“And you assholes didn’t wake me up?!” Ryker moans, his eyes showing betrayal.

  “Didn’t want to disturb you,” I yawn, my head leaning on my hand at the breakfast table, “You were just too cute,” I tease, earning myself an unamused frown.

  “What happened to sticking together?” He demands, looking between Kieran and I.

  I do feel guilty that Ryker feels this hurt, I hadn’t realized it would mean so much to him, “I just couldn’t sleep. If I do it again, I’ll get you up. Promise.”

  Ryker grumbles dramatically, continuing to shovel food into his stomach. After a few moments of silence, he bursts out, “You have to show me. There are no secrets in our party.”

  Smiling, I look to Kieran, who is equally as amused.

  It’s funny how close I’m growing to the boys. It’s as if we’ve known each other forever. I do have to wonder if they would still want to be my friend if they knew the real me, the one who has existed long before this place. But regardless, it’s a relief to have them, especially here, where danger lurks at every corner, most especially in the case of Alec and his pack.

  Speaking of the pack, I glance at the raven, who is not eating, his arms crossed on the table and face hardened. He has not spoken to me, nor Kieran, about last night, but I know he is aware of what we were up to. Maybe he’s going to ignore it, and never speak a word. As much as I may hope for that, I doubt it’ll come true.

  “Sparring starts in two weeks,” Ryker says, his tone cautious.

  My entire body seems to jolt. In two week?!

  Ryker eyes me with an air of casualty, but I know he’s dying to ask once more. The answer will be no. As it has been every time he’s asked.

  “Who are we with?” Kieran asks, eyes flicking to my scabbing hands.

  “Er, now Mae, don’t freak out,” Ryker grimaces as my face falls slack.

  “No.” I sit upright, refusing to look over, “Not Suncrest. Tell me it's not Suncrest.”

  “It’s er, not not Suncrest,” Ryker tries, as my face falls into my hands.

  I groan into my torn skin, “He’s going to kill me.”

  “He’s not going to kill you.” Ryker flicks my forehead, “If you want me to-”

  “No!” I almost scream, swallowing the rest of the sound, “No. It's fine.”

  Kieran raises an eyebrow, and I turn to him, snapping, “What, you too?”

  Kieran shrugs and resumes spinning his glass between his fingers, gazing across the room. I follow his eyes, and find them planted on the boy from last night, his fox sitting upright to his side. His back is turned, his black hair almost as deep as his skin. There are only a handful of students sitting at the Merikna, the rest of which I believe to be Crawlers, based on the tight bunching and lowered voices.

  Reminding me of another part of the night, I look to the table of instructors. At once, I find Colonel Crane, his head bowed with Colonel Talonveil, talking quickly over a platter of fried tomatoes. Talonveil is tall and slender, her hair a modest brown that is woven into a single, elegant braid, with eyes of cutting sapphires.

  Sensing my presence, Talonveil looks up, followed by Crane, and they both fall silent at once. I should have expected it, Talonveil is the head of the Locks, it’s her job to observe, of course she would notice.

  “We’d better head back,” Ryker stands from the table, snorting at my groan.

  Just as Kieran and I follow, another bench screams, and Alec stands from his seat, strutting over like a lion, whipping his mane with cocky pride.

  “Fangera!” He calls, catching the attention of most, “I’d soak up the time you’ve got with your mutts,” he strides by, knocking into my shoulder, “You won’t be able to when I tear off all your limbs!”

  His pack laughs with overexaggerated humor, but the raven ignores me altogether, as they follow Alec out of the room, disappearing down the hall to Suncrest, where Alec will prepare to rip me to shreds.

  ???

  “Again, Fangera,” Pineherth drawls, leaning against the mirrored wall.

  I retrieve my blades, each as uselessly thrown as the last. The Sergeant assigned me extra training, after a day of, what she put bluntly, poor and inexcusable talent. I don’t think my face cooled for an hour after the rest of the class left, the last of which being Ryker and Kieran, who all but begged to stay behind to help. Pineherth refused, which I can’t decide if I appreciate or not. At least with them here I don’t feel so seen.

  Lining up fifteen feet away, I take a deep breath and pluck one of the blades from the rack, staring hesitantly at the target. I’ve only hit it six times, and I’ve been working alone for well over four hours, my hands now so beaten they’ve lost all feeling.

  “Remember,” she calls, her tone now annoyed, “Cock back, breathe in, and release with your exhale.”

  She doesn’t have to remind me. The words have ingrained themselves into my brain. I can practically feel the wound, dripping blood into my mind.

  I cock back slowly, still unsure, and take a deep breath, holding it before spinning the knife from my fingers and sharply releasing the breath. The blade flies through the air, soaring to the back wall where it skims the side of the block, tearing off a hanging sliver of wood and clattering into the chipped wall.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Pineherth huffs a disappointed groan, and pushes off the mirrors, stalking to the door, “That’s all Fangera. Head back to the dorms, dinner finished two hours ago.”

  Sighing and feeling helpless, I slouch my way back to our room, eager to get back to the boys. When I find them, Ryker gives me a wide grin, and Kieran pushes off the bunk, meeting me as I stop in front of Ryker, where he sits expectantly, holding a bundle of rolled fabric.

  “Alright?” Ryker asks, eyes glistening with questions.

  “No better than before,” I shrug, taking a seat on the edge of his bed, “She had me work with knives most of the time.”

  “How are your hands?” Kieran asks, an eye twitching when I show the brutal blisters.

  He reaches up to his bed, shifting around under his covers until at last pulls back a roll of bandages, and gestures for me to lift my hands. Tenderly, he wraps them, making sure the hold it tight. When he finishes, he steps back, admiring his clean work.

  “Thanks,” I say, somewhat shocked, “Where did you get them?”

  Kieran shrugs, “Nicked them from a supply closet.”

  Blinking away my surprise, I turn to Ryker, where the bundle is still tucked in his hand.

  “What’s that?”

  Ryker smiles proudly, setting it on my lap, “Rolls and some cheese from dinner. Thought you’d want something to eat.”

  Surprised again, I look between my friends, “Alright, what’s the deal?”

  Ryker’s face drops, a frown holding his mouth, “What d’you mean?”

  “You know,” I stand, setting the food on the bed, “This.” I gesture to my hands and food.

  “Use your words, Fangera,” Ryker raises an eyebrow, “What is this.”

  “Just-” I cross my arms tight across my chest, “Nobody’s ever done this for me.”

  “Done what?” Ryker laughs, “Looked out for you?”

  I shift on my feet, nervous energy bubbling over the cusp. Mother didn’t, or at least, I don’t remember her doing so. But I don’t think about her, not after that terrible night, which comes second in the worst days of my life.

  I looked out for father, but he never gave much thought to me, unless he wanted to scream. The Kyne’s did their best, but never got very far. And Dax…Dax was my brother. He was good to play with, and was always my biggest hero, but even he didn’t say anything against father. Not even when he pulled out the whip.

  “Mae,” Kieran says softly, pushing me onto the bed, “Just eat the damn food.”

  Smiling softly, I pick apart the roll. But only after a few minutes do I relax, when Ryker has jumped into a story from his childhood, when he and his brother ran pantsless around the town. At the end, the story has water squirting from my nose, and even Kieran laughs loudly, the sound pleasant to the ears.

  Soon, we all slip off to our beds, exhausted from a full day of training. And to my immense relief, I at last fall asleep, earning myself the first night of slumber since long before I arrived. It is nice, to be in such peace, at least until I wake up from a strange sound, and begrudgingly get up to the bathroom.

  Slinking through the darkness, careful to not disturb a snoring Alec, I reach the inside of the stone chamber. But as I approach the stalls, a cold, haunting voice emerges from the shadows,

  “Hello, little bird.”

  To my horror, Greyson Panthera stalks out from the empty showers, slithering from the shadows to lean casually against a wall, his muscled arms traced with veins.

  Panic rises and lodges in my throat, strangling me so pathetically I can’t force my feet from the floor, as if they’ve been glued internally.

  “I wouldn’t try to run, or call for help,” he says monotone, cocking his head with despicable casualty, “Your big, bad boyfriends wouldn’t get to you in time, anyway.”

  “They’re not my boyfriends,” I growl through my teeth.

  “I don’t care what they are to you, Fangera,” he rolls his eyes, pushing off the sink to prowl nauseatingly close. He smells like pine and firewood, but all I can taste is ash.

  “What do you want?” I snap.

  “Play nice now,” he tsks, looking me up and down with narrowed eyes, “What were you doing last night?”

  My face screws up, nose flaring, “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “But you found the House of Merikna.” He pushes, making me pause.

  How could he know that? Was he following me? I would have seen him.

  I stay quiet, mind running in a hundred directions.

  Panthera matches this, his eyes glued to mine, before slowly saying, his voice quite low, “Do you like being punished, Fangera?”

  I can almost feel my blood turn cold.

  “Excuse me?” I clench my teeth hard, recoiling as he steps close once more.

  “I said, do you like to be punished?” Panthera steps so close we share breaths, though he stands several inches taller, and looks down at me from his nose, “Because I can punish you. And I promise. I’m very good at it.”

  “How dare you!” I gasp, doing my best to keep a brave face.

  “Tell me what you overheard last night,” Panthera demands, his entire body now radiating with predatory intent.

  “What?” My brows furrow, “You want to know about the Lynx?”

  “Of course, you idiot!” He snaps, now losing that face of calm, “You think I called you here for your company? Because sorry to break it to you, but I’m not interested.”

  The tone makes me flinch, but his glare only intensifies. He bears his teeth, shoving me into the door, pinning me to the old wood, his hand closed tight around my throat, my feet no longer touching the floor.

  Just as I see stars, he releases me, allowing me to drop, now gasping for breath.

  “What a waste of air,” he scoffs, “You can’t even stand your ground, can you, Fangera?”

  Everything goes fuzzy, and I can’t find the words to retort, wholly consumed with the stench of danger, only intensifying as he tears me from the ground, a knife held to my heart. He has me pulled close, my back flush with his chest, the blade digging a notch in my top.

  “Now that we’ve had some fun,” he whispers, his mouth grazing my ear, “Tell me, what did you hear last night, Mauven?”

  Unable to do anything else, I tell him what I heard, reciting it word for word. I tell him where I hid, of the secret stairs and door to the Merikna. I tell him so much that I almost relive the experience for myself, only stopping when he snarls,

  “Is that all?”

  “Yes,” I do my best to not tremble, “that’s all.”

  He waits a moment before releasing me, and I stumble forward. But before I can say another word, the door creaks open, and a set of heavy footsteps enters the room.

  Expecting the worst, it is to my great relief that it is Kaiya Thornbern who has joined this strange moment, her face clearly shocked before soothing into hardened steel.

  “Everything alright in here?” She asks, looking between the raven and I, her hands flicking to a knife tucked into her pocket, the imprint clear as a cloudless sky.

  “Fangera was just telling me a bedtime story,” Panthera says casually, striding past Kaiya and ignoring me altogether, “But she’s officially bored me to sleep.”

  With that, he disappears, and the door silently closes.

  I take a deep breath, muttering incoherently as Kaiya eyes me wearily.

  “You alright, girl?” She asks, her eyes showing fear, “Did he…did he do anything?”

  “Fine,” I grumble, following Panthera out the door, “I’m fine.”