Before he could recover, I snatched up the closest blade and leaped, landing hard enough on his chest to drive the wind from his lungs. The steel in my hand slid between his ribs with a sound like tearing cloth, finding the gap between bone and sinking deeper.
He looked down at the handle protruding from his chest, and his breath stuttered. Blood frothed at the corners of his mouth as his lungs filled.
“Tell me who sent you,” I hissed.
He tried to speak, but only managed a wet gurgle before his eyes went vacant.
Everything inside me recoiled. I didn’t breathe. Icouldn’t. The warmth on my hands wasn’t mine, and the stink of his blood hit me a second later. Metallic, hot, and too real.
I didn’t feel triumph. Only the throb of my pulse and the weight of what I’d done.
I slid off him and sagged against the wall, my wounded arm burning like someone had poured dirt into the cut. Hey, at least something hurt more than my back. My legs shook with the aftermathof adrenaline, and I could taste metal where I’d bitten the inside of my cheek.
Blood ran down my wrist, slick and hot, and I’d need to tend to my wound. As soon as I caught my breath and…I stared at the man who’d tried to murder me.
This wasn’t my first kill. That had come when I was thirteen, a man who’d been more interested in trying to grope me than in what I was doing with the gardening fork in my mother’s favorite flowerbed. The cold weight of fear I’d felt then still eviscerated me. The taste of garlic from the brutal press of his mouth. And the way my hands had shaken as I released the fork’s handle, watching as he toppled back onto the grass with it buried in his chest.
Commander Thorne had arrived as I dropped to my knees, reaching out as if yanking the fork from the man’s chest would bring him back to life. Thorne had spoken to me gently, tugging me away and putting me in his office. Said everything would be alright. He disposed of the body, then told me to be in the training room at six the next morning.
After that, he worked with me every day, teaching me not only how to survive, but how to dominate. Every trick and every secret I knew I owed to him.
My eyes swept the corridor until I spotted the glint near the wall. Addie’s pendant lay on the stone, catching the torchlight. I lunged forward and snatched it up, closing my fingers around it. The chain had been broken, but the pendant itself appeared undamaged other than the pale blue stone that had already been missing. I slipped it into the pocket of my pants.
Slow clapping echoed down the hallway.
I scrambled for the other blade and leaped to my feet, my heart plunging into my throat.
Trew emerged from the shadows like a predator from darkness itself. As he stalked toward me, each of his steps showed fluid grace and barely contained violence.
“Impressive,” he drawled, his hands falling to his sides. “I’mstarting to think you have an unhealthy obsession with sharp objects.” Before I could react, his hand shot out, and he twisted the knife from my grip, plucking it away. “Can’t have you taking another poke at me, can we, minxpip?”
“I didn’t—” I pressed my lips together. No point denying what we both knew.
“Oh, I think you did.” His sardonic gaze raked over me, taking in my defensive stance, the blood on my arm, and the way I’d positioned myself between him and the exit. “Interesting form you used there. Not from around here, is it?”
I kept my mouth shut.
“Your technique could use work. That slash he got in?” He gestured at my bleeding forearm. “Sloppy. You gave away your move. Next time, keep your guard higher. And don’t hesitate. When you commit to the kill, do it completely.”
“I don’t need fighting lessons from you.” I hated how breathless I sounded.
“No? Then maybe I should test your other skills instead.” His gaze fell on my mouth.
My body overheated. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I should run, put distance between us before I did something stupid. Instead, I wanted to rise on my toes and bite that smug mouth until he stopped looking at me like he knew all my secrets.
“Your ability to lie, for starters.” He stepped closer, backing me against the wall. “Tell me, minxpip, what else are you hiding?”
“Nothing.” I lifted my chin. “Go teach someone else. I killed him eventually, didn’t I?”
“Eventually.” His smile showed all teeth. “But eventually doesn’t help much when you’re bleeding out.”
That’s when I caught the reddish mark on the side of his neck, partially hidden by his collar. It was dark, possessive.Kira.
“Did she actually bite you?” The question slipped out before I could stop it. I wanted to claw the words back, but his smirk told me I was already too late.
She’d marked him. Kira had put her mouth on his throat and claimed him for everyone to see. Rage scraped at my chest, ugly and unwanted. I shut it down.
