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He clinked the side of his metal goblet against mine, drained his, and then stood. “I need more. You?”
I shook my head and watched him walk away to refill his drink. Before his seat was cool, Dom slid into it.
I bristled. “What do you want?”
He made tsk-ing sounds in the back of his throat. “Is that the way you talk to a fellow Blade.”
“It’s the way I talk to a killer of a fellow Blade.”
The corner of his eye twitched as he clenched his jaw. “Zenen was never meant to die. Not that you will care about him for much longer.”
I wanted to ask what that meant, but I could not let him see that he had rattled me, or that he had any way to hurt me. As long as he did not know about Jess, I had no need to worry. At least, that was what I told myself as he pushed the chair back from the table, the legs scraping loudly on the stone.
“Good luck in the battle, Torq of House Swoll.”
So much menace dripped from his voice that, for the first time, I dreaded the battle more than I had dreaded the trials. And those had almost killed me.
Chapter
Fifty
Jess
Ismoothed my hands down the front of my uniform pants and took a deep breath as I swept my gaze around my room to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. I shouldn’t be nervous. The battle of the schools wasn’t anything like the trials. It wouldn’t be used to determine our placement at the academy, or if we could remain. It wasn’t even supposed to be deadly.
One of our Drexian Strategy instructors had called it a friendly competition to foster school pride and identity, although I had my doubts as to how friendly anything at the military academy truly was, especially after seeing how the Blades had been treating their first-years. If I hadn’t wanted to kick Torq in the balls myself, I would have felt bad for how he and his fellow first-years were being ostracized by the rest of the school. Then again, a cadet had died, and the entire School of Battle was being punished for it.
Since the only conversations I’d had with Torq after the incident hadn’t touched on what had actually happened, I only knew what was whispered in the halls or across dining tables. I only knew that the first-years had attempted to climb the forbidden tower, and one of their group had fallen to his death. It was deemed an accident, but even accidents carried punishment at the Drexian Academy.
I scooped my pack from the foot of my bed and hooked it over one shoulder. Fiona hadn’t been able to give us any hints about the route or challenges involved in the battle, but she’d given us a list of things that might be helpful. I eyed the curved blade, wishing that wasn’t something I would need, but then slid it into the holster around my waist.
A thump on my door told me it was time. I pressed my hand to the side panel and stepped out when it opened, joining Morgan as she bounced from foot to foot. Her pale hair was pulled up into a high ponytail which swished from side to side as she moved.
“Ready? Britta already left with a couple of Irons. We don’t want to be late.”
“Ready,” I told her, even as my pulse fluttered. “Why are you so excited about this?”
“It’s a chance for the Assassins to work together. It’s what we do best.” She threw an arm around me as we walked toward the stairs. “We’re going to crush it.”
Morgan’s enthusiasm was contagious, and by the time we’d reached the main hall, her exuberant chatter about what she thought might be in the competition had become infectious. I was now as excited as my friend.
The large main hall, with its sweeping staircase that curved up and around several levels, was filled with cadets. Even on the busiest days between classes, I hadn’t seen it so packed and buzzing with so much energy. Unlike the anxious charge that had permeated the air around the maze, this energy wasn’t laced with fear.
I exhaled again as I swept my gaze around the hulking Drexian cadets who all carried packs on their backs and blades on their waists. As fierce as they looked, even the Drexians who had been through battles of the schools before didn’t seem apprehensive. Maybe this would be a friendly competition, after all. Maybe this would be fun.
Just as I had decided that this was going to be a good time, I felt someone’s gaze on me. I rubbed the back of my neck where the hairs had prickled as I peered around, finally catching Torq standing off to one side. He was pretending to look over my head at the cadets filling the staircase, but I knew it was him.
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to shoot him a death glare. Why was he looking at me? He’d made it perfectly clear that he was done with me. That meant he wasn’t allowed to stare at me or make me feel awkward. Done was done.
“I don’t know why he’s even here,” Morgan said as she followed my gaze to Torq. “It’s not like the Blades will be starting with the rest of us.”
I shrugged and tried to pretend I didn’t care, which was starting to become the truth. After days of nursing my bruised ego and wondering how I could have been so wrong about him, the pain had faded, and looking at him now only provoked a faint twinge of regret. “Who knows and who cares, right?”
Morgan beamed at me. “That’s fucking right. Who cares about the Blades. They don’t stand a chance this year.”
Some other Assassins who’d gathered around us nodded and grinned. It would be an easier battle without the Blades, and fair or not, we were all going to enjoy the advantage.
“You shouldn’t hang your blade like that.”
