Page 85 of On Wings of Blood

CHAPTER 17 - MEDRA

“Florence! Stop!” I shouted.

I ran towards her and stood in front of her, putting my hands on her shoulders and pushing gently.

But it was like going up against a wall. A moving wall that just kept coming.

Florence was surprisingly strong. I stumbled as she collided with me.

For a moment, she met my eyes and I saw the confusion there.

Then her eyes clouded. She tried to pull out of my grasp and step around me.

“Theo!” I called. “A little help here.”

He was by my side in an instant, looking at Florence, his normally easygoing features marred by worry.

“Fuck,” he said. “Someone’s thrallweaving her.”

I glanced around. Regan was still on the other side of the fire. She had her hand over her mouth and was laughing as she watched me try to stop Florence.

“Regan, so help me, if this is you, I will fucking kill you,” I shouted over to her.

She put up both hands and shrugged, as if to say, “Not me.”

Some of the other highbloods around her were looking at Florence and I with curiosity, but most looked bored. Clearlythey’d seen this kind of thing before. None of them seemed about to take the credit.

I gritted my teeth. “Who is it, Theo? Can you stop them?”

Theo was scanning the crowd. I followed his gaze.

There. Further back from the bonfire, a group of students were sprawled in the sand laughing hysterically.

One of them pointed at Florence and said something. Their laughter grew even louder.

“Who the fuck is doing it?” I hissed. “Which one? Can you stop them?”

Florence was a weight, pushing against me, trying to pull out of my grasp. I doubted she was this strong normally. The thrallweave must have been making her exert herself beyond her limits. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to hold her.

Just as I had that thought, Florence lifted her hands and, clasping my wrists, started to dig her nails into my skin.

I yelped. Her fingernails were sharp and she wasn’t holding back.

“Florence,” I begged. “Please. Stop. This isn’t you. You’re hurting me.”

But looking at her face was like looking at a ghost. Florence wasn’t there. She was gone.

Was this what I had looked like when Regan had been controlling me?

I felt furious and helpless. How could this be allowed? If I let go of Florence, I knew whoever was doing this was going to make her walk straight towards the bonfire. Would they let her walk right in?

“It’s someone from Kage Tanaka’s crew,” Theo whispered to me.

Sure enough, I caught sight of a familiar face. The boy with blond, spiked hair who had tried to grab me in the hallway when I was with Blake.

“Kiernan,” I shouted, remembering his name. “Leave her the fuck alone, you big bullying asshole!”

Kiernan leered in our direction, then said something to his friends who laughed even harder.

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