Page 64 of House of Ydril

I just look at her for a second. I hear the others sniggering. And there’s no way I can do the thing she’s asking me to, but I choose not to complain.

“Alright, I guess I’ll get started on that then,” I squeeze out as I throw them all one wide, fake smile and start getting into the right stance to use the Element rune.

I block out their sniggering and focus on getting into the right mindset. Part of my mind does register Sarya using her runes to summon a couple of other weapons so the rest of them can start sparring.

But I’m busy working on an idea. Sure, neither my Air nor Earth magic would be strong enough to get this done, but what if I use them together? If I use Earth to get the mallet out of the rack and Air to summon it to my feet?

But not a minute goes by and Leo appears to my side, breaking my concentration with his creepy stare. “You know, I could get them off your back. You only need to say a word.”

“Which one? So I make sure I don’t say it,” I hiss at him without turning to look into his eyes.

There’s a moment of silence before I hear him expel an angry breath. He grabs my arm and makes me look at him. “Maybe you’re not aware of this, but I come from an obscenely rich family. My wealth actually exceeds the prince’s.”

“I don’t give a fuck if you were the last man on earth,” I reply as I yank his hand away. I’m feeling even more light-headed now and my vision changes again, so I take a step back.

He just takes one closer to me. “Right,” he drawls, but I can tell he’s having trouble controlling himself. “I see you’re sticking to your little story, but I know exactly what you are.”

“Say it,” I snap at him, my voice low and threatening, even though he could break my neck without lifting a fucking finger. “I dare you.”

“Gold digger.”

“You fucker,” I snarl as I throw a helpless punch at him.

He blocks it with ease and laughs. “So sad, how it shows that you’ve never had any parental guidance,” he adds as he twists my arm painfully.

Fuming. I’m fucking fuming. “What did you say about my parents?” I yell at him, yanking my arm free and imagining lifting him up and throwing him to the ground like the piece of worthless shit that he is.

Dame Gothel’s words rush to my mind and I decide to let it all go. I tap my Element rune.

The very next second, I see a flash of surprise in Leo’s eyes before I send his body flying into the air. It comes crashing down with such brutal force that I hear bones cracking. He’s on the ground, screaming in pain, and now the others are all surrounding us, throwing me funny looks.

Holy fucking shit, what did I just do?

And just as I think they’ll kill me right here and now, a familiar voice booms from behind my back. “What thefuckis going on here?”

I crane my neck to see the Little Prince walking up to us, his face sharp with fury. I’ve never seen him so pissed.

“Longborn attacked Leo,” Sarya rushes to say as she crouches next to him, feigning concern, I’m sure. “I saw it, he did nothing.”

Nothing? I open my mouth to protest, but I change my mind. Fuck. If I want the Vipers to respect me, I can’t be ratting them out to their leader. Also, I’ve just let myself listen to some old witch’s advice and it resulted in me seriously hurting someone, so it’s not like I’m without blame here.

Faust doesn’t wait for me to react. When he moves towards me, I take a step back, fully expecting him to yell at me. But I just see him frowning as he scans me for injuries and then turns his focus onto Leo, who’s still on the ground.

“You want me to believe thatshe,” Faust points to me as his eyes sweep over the group, his voice much calmer now and carrying a touch of mockery, “managed to dothistohim? Without getting a scratch herself?”

No one wants to look him in the eye, but they’re all nodding away. And I want to tell him to go fuck himself, but that would be plain stupid. Just as I struggle for control, he finally turns to me and looks me straight in the eye, the intensity of his gaze freezing me in place. “Is this true? That you attacked him first? It wasn’t the other way around?”

“No.Iattackedhim,” I force myself to say. “I lost control for a second and I apologize. I won’t let it happen again.”

I see a flash of surprise in his eyes. And he still looks a bit suspicious, but he nods. His eyes sweep over the rest of the Vipers. “I don’t care what you all think you’re doing,” he starts, commanding the entire group with his mere presence. “And I especially don’t care what you all think ofher,” he adds, to my endless fucking surprise, “but as long as you’re part of the Vipers, I expect you to act with a lot more integrity and respect for each other thanthis.”

I’m so shocked at his reaction that I don’t say anything. I just watch the rest of them lower their heads and nod, a couple of them throwing a glance at me before they turn to start their sparring session.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Faust’s voice once again makes them all freeze in place. He just quirks an eyebrow at them and says, “You’ve just lost the privilege to train today. You’re all dismissed.”

None of them don’t look pleased, but they immediately start dispersing. My mind buzzing, I breathe a sigh of relief and start turning to walk away.

“Except for you,” I hear Faust say.

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