Page 124 of On Wings of Blood

Only one person in the arena wasn’t cheering or clapping.

Pendragon.

She stood out like a flame. She clutched Neville to her chest, her eyes locked on me.

Our gazes met.

What was she thinking? Was she disgusted? I knew she couldn’t possibly be proud. Did she even care about what I’d just done? Did she know how much Coregon had really hated her?

My mind raced, trying to untangle the look in her eyes. But she gave me nothing. Just stared back at me steadily as the noise of the arena crashed around us like a wave.

CHAPTER 25 - BLAKE

I felt my lip split open as my head smashed against the wall.

Whatever pleasure I might have felt from surviving the House Leadership and Coregon’s betrayal hadn’t lasted long–if it was ever there in the first place.

I’d gone from a solo visit with the headmaster to being summoned by my uncle.

I licked the blood off my lips, resisting the instinct that screamed at me to fight back, to resist. Instead, I held still, jaw clenched with tension. The wound on my side from Coregon’s knife was still throbbing. It would take a few days to completely heal. I’d bound it as best I could before coming here.

Viktor was a good few inches shorter than me, but even so, he seemed to hulk over me as I leaned against the wall, trying to fake the proper humility.

He was older than me by centuries. With that age came a power I could never hope to match.

Viktor might look like a typical blightborn man in his sixties. But the very fact that he showed any sign of aging at all spoke volumes.

He was one of the oldest vampires alive and possibly the strongest.

I spit out a mouthful of blood on the stone floor and considered, just for a moment, lashing out.

But I knew better. I stood no chance against Viktor.

Another blow came. This one a swift strike to my gut.

I doubled over, gasping for breath.

“You’ve embarrassed me,” Viktor snarled, stepping closer. “You’ve embarrassed this House.”

“Seems to be the theme of my day,” I quipped, then instantly regretted it as Viktor’s fist collided with my jaw again.

I struggled to stand straight, trying to push the nausea and dizziness away. But Viktor’s words dug in deep.

“You've made a spectacle of yourself,” Viktor snarled, his voice cold and biting. “Fighting with your betrothed in front of the entire academy."

I’d told Headmaster Kim that I’d started the fight.

Coregon Phiri was probably the only one who’d been close enough to witness what had really happened.

Fortunately he was now dead.

For a moment, I’d been tempted to tell Kim the truth. That I’d been defending myself. That I’d even held back. Pendragon had probably walked out of that training yard with a few bruises but otherwise not a scratch on her.

But the idea of Pendragon being summoned here to face my uncle’s wrath instead of me made my chest tighten. I wouldn’t subject her to it, no matter how much she might deserve it. I knew what Viktor was capable of. I wouldn't let her face that.

So instead, I’d lied.

I’d known Viktor would summon me. Though I hadn’t expected it to be quite so soon.

---