside me, something wild and full of anger. I’ve been betrayed by Henri. Haven has been tormented and abused. And I need to help her.
My grip tightens around the handle of my own sword. My determination grows. This time, when Lysander swing his sword again, I meet it in midair with mine. The metal sparks between us, and we pause for a moment, staring at our crossed weapons.
I grit my teeth as I try to keep my elbows locked. “Of course I don’t. No one deserves to be treated that way.”
“I thought so,” Lysander says, a smirk lifting his lips. “Again.”
My eyes follow Lysander’s sword as it flies through the air. I block it before it can make contact with my hip.
“And again.”
Lysander side steps, causing me to do the same. I move around the sunbeams and avoid a wide gap in the floor at the same time. With every blow I block, my arm shakes and my muscles clench. I duck, step back, step forward, and our swords clash.
“Again,” Lysander says with more vigor. “Come on, Avrum!”
I try to match his movements, toe for toe, but my next step sends me sinking into the floor. I twist last minutebut my knee gives out and I fall backward, hitting the planks with a hard thud. My sword falls away, out of reach, and when I look up, Lysander’s is already at my neck.
“You’re dead,” he says, before lowering it and offering me his hand instead.
My shoulder aches and my legs wobble, so I allow Lysander to pull me to stand.
“You’re doing pretty well for your first time,” he comments. “You were beginning to find your rhythm there for a moment.”
I rub the back of my neck. My shirt’s damp with perspiration and we haven’t even been at it that long. “You could go easier on me though.”
“Easier?” Lysander laughs and shakes his head, any loose gold hair dancing before his face. “That’s as easy as it gets, I’m afraid.”
He walks over, picks up my sword, and tosses it to me. Luckily, I’m able to catch it by the handle with both hands.
“And it isn’t over yet,” he says and raises his weapon again. He slides the blade against mine so that the rubbing metals let out a piercing screech. “Again.”
Chapter 10
Haven
Pressing the side of my face against the cool metal bars, I strain to look outside. I see nothing but the silhouette of trees against the silvery glow of a cloudy sky. My thoughts, though, remain with Avrum. Wherever he is.
As much as I try, I can’t seem to get him out of my head. His words, his voice, his touch… It all consumes me.
I wonder what his life was like before he was brought here. Had Henri given him a choice to become a vampire? Had he been forced? There’s so much I don’t know about him, and yet I have to trust him to be able to leave this place.
All night, the thought of him plagued me. I found myself longing for him to touch my face again and look at me tenderly, like before. No one has ever looked at me like that, and it both stunned and enticed me. I want to hear my name whispered on his lips, see the ache in his eyes. That alone is enough to make me feel like a fool.
My father is still all alone, I remind myself. He’swondering if I’m alive or dead, if one day I’ll come back home to him. My attention should solely be on returning to him, but I can’t help it. Not when Avrum’s face appears every time I close my eyes.
“Haven?”
