He spat blood and just stared at me expectantly, like I had with Alexei. The pet had life left in him.
I threw him back, punched him, then kicked his knee out, watching him fall.
“Why the fuck do you keep getting up?” I pressed. I wasn’t about to spell it out for him.
He didn’t answer. I attacked.
Blood dripped from his nose, split lip, and cracked eyebrow. His face swelled, and although our squadron uniforms were thick, they didn’t prevent bruising. With the number of times I’d kneed, kicked, and punched his ribs, I’d be surprised if they weren’t broken. Based on the way he hunched over, my assumption had merit. He looked rough. Yethe didn’t raise a fist. He took it and staggered forward as if asking for more.
“I don’t know.” He waited almost eagerly for my punches—for the pain.
Pathetic. Yet understandable.
The forest dimmed, signaling the end of our time.
“Not good enough. Maybe you’ll have an answer for me tomorrow. Same time. Same place.” I gathered my swords, resheathing them as I searched the ground around the funerary platform.
“Why would you think I’d come back here with you tomorrow?” His tone lacked emotion and inflection. It almost didn’t sound like a question, more like a rehearsed phrase he knew he should ask to hide his true intentions.
I found the precious item I was searching for, picking it up and pocketing it before walking back to the pet with a smug grin. “Because we both know that little bit of pain did nothing to curb the agony of what you did to them. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“Seeing as Lucille isn’t out here running in front of my fists, I’m assuming you’re blocking your pain. Continue to do that. And go to the healers’ wing to see Sam. This will be our little secret.”
We luscelered back to the castle. On the way, I called for Rune and met her at the arena doors. After folding a small piece of paper around the chain, I pulled out two letters, tucking the necklace into the second one.
“Find Dorus first, then MJ, and give these to her,” I instructed, placing the letters on top of her head. Her shadows wrapped around the edges, securing the papers. I refrained from laughing. The folded pages protruded from her forehead like a tiny origami hat.
She growled, sensing my amusement.
“Hey, let’s just be grateful I’m not your average Seraphim, or the hellion would have to deal with a letter drenched in your foul saliva to keep it from burning.”
Rune bared her lengthy teeth, looking vicious and rabid. I glanced left and right, making sure no one lurked behind me before lowering to grab her muzzle and place a kiss on her nose.
“I’ll make you something tonight to help with your breath,” I murmured against her moving fur.
A sense of gratefulness flew down our connection, alerting me to the fact that she’d been really self-conscious about her breath.
I sighed. Lucille was turning my unruly Soulhound into a prissy princess.
“Go on. I’ll be in the healers’ wing until training.”
She bounded through the concerning slush, and I walked to the other side of the castle, relaying a message to Cato before heading to the healers’ wing.
I steppedinto Alexei’s room. He lay on his stomach, his wings ragged and patchy. His wounds no longer oozed cloudy fluid. Sam must have finished his debridement and healed his tissues yesterday. Maybe Alexei had a better chance of saving his wings than I thought.
“Come to see the show?” he asked, staring unseeingly at the magazine in front of him. It displayed beautiful females wearing costumes in compromising positions. Everything Alexei could want and more. I had no idea where he’d gotten it, but it did nothing to lighten his mood.
I sat in the chair beside his bed, getting pretty sick and tired of finding myself in this position again.
“What’d Sam say?”
Alexei flipped the page.
“I’ve got two choices—cut my wings off, or continue treatment, which would include reopening my wounds to attempt repairing my ligaments, possibly risking infection that’d take them anyway and potentially kill me, or if I’m lucky, maybe I’ll fly again.”
I’d assumed he’d be okay based on his stitched wounds. Some were healed over, but the ones that weren’t must contain a bone or ligament underneath for Sam toattemptto fix.
