Sterling broke away from the students and walked over to us. Tendrils of silver hair had come loose from his topknot, whipping about his face in agitation as he approached.
I wondered how he’d feel about being bald.
“Miss Embercrest.” He smiled thinly at Dori. “I hear exercise is the perfect cure for constipation, and since you don’tgive a shit, you can give me ten laps. Now.”
Dori’s jaw tensed, and for a moment, I thought she’d argue, but she dropped a curt nod and jogged off toward the track.
“Miss Tavona, find a group to teach on defensive maneuvers. Ironhart, you can do the same but with offensive.”
They hurried off, leaving me alone with Sterling. I fixed him with a blank look, waiting for instructions.
He looked me up and down, slowly and derisively, his gaze lingering on my bandaged hand before he turned to walk away.
What the fuck? “Hey! Damascus, what about me?”
He paused but didn’t turn around. “What about you?”
“What do you want me to do?”
“You?” He threw a scathing look over his shoulder. “You can do the only thing that you’re good for. Nothing.” He walked off, leaving me standing on the outskirts of the arena with a hot coal of hatred burning a hole in my chest.
I couldn’t kill him, but I’d find a way to make him hurt. To make him scream. “I guess we can’t all be Daddy’s little lapdog!”
He stopped, shoulders bunching beneath his black, fitted shirt before reaching into his pocket to draw out a whistle.
He blasted it twice in short succession, and everyone stopped what they were doing. “Miss Onyx has kindly agreed to aid me in demonstrating the Hamlin maneuver.”
The horror on my fellow Unwoven’s faces, coupled with the grins on the younger students’ faces, was enough to put me on edge. But I’d be damned if I showed him that I was concerned.
He turned, wearing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Miss Onyx, if you wouldn’t mind joining me.” He headed for the other side of the training arena, all sand and gravel.
I followed as Dori rushed to catch up. “What are you doing? The Hamlin is one of the most aggressive hand-to-hand techniques. It’s meant for a piper-Horror. Only seasoned Hunters are allowed to demonstrate it on each other. There’s a way to play the piper to avoid getting hurt, and you’re already hurt.”
I had no clue what a piper was, but if Sterling thought he could hurt me, he was going to be sorely disappointed. “I’ll be fine.” I broke away from her to join Sterling. “What do you need me to do?”
“Stay calm,” he said. “Don’t tense up. Don’t fight me. And you’ll be fine.” That smile again, all deceit and jagged edges.
I shrugged, feigning indifference. “Let’s do this.”
I rolled my shoulders and ordered my body to relax—no easy feat in the presence of a male I wanted to stake then barbecue. The students gathered close, nudging one another and whispering. A boy with a silver buzz cut pushed his way to the front. His facial expression, the hair, and the sharp arch of his eyebrows were all similar to Sterling. He had to be his brother, Tyler.
“Do we get to try after?” he asked.
“No,” Sterling said.
“Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
“But—”
“Enough!” Sterling snapped. “One more word and you’re off combat class for the month.”
Tyler pressed his lips together, hands curling into fists at his side.
Sterling circled me. “There may come a time when you are without a weapon, a time when the Weave is out of touch, and you have only your body to rely on. One thing we have learned about pipers—their arms are thick and powerful, but their bones are not so strong.” He stopped behind me, and my skin crawled with awareness. “In order to incapacitate a piper, you must get behind it and?—”
He grabbed my elbows, yanked them back, and shoved his knee into my spine, forcing my body into a sudden arch before slamming me into the ground so hard that he knocked the breath from my lungs.
