“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
He shrugged. “Once people got back to town, the story started getting twisted. People said Kaelric killed his bonded in their sleep and tried to steal Blood Veil. I wasn’t sure what to believe for a long time, even after my brother told me his version. But now that I’ve gotten to know Kaelric and have seen how protective he is of you… I think my brother’s version is true.”
Great.Fabulous. I sighed, feeling like an absolute idiot. I should have known not to trust the Elite. I should have known.
“Thank you for telling me,” I told him, and then excused myself. I had to go find Kaelric and apologize.
I told Kaelric I wouldn’t even trust him around my family after he tried to give them free food. What a fool I was. I should have seen his actions all along were noble, and trusted that over a stupid mark branded onto him by the very people I hated!
I ran from the room, heading back for the dorms where I hoped Kaelric would be. When I turned the corner, I bumped right into someone’s chest.
“Oh, sorry.” I stumbled backward and looked up.
It was the wolf-bonded guy with the shaved head who’d been threatening Kaelric. And his Elite partner.
They both glared down at me with such hatred that a chill ran down my spine. I reached for Valkaryn, only to realize that I had left her in the training room.
No.
“Where’s your guardian?” Baldy sneered, stepping behind me and blocking me in the dark hallway.
“Right behind me, coming out of the training room,” I lied.
The Elite grinned. “She’s smart, but a liar. I saw him crossing the quad a few minutes ago.”
My stomach knotted, my throat growing dry as pure panic flooded my system.
“Do you think we are stupid? We know why that traitor Regalis gave you magic,” the Elite growled, stepping so close to me that my back was pressed up against the wall. “We’ll never let it happen.”
Baldy peered down at my hip. “Where’s the sword?” he growled.
I froze, completely terrified. I’d never been in a situation like this. They had boxed me in with nowhere to run. I always imagined that if cornered like this in a dark hallway, I would kick the guy in the balls and run… but here I was, just shaking like a leaf.
The Elite’s hand suddenly came up around mythroat and squeezed. I felt magic filter into my limbs from him.
Oh no.House of Vexalor. Blood magic.I could physically feel my blood getting hotter, and knew then that the rumors of House of Vexalor heirs being able to boil you from the inside out were probably true.
All that frozen-in-fear stuff melted away then. Being boiled from the inside out was not on my bucket list of things to do today. I suddenly turned into a feral cat. A garbled screech left my throat as I jerked my head forward and cracked it into the Elite’s skull. He released me, and then I pounced on him. I didn’t really think, I just acted. One second, I was stumbling forward, and the next, my thumbs were jammed into his eye sockets. He yelped, and I heard a scuffle behind me, which turned into animalistic growling, but I ignored it. I was too hot,sohot I thought I was going to pass out.
Pass out.
I had no magic, but I knew that you needed to be conscious in order for magic to work. If I could make the Elite blood boiler pass out, his hold over me might stop.
Just as the heat ramped up and sweat rolled down my face, I pushed with everything I had, cupping the Elite’s face with my hands, thumbs in eye sockets, and smashed his head against the wall.Hard.
With a crack, he dropped to the ground, limp, and I spun, ready to fight the wolfkin, when I came face to face with Kaelric. His shirt was torn, his eyes yellow, as he let his gaze scan over my body possessively.
“Are you okay?” he asked, voice gruff.
I peered behind him to see that the bald wolfkin was in a heap on the floor.
“Did you kill him?” I squeaked.
“Are you hurt?” he asked again, this time more forcefully.
I brought my hand to my sweaty head, which was pounding with a raging headache, but I felt okay. My throat was sore too, but that was it.
“I’m okay,” I breathed.
