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I heard gasps from behind me. I was being insubordinate. Rude. Maybe even cruel. But I couldn’t find it in me to care. Nyxaris would be a lump of lifeless stone right now if Rodriguez had gotten his way.

He flinched, his face flushing. “Let’s step into the hall for a moment, Miss Pendragon,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Yes,” I agreed. “Let’s.” I shoved past him, throwing open the door and stepping out without waiting to see if he’d follow.

“Your behavior is completely unacceptable,” Rodriguez spat before he’d fully closed the door behind him.

“And you sound just like a highblood pawn, sir,” I snapped. “Toeing the line, are we? You say you care about blightborn lives, and yet dragons are the best defense against highbloods. You and I both know it.”

Rodriguez glared at me with something beyond fury in his eyes. “I should …”

“What?” I demanded. “Send me to see Headmaster Kim? Oh, that’s right. He’s dead. Speaking of the destabilization of order.”

“You listen so well to my lectures, and yet you still haven’t learned a thing, Miss Pendragon.” Rodriguez’s voice was cold.

“Learned what, that highbloods are evil? That blightborn are vulnerable? Oh, I think I’ve learned that pretty well. But unlike you, I don’t resort to tricks and treachery. I don’t attack my allies.”

“Allies?” Rodriguez snorted.

“Yes,” I retorted. “Because that’s what Nyxaris is … Was.” I stopped, confused.

Rodriguez smiled thinly, and I wanted to punch him. “That’s right. Was. He’s not your dragon anymore. Can you still hear him?”

I didn’t answer.

“You’re not his rider.” Rodriguez’s eyes softened slightly. “It must be quite a shock. Coming to terms with that.”

My eyes flared. “I don’t need your fucking sympathy. Don’t pretend to feel compassion for my situation when you’d have gladly turned the only dragon on our side back to stone.”

“On our side?” Rodriguez shook his head. “Nyxaris had never made a true position known.”

“Yet here you are working in a highblood school,” I pointed out. “Do you think your own position is so clear? Meanwhile, Marcus, Catherine, and Molindra are out there somewhere. Don’t you understand what that means?”

“Perhaps better than you do,” he responded coolly.

I wondered if that meant he knew where they were headed, what they’d do next—or just thought he did. Rodriguez had a lot of theories. Unfortunately, he’d just blown his credibility with me.

“Ah, yes, your precious knowledge of history,” I said bitterly. “It’s served you so well. Take a good look in the mirror. What you did allowed the greatest threat to blightborn lives to fly free. It’s your fault Molindra is out there. You’re a traitor to the very people you claim to want to protect.” I’d never spoken to anyone so cruelly before, but the words just rolled off my tongue. “You failed. No, you didn’t just fail. You made things worse.” The knowledge of our true situation suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. “If it weren’t for Florence, you’d be dead right now for what you tried to do to Nyxaris, Rodriguez. Do you even realize that? Dead.” I was coming undone. My body shook. I took a deep breath and tried to get myself back under control.

Rodriguez was silent. For a moment, I wondered if things were going to get ugly. Would he hit me? Would I hit him back? He was my teacher, yes, but he’d completely fucked things up.

The silence stretched on. For a moment I let myself wonder if he might actually be about to offer an apology, be the decent human being I’d always thought he was. But abruptly, he turned back to the classroom door.

“You’re excused from today’s class. But the next time you decide to throw a tantrum in one of my lectures, Miss Pendragon, think again. There will be consequences.”

The door slammed behind him before I could even respond. I stood alone in the hallway for a long moment. The scent of stale alcohol lingered even after the door had closed.

Finally, I started walking. I’d head towards the library, I decided. Make another attempt. The halls were nearly empty. I passed a few students who were clearly skipping class. Unlike me, though, they were all highbloods.

I rounded the next corner and froze. “Dani!” Her name slipped from my lips.

The blightborn girl was surrounded by three young men I didn’t recognize. Tall, broad-shouldered, good-looking. All highbloods. All arrogant, entitled pricks, in other words. To my surprise, Dani leaned against one of them—a muscular, hulking boy with long blond hair that fell around his shoulders. His arms were wrapped around her waist.

My mouth fell open in shock. He was drinking from her, right there in the open. Dani’s head sort of lolled to one side. Her eyes were glazed.

“Dani,” I said a little louder. “What the hell are you doing?”

She blinked, eyes hazy with bliss.