Page 92 of On Wings of Blood

Florence slowly lifted her head and met my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? You have nothing to be sorry for, Florence. I understand why you left.”

“Yes, but I should have waited for you...”

“Stop.” I raised my hand. “Please. I’m the one who should be apologizing. I should never have made you come. It was so stupid of me. This is exactly what I was afraid of–of you getting hurt because of me.” I thought of Florence’s mother, Jia, and the way the Drakharrow students were treating her. It all came back to me.

“Maybe you were right after all,” Florence said, staring down at the floor.

I took a deep breath. “What do you mean?”

She looked at me. “I mean... maybe they are monsters.”

I was shocked. “The highbloods?”

She nodded. “All my life...” She lifted her chin and gave a brittle laugh. “Can I tell you something, Medra? All my life I’ve wanted to be one.”

“A highblood?”

She nodded. “They’re strong. Beautiful. They allbelong. We blightborn... We don’t have that. Do you know what I mean?”

I wasn’t sure I did, so I said nothing.

“We only belong in terms of how we relate tothem. And that used to make me feel safe. Coming here made me feel safe. They wanted me. Our protectors wanted me. They saw value in me. Some day they might even need me.” She gave a hollow laugh. “But tonight...”

Florence’s worldview was changing. And that might be a good thing. But I didn’t want her to go too far. Because her mother had been right. Florence’s ideals, no matter how naive I might think them, did protect her. They were a comfort. And I didn’t want her stripped of all that. Not in a single night. Not because of me.

“That boy. Kiernan. The one who did that to you. He’s dead,” I said quietly. “I thought you should know.”

Her eyes widened.“What? Medra, what did you do?”

“Not me. Blake Drakharrow.”

Her eyes widened. “Because of me?”

“Not just because of that,” I hedged. I doubted Blake even knew what had happened to Florence. Or if it would have affected him one bit if he had known. No, he’d done what he’d done to Kiernan because someone had threatenedme. His property. Not because he cared about either Florence or myself. “Kiernan threatened me after you left. Blake... He threw him into the fire.”

Florence covered her mouth.

“Is that typical?” I still had no idea. “Do highbloods usually kill each other like that?”

“The rules are different for highbloods,” Florence said slowly. “I’m starting to wonder if there even are rules for them at all. But if Kiernan did something to threaten you then I suppose Blake could easily argue that it was a challenge to House Drakharrow’s honor and he’d been within his rights.”

“Kage Tanaka was there, too. I think it had something to do with him.”

Florence nodded. “There’s a strong rivalry between those two. But they seem to keep it in check. At least, they did before this.”

I decided not to point out we were only a few weeks into the start of term. There was plenty of time for things to go to hell.

“What happened to you was wrong, Florence. So wrong. I’m so sorry it happened tonight. I thought the party would be fun. I made a massive mistake.” To my shock, I realized I was near tears. “You could have died.”

Florence slid around the ottoman, careful not to disturb the sleeping pup. “Hey. Medra. It’s all right.” She put her arms around me and I leaned into the embrace, smelling the scent of the lavender salve she’d been using. She smelled calm and comforting. Peaceful. I squeezed her back gratefully.

When she pulled away, her face was solemn. “Besides, you already had it happen to you. You know what thrallweave is like. Having someone in your head like that... It’s so violating. When I got back to the dormitory, the first thing I did was throw up.”

“I don’t blame you,” I said, eying her sympathetically. “And you’re right. It’s a horrible violation.”

“I’m glad Kiernan is dead,” she said slowly. “Isn’t that terrible? There must be something wrong with me.”

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