He didn’t move.
Malcolm’s voice cut through the quiet. “Enough.”
The spell broke. Air rushed through the room again.
Maddox stayed kneeling, his head bowed, his shoulders shaking.
I took a step back and waited. If he came at me again, I’d take him down even harder. Over and over until he finally learned.
My friends stood near a wall, each face wearing the same grim satisfaction. Fenna’s eyes gleamed, Kerralyn’s chin lifted. Even Malcolm released a faint smile that said more than words could.
I turned away, my pulse steady, my hands loose. The world felt quieter.
Lexie stepped forward as I left the mat, her grin fierce. “Remind me never to make you angry.”
“You already do,” I said, which made her laugh outright.
Derren clapped once. “Well. That was inspiring. Slightly terrifying, but inspiring.”
Bryson’s voice came out gentle. “You good?”
“I’m fine.” I filled my mug again and drank it all. The cool water cut through the heat in my throat.
Lexie’s badger chittered somewhere near my boots, and I got the feeling he wanted to take a bite out of Maddox himself.
“Easy.” I crouched to scratch behind his ear. “We’re done here.”
He gave a little snort that sounded suspiciously like agreement.
A prickle ran over the back of my neck, and I straightened, glancing toward the entrance.
Trew leaned against the wall in the shadows, his arms folded on his chest, his gaze pinned on Maddox like a blade impaling a door.
His eyes slid to me. The air shifted, warm where it had been cool. The corner of his mouth tugged on one side. Not quite a smile, but enough to send my pulse skittering.
His look was gone in no time, but that quiet, satisfied acknowledgment of what he’d seen felt good.
Maddox would never touch me again.
By the time the sun had climbed into the sky and Malcolm dismissed us for lunch, my muscles ached from the morning drills. Voices echoed within the dining room, along with the clatter of trenchers and silverware, and the smell of baked bread and spiced meat filling the air.
I slid into a seat beside Lexie, Kerralyn and Derren taking thebench across from us. Bryson joined with his usual unhurried grace, Fenna not long behind.
Maddox followed, blinking when he noted we’d taken a table for six. No room for him.
With a grunt, he sat at a different table with recruits from the Warden team. As he dragged a trencher close and started filling it, they all got up with a scrape of benches and moved to a new table. His jaw dropped, his shoulders hunching forward as he watched them leave.
He wisely didn’t try to join another group, though I was sure he wasn’t going to stay knocked down for long. He stared at the plate he barely touched while conversations ebbed around him like a current parting for a rock in the river.
Even his cat companion lay on the table with its back to him. Shunned by us all, as was his due.
Lexie gave me a smug look that pretty much shouted,this is what protecting you looks like.
Part of me felt sharp, vindicated satisfaction. Another part remembered that isolation could be its own kind of poison.
Conversation bubbled around our table as we ate. From the corner of my eye, I caught Trew watching from where he sat on his throne on the dais.
I broke off a piece of bread, the crust warm and drenched with butter, and kept my eyes on my friends. The feelings in my chest for him could be sorted out later.
