Page 79 of The Bond That Burns

I froze mid-step, stomach twisting as Regan stepped out from the shadows in the hallway ahead. She wasn’t alone either. On either side of her stood Gretchen and Quinn, their identical silver-blond hair gleaming, their eyes shining with malicious delight.

“Did we interrupt your little walk of shame?” Quinn purred. She gestured to the robe I was wearing. “Is that Blake’s robe, or did you bring your own to complete the whore-next-door look?”

“I guess Blake finally took pity on her, girls,” Regan said, her voice oozing fake sympathy. I could tell she was furious. “After all, even a dog in heat gets thrown a bone eventually. Guess he finally gave her what she’s been begging for since she got here. I mean, he’s a man. Can we really blame him? She’s been panting after him for months.” She sniffed the air. “Ugh. I can smell her from here.”

I could feel myself flushing with humiliation.

Gretchen snickered. “Did you plan on going down to the common room like that? Maybe putting on a little show?” She reached for the robe as if she’d like nothing better than to rip it off me and I stepped back, glaring at her.

“I don’t recall asking for your commentary,” I said coldly. “Now if you’ll excuse me. You’re standing in front of my door.”

“Oh, but we’re just trying to help you, Medra,” Regan said, her tone dripping with false sweetness. “You don’t want the whole school thinking you’re Blake’s little slut, do you?”

“No, I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’d taken your position, Regan,” I retorted.

She colored angrily. “Maybe that’s exactly what you want. Riding Blake’s coattails to keep your relevance since your dragon flew away?”

Gretchen giggled. “More like riding something else.” She made a lewd gesture and the three of them dissolved into shrieking laughter.

“Do you want to know what I see when I look at you three?” I interrupted, my voice cold enough to make them pause.

Regan looked at me disdainfully. “What’s that?”

I pointed at Gretchen. “I see you with a knife in your face, that gross piece of your cheek flapping in the breeze, because you were too slow and stupid to dodge your own knife. Remember that? Because I do.” Gretchen paled and touched a hand to her face, which had healed remarkably in the meantime thanks to her highblood abilities.

“And you,” I continued, looking at Quinn. “I see a little bitch who hid up in a tree because she was too scared to face me. But I got to you anyway, didn’t I?” I made a ruthless motion as if I were driving that arrow into her side all over again and she stepped back quickly.

“And you, Regan.” I smiled mirthlessly at the Queen Bitch of House Drakharrow. “I see a washed-out, desperate has-been lying flat on her back in the mud. Right where you belong. And that’s what I’ll always see every time I look at you—a pathetic wannabe, clinging to a man who isn’t yours anymore, who doesn’twantyou anymore.”

I took a step forward and hissed through my teeth. Regan flinched and jumped back as if she was afraid I was going to mess up her perfect make-up. The victory was almost sweet enough to mask the fury simmering in my chest.

“Now,” I said, my voice low and lethal. “Get the fuck out of my way,girls, before you make me tempted to do it all over again.”

I brushed past them without another word, slamming my door in their faces.

The moment the door shut behind me, my bravado dissolved. I leaned back against it, my chest rising and falling as I tried to control my breathing. My hands were trembling.

I’d let them get under my skin. It had been impossible not to.

But it wasn’t them I was really angry with. They were as miserable and despicable as they’d always been. That hadn’t changed.

It was myself I was furious with. I was the one who'd made the biggest mistake of my life.

I glanced down at the robe, then pushed it to the floor and stepped away from it. But Blake’s scent still clung to me, wrapping around me like a second skin. I couldn’t escape it. I couldn’t escape him. He was on me. In me.

Feeling revolted with myself, I crossed the room in three quick strides, wrenching the bathroom door open. My reflection in the mirror caught me off guard. So this was what Regan and the others had seen. A wild-eyed girl with tangled hair, her lips swollen from kisses she should never have accepted.

The sight of myself, marked by Blake, made my stomach turn. What the hell was wrong with me?

I turned on the faucet, the sound of rushing water filling the silence. I held my hand under the water until it was hot enough, then poured in a flask of almond and cherry scented bath foam, adding much more than I usually would have, and hoping it would be enough to wash Blake’s scent away for good.

I stepped into the bath and sank down into the hot water. I closed my eyes, but instantly the memory of Blake’s hands on my skin flooded back.

With a groan, I pressed my palms to my face.

Since the end of First Year, he’d acted like an asshole of the highest order. Not just to me—to Theo, Florence, and Visha. And instead of making him pay, what had I done? I’d gone to his room and given him exactly what he wanted. I’d been weak. Worse, I’d been selfish. I’d let myself conveniently forget about how he’d humiliated my friends.

I thought of Nyxaris. He was ignoring me again, but it wasn’t too hard to imagine what he might say.

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