AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wriggled my shoulders but couldn’t budge. “Alcántara will find you. He’ll get you for this. ” Panic fueled my words—I wasn’t quite sure what I’d meant by them, or where they’d come from.
Masha’s voice closed in. “So you think you’re Hugo’s favorite? So sure, are you?”
Hugo? She and Alcántara were on a first-name basis. It silenced me.
“That’s right. Don’t speak about what you don’t know. ” She jammed fingers under my blindfold and ripped it off, tearing hair from my scalp with it.
I blinked, my eyes adjusting. The sky was steel gray, and it was impossible to tell what time it was. Half a dozen Initiates surrounded me. Most were older Guidons, like Masha and Trinity.
The Russian girl was in my face, smiling wickedly. Even in the dimness, her black bob gleamed. “I want to watch your eyes as you suffer. ”
Blood oozed down my cheekbone where her nails had raked my skin. It focused me.
Alcántara had said she was the one who’d be in trouble. That girls who fought were rewarded…and I wasn’t going down without a fight. “This isn’t about me. This is about you, Guidon Masha. You couldn’t best me in the dining hall, and Alcántara scolded you for it. ”
She stepped back, disgust shriveling her features. She brushed off her hands, and blond hair fluttered to the ground—my hair. She pulled a Sharpie from her boot and thrust it at an Initiate. “Decorate her. ”
Girls took turns writing on my belly, my forehead, over my pelvis. Childish crap like Eat me and fat slut, and some chilling things, too, like lunch.
Trinity grabbed a fistful of my hair to color strands of it with her Sharpie. She pulled hard, and I forced my head to remain upright even though the pain made tears run down my face. “You gonna cry, Acari? Boohoo. Can’t call you Blondie anymore. ”
I heard boys’ voices from across the quad. So it’d been dawn, not midnight, when Masha’s crew pulled me from bed.
They grew louder, approaching on the path. I’d thought I couldn’t care less what a bunch of Trainees thought of me, but still, I cringed. It seemed shame was a thing hardwired in my brain.
Trinity backed up to admire her handiwork. Girls began to laugh, catching her attention. “Here come the boys,” someone said.
She turned and saw them when I did—three Trainees stopped on the path before us. She gave a little squee of delight. “Just in time for the fun. ”
I forced myself to face the guys straight on. I recognized them from Yasuo’s group. Kevin, Rob…and Josh. Something about seeing a familiar face made me want to cry. Even if it was just stupid Josh. I stiffened my lips—I wouldn’t get emotional. I wouldn’t tremble in front of the guys.
Masha strolled toward them. “Come join us, boys. ”
Rob spoke up. He was tall and a little gangly, still filling into his length. He gave a rueful shake of his head. “Shouldn’t leave the path. ”
“Oh, but you can make an exception. ” Trinity was excited now. “We say so. ”
“Gotta follow the rules,” Kevin said, “and the rule is, Stay on the path. ”
“We order it. ” Trinity’s atonal northeastern accent had lowered to a threatening growl.
Masha rubbed her hip where she normally holstered her whip, now notably absent—had Alcántara taken it from her as part of her punishment? The notion cheered me for about a millisecond, until she spoke again.
“Come on,” she beckoned. “It’s okay for you boys. Come and take a piss on our Acari. ” Piss has a distinctive sound when pronounced with an impassioned Russian accent.
“Mark her like the dog she is,” a brown-haired Initiate said.
Trinity smiled wide. “Now’s your chance. ”
Rob’s face split into a grin. He stepped off the path. Kevin was right behind him, his hands on his zipper.
I swallowed convulsively. My throat ached with shame, but I refused to cry. Not in front of these apes.
Josh stepped from the path.
Not him, too. I swallowed and swallowed again. It was almost too hard to make my throat work around the ache.
But then he reached out, grabbed Kevin’s shoulder, grabbed Rob’s shoulder. “Really, mates?”
