Page 126 of Veiled

My pulse trips painfully. Images of my father. His hands.

“You thought I was evil.”

He bumps into my hand, and for the first time, I feel his emotions come through the bond. Regretful, protective, and is he nervous?

“I thought you meant them harm. And when you came at me the next class, I could see your anger and the defiance written on your face. I planned to end you right then, but then you spoke. You talked of your fear with such honesty, and I found myself needing to hear what you had to say..”

Tyr’s eyes blaze.

“And when your hand touched my muzzle, I felt the truth. The darkness was not yours. It was inflicted on you. And beneath it…”

Was it dark from years of enduring what I had? Or because of what I had tried to do? Could it have lingered from my nightmares the night before? Does it even matter?

His voice softens, making my chest ache.

“Listen to me, Little Faren. Beneath it, you were light. Unbroken. I could feel someone had tried to break you, but you are good.”

I blink hard, fighting the sudden burn in my eyes as his cheek gently grazes mine.

“The moment I understood that, I wanted to kill whoever had hurt you.”

Something inside me cracks, and I can’t hold back the tears.

“I spared you because it was you who was wronged, but I bonded with you because the first emotion you sent me, through all the darkness, was not hate. It was hope.”

My heart clenches painfully.

He pulls back just enough for his molten eyes to meet mine fully. “You are mine to protect now.”

Neither of us says anything else, but we don’t need to. Our bond hums as he lets me lean against him. We sit here in peace until we can hear the sounds of Scion waking up for the day in the distance. And as we go our separate ways, I’m suddenly sad I won’t be able to talk to him in my mind all day.

The mat is slick with sweat as Emily and I block, dodge, and swipe our mercurial blades—currently in sword form—at each other.

When this starts to feel more like a dance than a fight, I throw a kick to Emily’s stomach, but right as my shoe brushes her shirt, she’s lifting it into the air. High. Too high. I fight to free my leg, but I’m thrown off balance and land hard on the mat.

As soon as I hit the ground, she’s on top of me, dagger blade pressed to my throat.

“Good, Emily!

“Annalise,” Korr barks. “Do us all a favor and at least try to stay off your back in this class.”

Fucking asshole.

“Yes, Sir,” I grit out.

“Reset?” Emily asks as she helps me back to my feet.

We get back into fighting position, and with a nod, we start.

I stay low this time, knees bent.

Again, we jab and block, circling each other while we look for openings in the other’s stance.

Korr yells suddenly, “Annalise! Emily! I want a show. Stop dancing like amateurs and fight like your life depends on it.”

Instantly, I have a plan. This isn’t class, this is fighting for my life—and I know how to do that better than most.

Emily lunges, and I grit my teeth as I let her sword blade slice my shoulder.