Tala is standing with Isaac.
I stare at him, taking in how disheveled his hair looks and the dark circles beneath his bloodshot eyes. The sight of him fills me with fury. Thinking of what he did not only to me but to Maeve and Amund? Some part of mewantsto hurt him. To make him pay. Swallowing the acid burning the back of my throat, I do my best to smile and pretend like my attacker isn’t standing right in front of me.
“Hey, Edith,” Tala says with a wave. “You sure you’re ready?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lie.
Isaac looks me over, wincing when he sees my lip. “Whoa. What happened to you?”
As if you don’t know. He’s taunting me now. I flex my fingers, trying to get myself back under control before I do something foolish. This isn’t like me. Impulsive. Violent.
Or maybe it is.
Maybe I’m more like Dad than I care to admit.
“I was attacked,” I grit out.
“You weren’t the only one,” he says roughly, tugging on the sleeves of his tunic. I can’t get a good look at his arm like this.
“That’s why I’m here,” I add, my focus not leaving Isaac. “I want to learn how to go berserk so I can fight back.”
Before things can escalate further, Gunnar finally shows up.
It’s about time.
He walks in front of the class. “Today, I want you to spar with each other. Your goal is tonotgo berserk.”
“I thought this was supposed to be Transformation,” Kris mutters.
More students join in, talking loudly over each other.
Gunnar raises his voice. “You need to be in control of your anger. You cannot let it control you. No transforming, not even in the slightest. Now, let’s get started.”
This could be my chance to get close to Isaac.
Even if I’ll have to face off against him and, more important, keep my anger in check while I do.
“Isaac,” I say as he turns to Tala, “do you think maybe I could spar with you?”
Tala shoots him a warning look, but he’s oblivious.
“Sure,” Isaac says, a glint in his eyes.
He takes up an ancient-looking shield and stands opposite me.
His build isn’t as broad as Amund’s, but it’s still sleek and predatory. Staring him down like this, I can feel the anger building inside me already, and we haven’t even started. “Actually,” I say as innocently as I can, “I was hoping you could go first. Show me how it’s done.”
“Yeah, of course,” Isaac says, offering me the shield.
When I take it from him, he starts rolling up his sleeves, exposing his arms.
Sure enough, there’s a long slice on his forearm right where Amund said there would be.
“What happened to your arm?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
I want to see what he’ll say.
Isaac glances down, noticing what I’m staring at. He curls his arm, pushing some of his hair out of his face. “This? Some lunatic cut me in the dining hall. Literally. There was a crowd of students, so I couldn’t see who, but I definitely felt it. Probably a fucking hunter.”
