Page 201 of On Wings of Blood

She shook her head. “We’reusefulin other words. But you don’t really value our lives or see us as individuals to care about.”

“That’s not true,” I retorted. “Some highbloods value their thralls greatly. Blightborn can be brilliant healers, strategists, scouts.”

“As fodder for your armies when you go to war with one another, you mean,” Pendragon cut in.

I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “Whatever. I’ve told you what I came here to say. I’ve given you an advantage. Use it how you will.”

I stood up.

“So that’s it?”

I looked down at her.

“You’re just going to trust me with a secret that could get you and your sister–no, yourchild–killed?”

I kicked at a rock on the ground. “I’m completely at your mercy. Is that what you want me to say?”

“No, what I want you to say is ‘thank you, Pendragon, for letting me get that weight off my chest.’”

“What the hell are you on about?” I asked angrily.

She stood up. “You only told me that because you wanted to. You wanted me to know so that I would feel guilty about Aenia just like you do. That’s manipulative and fucked up, Blake, even for you.”

I snapped. I stepped up into her space, bumping my chest against hers.

She gasped and took a step back.

“Everything I have done has been to protect you. We’re bound, you and I, whether you like it or not. Marcus is a monster. He’s also my family. Which makes himyourfamily. Aenia is... She’s a child.”

“Is that how you see it?” she scoffed. “You think you owe them your loyalty? You know, the truth is that Marcus probably deserves to be put down even more than Aenia.”

I hissed. “Don’t ever say that. Don’t ever speak about my family that way.”

But in my heart, I already knew she was right. I’d known for a long time.

“We’re done here,” I said, turning away from her. “Good luck in the Games.”

CHAPTER 49 - MEDRA

The next day, I walked through the halls of the academy after my classes were finished. The air seemed lighter, humming with the promise of spring. But my heart was heavy and even the glimpse of green buds on the ivy climbing the stone walls or the soft breeze that carried the scent of fresh earth weren’t enough to lighten my mood.

My conversation with Blake still rang in my ears.

Aenia wasn’t his sister; she was his creation. His mistake.

The revelation had shaken me more than I cared to admit.

In some warped sense, Aenia was more than a sister to Blake. She was hischild.

Beneath his cold surface, a weight of guilt lay on Blake’s shoulders. He had tried to save an innocent girl from one monster and instead had condemned her to a life just as monstrous.

Now he was living with the consequences.

I passed beneath a stone carved archway and shivered. The air in the halls was still cool, but the bite of winter was disappearing. Outside, the snow was melting and soft green shoots of grass were pushing up in the courtyards. Signs of change, signs of spring.

I moved down a corridor leading to the First Year Common Room.

Blake Drakharrow was reckless. He was arrogant. He was a bully capable of cruelty and brutality.

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