“If your apprentice touches her again, if he so much aslooksat her, he’ll be fighting me. And when there’s nothing but a cold fucking corpse, you can send a condolence letter to his mummyand daddy.” The two men stood toe to toe, ready to rip each other’s throats out. I’d never seen this wild side of Vander.
My heart hammered in my chest, thundered in my ears. Falcon gripped my bicep and backed me and Celine around to the side of the table. Blood dripped freely from Celine’s nose, and she let it. Like she wanted Beast to see what he’d done.
“You can’t kill?—”
“After he just attempted to murder my apprentice, yes, I could.”
Dred’s jaw tensed. “He was defending himself after sheattackedhim. He’d have left her with a little scar as a reminder, nothing more.”
“Don’t twist it. We all saw what happened.”
Ghost, Scout, and a few other trainers carefully moved closer. Some I didn’t know the names of inched around to back Dred. The air felt like menacing black clouds waiting for thunder to crack after a streak of lightning. In one of the windows, I caught movement. Commander Ace watched from above with a pensive expression.
“I saw that he was razzing the boy a little and she smashed a glass over his head. Maybe you need to get your apprentice under control.”
“Oh, is that what you saw?” Vander’s voice was low, venomous, every bit the viper. “You’re not going to lie your way out of this one. Me for Bonecarver, you for Beast.”
Dred’s jaw muscles flicked, his eye twitched. A shine of sweat glistened on his brow. “We’ll just let it be a blow for a blow. Your apprentice struck mine and mine struck yours. It’s done.”
“I can smell your fear, Dred. Maybe your apprentice isn’t the onlylittle bitchhere.”
Falcon tensed beside me, and she slowly curled her fingers around her dagger’s hilt.
Him for me, what did that mean? “What is happening?” The tension was crackling, palpable.
“The old way,” Falcon murmured. “A challenge. Dred cannot back down now.”
Dred licked his bottom lip. “I accept your challenge, Viper.”
Vander heldmy hand over the copper sink in our bathing chambers. The glove I always wore was sticky with blood. I’d have to sew the slice in the leather later. “I can clean it myself.”
“Take off the glove. You need stitches, not just cleaning.”
It had been years since anyone had seen my hand. I didn’t even let my family see it. It reminded them of what happened to me and Grandma Thora. It reminded them that I was different, that there was something tainted about me.
“Viper, I don’t need your help. I’ll be fine.”
He shoved aside the few toiletries on the counter beside the sink and they crashed to the floor. “Sit down.”
My stomach coiled with nerves. I tried to pull my wrist out of his fingers, but his grip was ironclad. “I—please, I can take care of this.”
“Your scars aren’t going to make me think differently of you. Sit down, Bonecarver.”
His tone left no room for argument. I gritted my teeth and hopped onto the counter. He nudged my knees apart and stood between them. I could hardly think straight when he stood this close. That’s probably why he was inches from me, he knew it would shut me up.
He tugged at the fabric of my glove, but it was sticky and I winced. His brow pinched and he stopped. A moment later, he held a pair of scissors and slid it against my palm and cut awaythe fabric. The gash was wider than I thought, revealing muscle tissue, even white bone. Feeling slightly faint, I turned my head away. Warm water ran over my skin, stinging it.
“You owe me a new glove, Viper.”
“I’ll get one for you.”
The soft cloth he wrapped around my hand was cream. It would be stained forever. After he pulled it away, the pads of his fingers glided across my scarred flesh. His eyes rose to mine, flicking back and forth in question. I felt even more ill. I didn’t want him to see the scars.
“What happened? I think we’re past the point of you hiding it from me.”
“A wolf.” I met his stare and lied like I had for years. That’s the story we always told. I was attacked by a wolf, and my father saved me.
“A wolf,” he deadpanned.
