Page 26 of Devil May Lie

“Dislocate my left shoulder,” Madden stopped and ordered before he could think better of it.

Kelevra quirked a dark brow. “Excuse me?”

“Do it.” It was crazy and extra as hell, but… “He’ll be able to tell if I go in with a fake injury.” That would be way more embarrassing than Madden sticking to his side like glue until he agreed to sleep with him again.

“You want me to—”

“Yeah.” Madden was still staring down at the spot where Berga had disappeared, already trying to figure out which medical room he’d be in. There were only five in the med-wing, but—He cursed as suddenly Kelevra was on him and his arm was wrenched painfully away from his body. “Mother fucker!”

“Happy?” Kel dropped his arm and slipped his hands into his pockets. “Anything else while I’m here?”

Madden gritted his teeth and grabbed the side of his arm protectively, shaking his head. “No, this is good enough. Thanks.”

“All right. Then I’ll see you later. I’m meeting Rin for lunch.” Kelevra turned and walked off without another word, clearly not caring even a little bit about why he’d been asked to hurt his best friend.

It didn’t take Madden long to enter the right wing, and he got busy seeking out his target. The first three rooms were either empty or occupied by nobodies, but he found Berga in the fourth on the left and braced himself for confrontation just before stepping in.

There was a nurse there instructing the three med students from Vail, and already one other cadet who looked like they’d rolled their ankle. A student Madden didn’t recognize was helping out there, which left both Berga and Zane free, the latter of which spotted him first.

“What did you do?” Zane asked, stepping over. He reached up to touch his shoulder, but Madden pulled away, ignoring the frown he received for that.

“I want Berga to do it,” he explained, loud enough the other occupants could all hear.

“I’m not responsible for Retinue,” Berga stated plainly, eyes down on a medical file he’d been flipping through since Madden had entered. He hadn’t looked up once, as though completely undisturbed by the fact he was technically in Retinue territory and should, therefore, be on his best behavior.

“You’re responsible for Academy cadets,” Madden said, sending a pointed look to the nurse so she would back him up.

He may just be a student, but there was no mistaking who was truly in charge at this school.

The nurse cleared her throat and gave a slight bow to Berga, even though the guy still hadn’t lifted his gaze from the file. “If you could please help Cadet Odell out, Mr. Obsidian. I’ll be sure to pass you for the day. You can even leave early, if you wish.”

“Wow.” Zane clicked his tongue and the nurse’s eyes went wide with obvious panic.

“Of course, I’ll offer you the same treatment, Mr. Zamir!”

“I came here to work, thanks,” Zane stated, shaking his head at Madden in an obvious move to dismiss the quaking woman. “That’s your shooting arm. What happened?”

“Dislocation,” Berga chirped, scanning one last page before he finally placed the file onto the table he was sitting on and set his crimson gaze on Madden.

“How do you know that?” he asked. “You didn’t even look at me yet.”

Berga motioned him over with two fingers and stood, swiveling to leave the spot on the table empty for Madden to take. He adjusted his gloves while he waited. “It’s fairly obvious.”

Madden walked over but turned to Zane. “Is it?”

Zane merely shrugged and moved off, clearly not interested in hovering now that he knew Berga was going to take over and fix the problem.

“Hurry up,” Berga said, reaching out to feel at his shoulder and arm almost as soon as Madden’s butt landed on the examination table.

“You still aren’t looking at me,” Madden noted.

“I’m doing that right now,” Berga corrected, inspecting him.

“You’re avoiding eye contact.” He tipped his head. “Don’t tell me…Are you feeling shy, Butcher?”

Berga scowled, then quickly corrected his expression, resetting his features into a blank mask. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mad King.”

“Look at me then.”

---