Page 137 of Wings of Destruction

Kieran coughs over a laugh. At my expense, or because he knows exactly the kind of punishment Harbi can impart with her staff?

I guess I’ll see.

If I rattle her enough, she’ll toss me out, which has to be preferable to whatever deal Kieran’s trying to cut.

“Reputations mean nothing to me. They come and go. They are the product of whoever makes the most noise,” Harbi replies.

She doesn’t explain herself, though. Harbi’s demeanor is equal parts casual and cool. It’s intentional armor and one I’ve had to don myself. In that way, she reminds me of my mother.

Physically they are not the same.

Mother had been willowy and ethereal despite her strength, with hair the sometimes garish color of mine and pale skin that showed off her spray of freckles. So many people in our village had the same red hair as a hallmark of our territory.

Harbi’s tawny skin and dark sable locks make her the night to my mother’s day. Her stare remains fixed on me and my jaw locks.

This situation is wrong on many levels, and scorch him, but Kieran is marking me from the corner of his vision. He’s yet to look away.

“What does Kieran’s reputation say about him?” I half wonder out loud. “That he is daddy’s little lap dog barking at whoever he’s aimed at? That he can sway much older adults to do his bidding? Or maybe we all just like the way he looks.”

Kieran’s chuckle is louder and less able to be disguised.

“I’d watch your tone, Fury,” he mutters. “She’s not above corporal punishment.”

Judging from the weapons and that staff, the scuffs along the wood, Harbi knows exactly what to do to put a grown man down.

I twist against the binds again, hoping for leeway and finding nothing.

“You should never have been a maid,” Kieran says, stepping up to my side and speaking in low tones. “You should have been a student. It’s a terrible twist of fate that put you on the wrong side of this place.”

“And you can rot in the Void,” I reply sweetly.

I catch a flash of a grin from the headmistress. “She certainly has a mouth on her, doesn’t she?”

“If you want me dead then you’ll need more training,” Kieran says as he spells it out for me. “More training which I am willing to give you under the right circumstances.”

“Training.” Disdain drips from the word. “And what makes you think I’d want anything from you?”

“Because the alternative is death, and you’re too smart to choose that willingly.”

“Don’t presume to know what I’m smart enough to do,” I snap. “Your girlfriend already tried to put me in my place. How did that work out?”

A muscle ticks in Kieran’s jaw, but before he can respond, Harbi holds up a hand.

“We’re off topic, children.” It’s a lash of reprimand. “Going back to our earlier discussion brings me around to this, Miss Whyte.” Harbi pauses to cross behind the desk.

She ducks her head, a waterfall of hair hiding her sharp features. She lifts something but tucks it to her chest. I catch a glimpse of a folded edge. Some kind of letter?

“What are you hiding?” I ask.

“Kieran has made an offer on your behalf. He’s quite convincing when he wants to be, regardless of what you think of him.”

She has no idea what I think of him and it’s best to keep it that way.

“You can either accept your place as a student,” she begins, my heart racing. “Or you can⁠—”

My gorge rises.

“Pass,” I interrupt immediately.