Page 68 of Faerie Marked

I heard his labored breathing. Kept one hand on the door and reached back to knuckle-punch him with the other.

Everything stopped when his teeth bit into the side of my thigh. Ripped clean through the fabric of my skirt and sliced through skin, puncturing deep enough to draw blood.

I screamed then, wincing at the flash of pain. In the darkness, I couldn’t see well enough to figure out my next move, not against the muscular build of the man attacking me.

A sweep of his hand knocked me to my knees and I landed hard. Bones jarred. My teeth clacked together. He moved with me without releasing his teeth from my thigh.

My head pounded and my ribs ached with every inhalation, pushed down on my stomach. Luckily, nothing seemed to be broken.

I cupped my hands together in front of me, muttering an incantation under my breath. I didn’t have a chance of winning with brute strength. Not against a wolf like this and not with my spell intact, the moon hidden behind a sky overcast with clouds. But I could use magic—somewhat—and odds were good he could not.

I twisted long enough to send the spell flying, and a blast of magic hit the man square in the chest. He stumbled back and knocked against the side of the building. I caught the flash of yellow eyes through the fabric of his mask a second before he charged forward again. I raised my forearm to shield and his teeth bit deep. Blood dripped down from the marks.

Anger warred with fear. This guy thought he could come here and use hiswolfagainst me?

I struggled to form a second spell, one to levitate him away from me and send him flying.

I wasn’t fast enough.

With a growl, the man scooped me up. And tossed me over the balcony.

The night air buzzed around me on my way down, down.

There wasn’t a chance to think. Not a moment for the full realization of my fall to reach me. I hit the ground hard, only one story but enough to hear a bone snap in my arm accompanied by a fierce rush of fire. My head bounced off the grass and for a moment I saw nothing but black as I struggled to breathe.

The clouds shifted. The full moon gazed down at me, a familiar sight I’d been avoiding since I arrived at the academy. And my spell broke in an instant.

But after the blow to my head I didn’t have enough logic left to realize the full implications. The scent of my own blood filled my nostrils and my stomach churned. I couldn’t do anything other than struggle to draw air into my body, struggle to stay conscious. I lost the fight soon enough and the sounds of footsteps came closer and closer.

He’s here to finish the job…

* * *

I was alive.

IthoughtI was alive, anyway. The world slowly came into focus with a swell of agony that brought my jaws clenching together. Soon reality shifted and merged into familiar blue skin I hadn’t seen since my first night at the academy.

Nurse Julie blinked at me, her gangly arms hanging at her sides. Not the killer, then.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

She unwrapped the blood pressure monitor with a snap of Velcro and set it down on her station.

“Where…” I tried to say. My teeth felt loose and I struggled to form the words, running my tongue over my lower teeth to check for anything shattered there. The last thing I remembered was lying on the lawn, expecting death.

“Don’t try to talk right now, Tavi, just take it easy,” she warned. “Another student saw you fall off the balcony and immediately ran to get me. I brought you here.”

I sat up with enough force to send another swell of pain rushing to my head and I nearly howled, pushing my palms against my eyes to keep the world from spinning.

“Miss Alderidge, did you not hear me say totake it easy? Do you have a death wish? You plummeted over a balcony, broke your arm, and gave yourself a pretty nasty little concussion,” Nurse Julie said stiffly. Her wings rustled in agitation. “Do. Not.Move. Stay down until I can get you checked out. Now hold still or I’ll be forced to strap you to the table.”

I laid my head back down on the thin pillow, blinking through the pain as Nurse Julie took my arm and prepped it for IV.

“Oh,God!” I bolted upright a second time, ripping at the IV needle.

“Miss Alderidge, calm yourself!”

I was in direct overhead light. With Nurse Julie administering pain medication through the IV. And my last potion spell had broken while I was out cold.

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