Page 219 of On Wings of Blood

Instead, with a sigh, I offered her my hand.

“Fuck off, bitch,” she groaned gracelessly. She had a hand to her head. I guess I’d hurt her more than I’d realized when I knocked her out. But she was still walking and talking, so it must not have been that bad. “And give you a chance to stab me with that dagger? I don’t think so.”

So she was unarmed. She hadn’t found her rapier in the bushes. Good. I’d wondered about that.

I sheathed the dagger, tucked it back into my boot, and held up my hands. “I'm not going to stab you, Regan.”

“Why’d you come back?” she asked sulkily.

“The real question is, why are you still here?” I said, shaking my head as I looked at her wobbling on her feet. “Why didn’t you head to the other side of the island?”

“I got lost,” she admitted. “Quinn left me. No thanks to you.”

I snorted. “Right. I’m so sorry your two pals got hurt trying to kill me. They got what they deserved.”

“And now you’re here to finish me off while they’re not around,” she hissed.

I rolled my eyes. “Tempting though that idea is, it turns out I need you.”

I took a step towards her. “Let me rephrase that. We need each other. If you want to get out of this place. Unless you’d rather live up in the trees for the rest of your days.”

“Blake helped you,” she spat. “He gave you his blood. He obviously doesn’t care if I live or die here.”

We had to hurry. There wasn’t much time left. I thought of the line of consorts. We’d be the last ones to arrive if this kept up. I wondered how long it took each pair to get through whatever challenge they had to face in the dome.

“Can we speed this up or do you have a long self-pitying monologue planned?” I said, waving my hand. “You can hash things out with your boyfriend when we get back.”

“He’s not my fucking boyfriend and you know it. He hasn’t let me into his room in months. Not since you got here.”

I hadn’t actually known that. Theo had suggested it, yes.

I must have been shallower than I thought though because a warm feeling of relief flowed through me.

“Not my problem,” I lied. “Tell someone who cares. What matters is that we’re both stuck with him for now. So let’s just get out of here.”

I took another step towards her. “You can hardly stand. Don’t make this harder for yourself. If I have to, I’ll tie you up and carry you.”

Regan lifted her eyes upwards as if we were being watched.

Which, I suddenly realized, we were. We were a spectacle for the entire school. Just like Blake had been that day in the arena when he’d had to kill Coregon.

“Can they hear us, too?” I asked her, suddenly curious.

She shook her head. “No, thank the fucking Bloodmaid.”

Good. So they hadn’t heard what I’d told Regan about Blake helping me with his blood. I felt oddly relieved. I didn’t want him to get into trouble, not when what he’d done for me had actually worked.

“What’s the point?” Regan whined. “I’m probably going to get kicked out of the triad, kicked out of Bloodwing. I’ll be a laughingstock.” She kicked at a rock, her pretty face petulant.

I really doubted I’d be that lucky. But I bit my tongue.

“Get a grip, Regan. If you don’t get out, what’ll happen? We’ll live on this island together forever? I can think of a long list of people I’d rather be stranded with.”

“Live?” Regan laughed nastily. “Oh, no, we won’tlive. They’ll kill us both. But knowing I took you down with me might make it worth it.” She tilted her head as if considering the option.

I clenched my jaw. “Or you can live another day and plot your revenge.”

She eyed me thoughtfully. “Appealing. Slightly more appealing.”

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