Page 6 of Power of Draken

“Yes,” Collin mutters with a wince. “Yes, sir.”

“Good,” Kyrian says flatly. He releases his grip and Collin slumps back onto his seat, cradling his ruined face while the rest of the mess hall stares in frozen fascination. “Now, apologize.”

Collin hesitates. I’m familiar enough with the quirks of his temper to know that we are a millisecond away from an explosion that won’t end well. Before I can think of some way to defuse the situation though, Kyrian regrips Collin's collar and Collin gets a very fast grip on himself.

“I’m sorry, sir—” Collin starts, cutting off as Kyrian twists him around to face me. Collin is tall and toned, but he is nothing next to the warrior Kyrian is. His broken nose makes his voice thick.

“To her. Apologize to her,” Kyrian orders.

Fuck.

Collin’s eyes flash with fury. “I am sorry, Rowan.”

“Accepted,” I say quickly, and turn to Kyrian. “Could you please release my friend now?”

He does.

Twisting out of Ellie’s hold, I hurry to Collin, but Kyrian’s arm blocks my path.

"Rowan, with me. Now."

Ellie gives me a wide eyed look, asking what she should do. I shake my head at her quickly and follow Kyrian as if my heart isn’t about to jump from my chest.

No one in the mess hall even pretends not to watch us heading out. The attention makes me long for a hole to open in the floor. Kyrian, on the other hand, takes the attention for granted. Hells, he is expecting people to watch so that they can move from his path. And he’s right. They all do.

As we emerge into the courtyard, the afternoon sun bathes the stone walls in warm light, a jarring contrast to the icy tension radiating off Kyrian. He leads me to a secluded alcove, then rounds on me, arms crossed.

Kyrian’s words echo in my head. Rowan is one of mine now.

I wish Ellie was here with me, anchoring me to reality, because standing here in front of Kyrian is pulling my emotions in a million directions at once. I long to scream at him for what happened back in the mess hall, to condemn in no uncertain terms the brutality he so casually unleashed. But a traitorous voice in my mind also whispers that never before in my life have I had that ferocity, that strength, wielded in my defense. And the emotions that come with that, they are… complicated.

"Let's get one thing straight,” Kyrian says quietly, his hard voice plunging me back into the now. “In my squad, I give the orders. Not you, not your wanna be boyfriend back there, not anyone else. Understood?"

I can only nod mutely, heart still hammering against my ribs. Then I recall how poorly non-verbal responses went for Collin and amend myself quickly. “Yes, sir. Understood.”

Kyrian studies me, and my body tenses in response. He has the full right to do almost anything he wishes to reinforce his orders in my memory. Certainly Kai Grayson isn’t going to stop him.

I brace myself for a blow.

Kyrian pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Kyr,” he says after a moment.

“I’m sorry?” It takes me a moment to realize no strike is coming.

“My friends call me Kyr,” he says.

“Good to know.” I cringe. That was probably not the right thing to say. No, it was most definitely not the right thing to say.

Kyrian snorts in soft amusement and… walks off. Without another word.

For a moment, I stand there, trying to reconcile this version of Kyrian with the one who just smashed Collin's face into a table without hesitation. I can’t. I’ve got nothing.

Giving up on the hopeless endeavor, I hurry back to the mess hall where Ellie is handing Collin a fresh napkin to press against his still bleeding nose. The rest of the cadets have gone back to their conversation, and the noise level is back to a sustained hum.

“Are you—” Ellie starts to ask, but I cut her off with a nod and put my hand on Collin’s arm.

“Hey,” I say gently, trying not to cringe at the mess Kyrian made of Collin’s face. “How are you doing? Are you alright?”

“Really Ro?” He jerks away from me. “You steal everything I’ve worked for and then have the gall to ask if I’m alright?”

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