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“The king announced that they were suspended until you were healed.” Haden's eyes cascaded over my face before glancing away at the sight of my wounds. I knew I looked horrible.
“Still no healing magic?” Haden questioned.
“I tried when I woke up and nothing happened.”
My eyes drifted to the table next to us when they all laughed while staring at me. My eyes drifted over each one as they whispered about me. Anger simmered in my chest, but more than that, embarrassment. Nev and Haden turned to glare at them.
“You got a fucking problem?” Haden snapped.
“We were just saying that we understand why you formed an alliance with the whore. Must be nice having your own personal slut in the games,” one of them yelled loudly. The whole room erupted in laughter. My eyes stayed on the table so I couldn’t give them the satisfaction of being upset. I could only imagine the rumors that had spread about me after Cassius’s outburst.
“We teamed up with her because she combust your body with just a look, asshole,” Nev snapped.
“Hey, Captain!” one of them yelled. My attention turned to them as if they were calling to me. My eyes shifted to Cassius, who was staring at the table talking about me. “Was Thea that bad of a lay that you ordered the king to keep her away from you?”
Cassius’s eyes shifted to me, but I didn’t look at him. My eyes stayed focused on the man who apparently felt brave today. “I’m taking it that she’s a lousy lay.”
“Damn Royer!” One of the men sitting at the table made a remark.
Cassius didn’t do anything to defend me, and I hadn’t expected him to. Nev and Haden stayed silent as I stood up with my plate so I could go back to my room. Before I could make it to the dish station, I felt a clump of soggy food collide with my shoulder. The guy that was talking the most shit started laughing.
“How does it feel to be humiliated in front of everyone? If you were wondering, we all think you’re pathetic.”
My plate hit the floor with a loud clatter as my fire burned wildly in my chest. I charged at the man, who immediately stopped smiling. Cassius’s shadows formed a shield between me and the man, but I sent my mist of fire out and burned through his shadows. Then, I sent another round of fire mist after the guy and wrapped him up in it. His smart-ass remarks disappeared as I stalked towards him. Cassius’s shadows pulled me away, forcing me to release the man.
I snapped a warning to Cassius, “Stay the fuck out of this.”
The man tackled me to the ground. His fist connected to my face, but I welcomed the pain. At least it was different from the humiliation I was constantly feeling. Bucking my hips up, I rolled us over. It was my turn to punch him. I punched and punched until he grabbed my arrow wound.
We both tumbled backward until shadows separated us again. My eyes snapped toward Cassius who was staring at me with a soft plea. My fire mist shot out at him, forcing his shadows to scatter.
Cassius slammed into the wall at the force of my mist. Then, I turned to Royer and smiled as his body trembled. Fire gathered in a ball in my hands before I slammed it into the man. He flew across the room, coming to a halt inches before he would have hit the wall thanks to Cassius’s shadows. He threw his hands up in defeat when I moved for him again, so I turned towards Cassius.
“Thea, calm the fuck down,” he demanded.
“Scared of me?” I snapped.
“I would be stupid to not be,” he sighed. His answer stopped me in my tracks. My eyes scanned the room and saw terrified faces looking back at me.
“No one else wants to make comments?” I asked the room, only to be met with silence. “You’re all fucking cowards.” I narrowed my gaze at Cassius who had his shadows ready to come at me. “And you’re the biggest fucking coward in here.”
Hurt flicked across his features. Sybil’s healing magic surged forward and healed me as I fled the castle.
“Thea!” a voice called after me, but I kept going. I ran until I couldn’t anymore and found that I had wound up in town. Catching my breath, I surveyed the quaint black stone structures, when my eyes locked on a charming bookstore. Eagerly, I made my way inside, and there, behind the wooden counter, an elderly woman greeted me with a warm smile.
“Good evening, dear. I was just about to close up.”
“Oh,” I breathed. “I was just wondering if you have any books about family crests from the area?”
She gave me an odd look before a smile returned to her face.
“I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into the back, and I breathed in the smell of all the old books in here. My heartbeat slowed as I relaxed. She came out a few minutes later holding a red leather-bound book.
“This has a bunch you can look through.”
“How much?” I didn’t have much, but hopefully it was enough.
“You’re Thea from the games?” she asked. When I nodded yes, she gave me a friendly smile. “Keep it. Free of charge. You’ve been very entertaining to watch.”
