Page 14 of Trivium

“Get me in.”

He stepped toward her, studying her face. “Why?”

Why wasn’t a no, and Loveleena grasped onto that. “I’m very”—she put too much emphasis on the word, and it came out sarcastic—“passionate about the cause.”

Ren raised an eyebrow. “You practically ran away from me earlier today.”

Okay maybe she was being sarcastic.

“I wasn’t running away from you, I was just—” she stopped herself before she could lie. “I just want to find my friend,” she added, honestly.

“Alva.” Ren laughed, as if her proposal was ridiculous. “You’re the daughter of a nobleman. The Academy is not for women like you.”

Women like you?

“It’s Loveleena. And what kind of woman am I? Since you seem to know so well.”

Ren did not even flinch, as if he never, ever, backed down from a fight.

Well neither did she.

“Noblewomen, women of high society, upper class, wealthy, women with political influence, women who would be wasting their cultural power defending the wall and⁠—”

She held up her hand. “Okay, you made your point.” Did he really have to remind her of her responsibilities—the ones she wanted absolutely nothing to do with?

“How about we make a deal?” she urged, “if I can steal your dagger, you have to take me with you.”

“Fine,” he answered quickly. She knew he would, because he didn’t believe she could steal it. Which was exactly why it was so incredibly satisfying when she revealed her hand hidden behind her back, holding his dagger. She had swiped it, on instinct, while he had been replacing the stones.

All that practicing, all that stealing, had finally paid off.

Ren glanced down, noticing his dagger was gone from his thigh for the first time. She stifled a cheeky smile as he dragged his eyes over her, seeing her in a new light. It was clear he saw her potential, whether good or bad. Which was why his answer felt like whiplash, hitting her like a blow to the chest. “No.”

“But we had a deal! You agreed⁠—”

“We have rules to follow, Alva.” He snatched the dagger from her hand.

“But you just climbed through a secret entrance in the wall. It seems like you do whatever you want, unchecked.”

“What makes you think I was going through the wall unchecked?”

Loveleena narrowed her eyes. “Because you’re very clearly a Slayer. You have plenty of ways to go beyond the wall. None of which involve sneaking through a secret passage in the middle of the night—not even for some top-secret mission.”

“And how would you know that?”

The truth was that she didn’t. But Ren’s face gave it away—just the smallest hint of uncertainty, and she knew she had caught him. “Nothing, not even special missions, require a wall breach.”

Ren smiled a cool, arrogant smile and shook his head slightly. “Look, Alva, I might⁠—”

“It’s Loveleena.”

“Defenders use last names.” He widened his stance. “So you should probably⁠—”

“Well, I don’t use last names.”

“—get used to it”

“So you’ll take me?”