Page 129 of Destined to Fight

“I do not consider my acts noble, Grand Master. I simply believe in fighting alongside those who fight for you.”

“Mm, yes, it appears you do. You do realize I could have you beheaded for your actions?”

“Yes, Grand Master, I do realize that.”

“Of course you do. And I’d venture to guess you don’t fear it at all.”

That seemed like a statement more than a question, so Kelly didn’t answer.

“Unfortunately for you, you’re too valuable to the Arcane to simply behead you. I would much prefer it, but my colleagues have recommended otherwise.”

Another long pause for dramatic effect.

“I will offer you two choices, Miss Hart. The first is for you to join the Council for the remainder of your days. We will provide a mentor to help you through your bonding, and, of course, you would be paid a generous salary.”

She paused yet again, gauging Kelly’s reaction.

Kelly did her best not to give one as her blood boiled at the thought. She would find a way to end her own life before signing on to help the Council.

“The second is that you remain in your current position without our assistance. You will be given one year from this date to successfully complete your bonding. Should you fail, your power and your memory will be stripped from you. We would, of course, return you to your vehicle and reinstate your gym membership so you could go about your typical human life.”

Boy, did they know how to make things enticing. Not enticing enough, though.

“While I appreciate your first offer, I respectfully decline. I’ll take my chances.”

The Grand Master seemed surprised. “You do realize a mage has never bonded at your age? The current record stands at six years, four months, thirteen days from the onset of their training.”

“I guess I better get started then. Is that all?”

Oops, there was that emotion Kade warned against. He begged her to rein it in.

“No, Miss Hart, not in the least. I caution you to watch your tone.”

Swallowing her pride, Kelly responded, “Yes, Grand Master.” She purposely skipped the apology.

The Grand Master ignored her attitude. “I recommend you make better choices in the future. You could have simply left. We are all aware that Keegan MacCabe can fly. He could have taken you from the premises. I have no doubt the dead were there only for you and would have left when you did.”

The fact that she knew all of this was unsettling. “With the ward on the house, I thought I had a better chance against the dead than the living Arcane who were hunting me. I felt it best to help my people and maintain my ground.”

“Yes, of course you did. Yet you still failed to protect one of your people, and you defied a direct order by maintaining your ground and using your powers.”

Of course the bitch would bring that up.

Kade had let her know hours after the fight that one of their guards had been killed. Kelly hadn’t even known his name, but the loss hit her hard. She’d vowed from that point on to know every single person who fought for them.

Kelly was less than a second away from telling the Grand Master exactly what she thought of the Council when Kade sent her a very loud message.

Hold yer tongue! She can still have ye, or all of us, beheaded.

She can also go to hell.

Someday, lass.

“Yes, Grand Master, and I am here to face the consequences of my mistakes. I deeply regret the fact that Jason lost his life in the fight.” She couldn’t stop herself from the next part. “I am curious to know if the necromancer will be called to a hearing regarding their use of power in the presence of humans.”

Gaelic curses flew through Kade’s mind so fast Kelly could barely separate the syllables.

A dagger flew through the air from in front of the Grand Master and stopped just in front of Kelly’s neck.

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