Page 151 of The Bond That Burns

“Keep your voice down,” she hissed. “Nothing happened with Kage.”

“But something did happen? With someone else?”

She hesitated. “Well, then Blake came in and...well.”

I clapped a hand over my mouth. “Kage and Blake?Together?”

“By the gods, Florence! Not like that. Visha is rubbing off on you too much,” she said, shaking her head.

But I refused to be put off. “Did something happen?” I whispered. “Did they fight?”

I wasn’t actually expecting her to say yes but to my surprise, she blushed harder.

“They did!” I exclaimed. “They fought! Over you? Oh, Medra!”

“It’s not like it sounds,” she protested.

“Two house leaders, fighting over you? No, it’s exactly what it sounds like,” I said knowingly. This reminded me of the book I’d been reading the night before. It was full of handsome men and duels and true love. Medra always laughed when she saw me reading one of my romance books but I didn’t care. They helped me relax. Still, I should have known my best friend’s life would be just like a piece of fiction. Full of passion and romance. Whereas mine was flat and dull...and part of me didn’t mind if it stayed that way forever. Books were a lot safer than people. “And then what happened?”

She nibbled her lip. “I’m not sure I should get into the details.”

My eyes widened. “Was it Blake?”

She nodded slowly. “We’ve been... getting closer. I’ve been meaning to tell you.” She looked guilty. “Since before the Tribunal evaluation.”

“The Tribunal evaluation?” I gasped. “But that was weeks ago.” I shook my head. “I knew you two seemed nicer to one another that day. I should have known.” My curiosity was still bubbling. “So, you do care for him?”

“I don’t know what I feel,” she said immediately, in a way that told me she might know but didn’t want to talk about it.

“Well,” I said after a moment. “I’m glad you told me. Blake has a lot to prove. But if anyone can handle someone like him, it’s you. You know I won’t judge you, Medra. If he’s worth caring about, I’ll support you.”

She blinked. “You will?”

“Of course, I will,” I exclaimed. “But if he steps out of line, I’ll unleash the wrath of Neville on him.”

Medra laughed aloud. “I’ve never known Neville to be especially wrathful. Especially not towards Blake.”

“Neville is loyal to you, too,” I said stubbornly. “He’d want Blake to treat you nicely.”

“I’m not sure the word ‘nice’ is in Blake’s vocabulary,” she said a little doubtfully. “But don’t get me wrong,” she added hastily. “He’s not terrible to me. In fact, he’s improved quite a bit.”

“He sure as hell better not be,” I said loyally, shocking myself with my language. I lowered my voice. “What about the...feedings?”

Medra’s face turned even redder. “Oh, they’re not so bad lately.”

“Oh, no?” I said knowingly. “I understand the bite of a highblood can be exceedingly pleasurable if matched with...”

“Don’t you dare even finish that sentence, Florence Shen,” she moaned, covering her face. Then she looked up. “He’s asked me to go to the ball with him.”

I thought of Naveen and felt myself pale a little. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the Dance of the Longest Night this year. From the look on her face, I could tell Medra was thinking of Naveen, too. “What did you say?”

“I told him I’d already made plans to go with you, of course,” she said promptly. “We already discussed it, remember?”

I shook my head. “We did, but that was before Blake invited you to go with him. If you want to accept, I’ll understand. You know that. I doubt I’ll be very much fun to go with.”

“I don’t want to go with him. I want to go with you,” she said stubbornly. “Besides, I already refused. I explained why. Don’t worry, Florence, he understands. He knows how important you are to me.” She stood up and offered me her hand. “Enough talking. Back to business. Let’s see if you can survive learning how to throw a punch.”

I took her hand, suddenly nervous again. “All right.”

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