The door slammed shut behind me as I picked my way across the mat of wriggling children. I could hardly hear my own thoughts over their bickering.
“Beth! Where were you today?!” she demanded. “And what were you doing with the good sir?!”
I ignored her and continued navigating to the back of the house.
“Acting like a dog in heat if I saw anything,” Kadar jeered. He leaned against a bookshelf, his feet free of wriggling limbs. Even his siblings knew to keep clear of him.
With my jaw clenched tight, I leveled my glower at him and his brother, both of which were much larger than I, and therefore believed they had the right to bully me. They weren’t the eldest of Kelsie’s brood, but they were the oldest still living in the house. Adar and Kadar—twins and monsters. Their older siblings moved in with Juar, who worked as a diver, hauling crystals from the caves that littered the coast.
“You saw nothing, pisspot,” I spat.
“Elspeth, the pigs need fed!” Kelsie shouted over the chaos.
I stepped on a stray hand and I swear little Harry bit my leg in return. I kicked his head and hopped a step.
“Soon enough she’ll have her own pigs, now that she’s bleeding.” Adar’s eyes glinted with mischief in the weak light.
“Shut your–”
“Did you see them? Two more seconds and they would have been rutting on the–”
I flung myself at Adar, aiming to slam my fist into his perfectly tan, chiseled jaw. Unfortunately, this was a common enough affair that he saw my swing coming and ducked, throwing his own at my belly. I choked on my breath as his blow drove the air from my lungs. Neither moved to catch me from my fall. I wrapped my arms around Adar’s legs and bit his thigh straight through his trousers.
His elbow slammed into my temple, causing everything to go black as I collapsed. The children were like carnivorous fish that sensed blood in the water. Within the span of a breath, it was an all out fight, complete with Kelsie screaming for peace.
I grabbed Kadar’s belt, using it as leverage to land a kick to his stomach. A strong hand snared my hair and jerked my head back. My eyes watered as my nails raked across skin, hoping I drew blood. A knee struck my hip, and I lurched. My forehead smacked against the splintered wood floor. I swung my leg out, knocking someone off their feet, then tried to stand. Adar hoisted me up by the collar of my shirt, chuckling as he pinned my arms to my sides. Meanwhile, Kadar shoved a kid aside to position himself in front of me.
“Call it, whore,” Adar sneered.
His hot, wet breath against my skin made me want to retch.
Kadar pulled up his beefy fists, and I tried to get my legs up to kick him away, but some child or another hugged my right foot. Stars flickered before my eyes as his fist slammed into my cheek. My whole body jerked with the force, and I struggled to rally myself, feeling the burn and trickle of blood down my face.
“Call it.” Adar practically giggled as Kadar readied for another punch.
I clenched my jaw and fought against Adar’s hold as best I could.
The second strike never came.
The door flew open with a crash, slamming against the wall. Every child turned toward the disturbance with a blade or some other crude weapon in hand. Guilt and shame burned my cheeks as the faint light illuminated Sainte’s frame. I knew it was him–I felt it in my bones.
“Triu. Degeh. Miun.”
Let. Her. Go.
No one moved a muscle.
I cursed a torrent of expletives as I translated his curt, unfaltering demand, and slowly, Adar released me. I shook off his hold, brushing at my sleeves as I scoured the frozen group. Sainte was cast in shadow, tension rolling off him in waves. With an irritable sigh, I shoved and kicked my way across the room.
Kelsie stood near the threshold, gripping the coin purse tight as if he might take it back. I pushed past her and stepped out onto the stairs, collapsing as the door clicked shut behind me.
“I could’ve handled it.” Frustrated and embarrassed, I wiped at my tender cheek with my dirty sleeve.
He lowered himself beside me, and the black leather of his glove was warm and soft as he turned my face to his. His touch slid under the cut I was sure bled profusely.
“No doubt,” he said.
“Sainte–”
