“What?”
“You heard me.” His voice was cool, unyielding. “Run. Show us you’re more than claws and noise.”
“He’s lucky you haven’t clawed his eyes out yet,” Ashley muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear, but she faltered once the Lieutenant’s warning eyes found her.
Eve smirked, folding her arms. “Or maybe she’s just all bark. I suppose we’ll see.”
Heat boiled in my chest. I spat a curse, pushed off the ground, and broke into a run down the path. The straps dug into my shoulders, it was heavier than I imagined, but anger drove me forward.
Behind me, I heard their voices follow.
“Run fast, kitten! Show him whose claws are sharpest!” Ashley cheered.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Eve scoffed, bitterly.
“Don’t listen to them. Just come back in one piece, alright?” Nate shouted, trying to smooth things over.
“She’ll come back, or I’ll punish her myself,” Malakai replied, low and iron-hard, cutting through them all.
The bend arrived quicker than I thought, anger burning hotter than the weight of the bags. My lungs clawed for air, but I refused to slow down. Each stride was a promise,he will not win this.
When I rounded the corner and came back into sight of the squad, I forced myself taller, steadier, not a hint of weakness in my step. My boots struck the dirt sharp and deliberate, as if every stomp was aimed at Malakai’s smug face.
“That’s my girl!” Ashley whistled low, clapping twice.
Eve crossed her arms, muttering something.
Nate offered me a crooked grin. “See? Easy—like morning drills… except angrier.”
I planted myself in front of Malakai, shoulders squared, breathing hard but refusing to show it as anything more than determination. “Well?”
His red eyes swept over me, taking in my steady stance and the defiance burning in my gaze. For a long, tense moment, he said nothing. The corner of his mouth curved in that infuriating half-smile.
“Congratulations, you’re not utterly useless, kitten,” he said at last. “Your legs seem to be working. Sadly, I can’t say the same for your brain.”
The mockery dripped from every word, but I didn’t let it bring me down. He thought I was a weakling, that he could trample all over me, and I had just begun to prove him wrong; it was a clear win for me.
I smirked, throwing his own taunt back. “Guess you’ll have to find another excuse to kill me, then.”
The squad chuckled under their breath, the air loosening slightly, though the tension between us didn’t ease. If anything, it pulsed sharper, like a blade yet to be drawn.
That’s when Lionel came back from the watch tower, looking all confused. He had probably heard us buzzing in the distance.
“What the hell did I miss?”
CHAPTER
12
The forest was endless, stretching beneath the sinking sun. Shafts of light speared through the branches, painting their path in shifting gold and shadow. Boots drummed a steady rhythm on the dirt, the sound broken only by the occasional crunch of roots and twigs.
The squad had spread out in a loose formation, the silence softened by idle conversation.
Nate swung his bag lazily and muttered, “If we keep walking west long enough, we’ll fall off the edge of the world.”
“You do that, I’ll look after your sister,” Ashley snorted.
Mey smiled faintly at her brother. “The world is round, stupid.”
