“Do you think this is a joke?” A man’s voice cut through the quiet. “Do you think you’re too good for this exercise? Or that you’ll automatically pass because...because...”
Rynna scrunched her nose, her tone flat. “Because you fucked me above the Great Phoenix two nights ago?”
“Damn it, girl!” His voice was strained. “If I’d known you were a trainee or...or how old you are, that never would’ve happened.”
She cracked one eye open, raising an eyebrow. How old was he anyway? He couldn’t be much past thirty.
Smiling to herself, she thought, he looks like he might throw that stupid notebook at me.
“You’re skilled. That was clear enough,” he continued, his voice tight.
Both her eyebrows shot up higher, and her grin widened.
“At fighting!”
“Mmm hmmm.” She couldn’t stop herself, savoring how riled up he was getting.
“Look, Rynna.” He dropped to the ground beside her, their eyes now level. His usual air of calm indifference was gone. “I wasn’t lying. This—being a Unit Leader, being responsible for a group of Novices—it’s important. They’ve never given me the opportunity before, because of…” He raised a hand toward his clouded eye and mask. “Please don’t…”
Her eyes widened, wondering again what those teeth or the eye meant, remembering how he had paused that night.
“Don’t ruin it?” she finished for him, her tone softening. As much fun as she liked watching him squirm, she didn’t want to hurt him. She remembered the sincerity in his voice that night and the way he’d questioned if he was truly ready for this responsibility.
“Yes,” he sighed. “Something like that.”
“Look.” She sat up, letting the playfulness drop from her voice. “I’m not trying to ruin it. This is obviously a team-building exercise.”
A quick blink betrayed his surprise.
“Whether or not you actually plan to fail us, they need to figure it out on their own.”
His jaw tightened for a heartbeat, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully between his fingers. “How’d you know?”
“BecauseGuideFenn.” She smiled, the title rolling off her tongue with a hint of amusement. “You don’t strike me as a cruel man. You care about your responsibility. And you care about these Novices. Yourtestis a lie. If one of us crosses, we all pass, or something like that. A trust exercise was the only logical outcome.”
“Just like that?”
“It’s not like I haven’t been around.”
“No, I suppose it’s not.” His voice dropped an octave, sending a flutter of heavy butterflies through her stomach.Damn him.
But then he snapped back, shaking his head. “That crossed a line.”
“Did it now?” she asked, caught between feeling turned on and mildly irritated.
“Yeah, yes,” he repeated, standing abruptly. “There’s a line now, Rynna, and we can’t cross it. I can’t cross it. It would be wrong.”
“Well, that’s no fun.” She pursed her lips in mock frustration.
“I’m serious.” His hand went up to the back of his head, fingers looping around those blood red tips like he could yank the words loose. “I tried to get the lineups changed. I even told the Ember Warden what…happened.”
“You did?” Rynna pushed herself upright, surprise flickering across her face.
“Yes.” His throat bobbed beneath the mask, voice rough. “But he didn’t—” He faltered, searching.
“Care.” Her brow arched, sharp as a blade. “He didn’t care that you’d fucked one of your supposedly much younger students.”
Of course, he hadn’t. She wasn’t actually eighteen or even a trainee, but the wrinkled old bastard didn’t know that. He treated Hollow-born like tools, and Rynna had always been an outsider anyway.
