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That was exactly what he expected from me.
I refused to give him that satisfaction.
Instead, I channeled all of my frustration into proving Jack wrong, diving back into his exercises with renewed determination. My leotard and cropped sweatshirt were soaked with sweat and my body trembled with exhaustion, but I refused to back down.
“Enough,” Jack abruptly commanded. “You’re done for today.”
I blinked in confusion. Was he giving me a water break? I looked around the room in a daze. Through the frost-covered windows, an eerie twilight glow had pushed its way in and taken over the icy courtyard.
“Should I run laps?”
Jack shook his head and sheathed his sword.
“Not now. Tomorrow.”
Collapsing to my knees on the frozen floor, I fought back the tears that threatened to spill over as I realized just how utterly drained I was—both physically, and mentally.
“Get up,” Jack ordered, his voice devoid of any warmth or sympathy as he stared down at me with those piercing crimson eyes. “You still have a long way to go, Alice, but you’ve made progress today.”
Wait—what?
I’d made progress?
Did he just give me a compliment?
Drawing on the last dregs of my strength, I forced myself to stand, my legs quivering like jelly beneath me as I struggled to maintain my composure.
“We’ll meet here tomorrow.” He paused to catch my gaze, shooting me a look of warning. “At dawn.”
“Okay,” I nodded, trying to catch my breath. My voice was hoarse from exhaustion and unshed tears. “I swear I’ll be here on time.”
“See that you are,” Jack replied. Then, in one swift movement, he gathered his armor and disappeared into the shadows, letting the darkness swallow him whole.
* * *
ChapterFive
ALICE
I wanted to die.
That’s how much my body hurt.
I’d paid a shit-ton of money to booty boot camp trainers, although none of them had pushed me half this hard.
And the White Knight was doing it for free.
He’d terrorized me with demon dogs, made me run til I puked, kicked my ass with the Vorpal Sword, and expected me to be ready to go bright and early again at dawn.
Fucking sadist.
My burning limbs were heavy...so heavy. Even my neck was sore. How could holding up my head be this much work? A hot shower had done Jack shit to soothe my screaming muscles.
Speaking of Jack, I wanted to hate him...
But I was too tired.
I’d never known exhaustion like this...the feeling of being so sore, so tired, so completely empty. My mind could only perform basic tasks that I could do without thinking.
