Page 73 of Theirs to Ruin

I turned my head as Ty walked past me. His hands were buried deep in his pockets, but his posture was stiff, his body coiled like a tightly wound spring. He was about ten feet away from me when my anger consumed me. This boy I’d once loved, the reason I’d spent the last two years mending the shattered pieces of my broken heart, had turned into a fucking asshole.

"You obviously hate me, so why did you even bother saving me from the river?”

Given how drenched he’d been and the fact he’d been giving Ava CPR, it made sense that he’d been the one to pull us out of the water.

He froze then slowly pivoted to face me. I forced myself to walk up to him.

"Who says I hate you?" His words were delivered in a bored tone. “In order to hate you, I would have to actuallythinkabout you. And for the record, I didn’t save you. You were already lying on the riverbank when I found you. I tried to save the other girl, but we both know how that turned out.”

With that, he turned around and resumed his path toward the gym. The rhythm of his footsteps echoed in my ears, each one a painful reminder of the lengthening distance between us.

I remained rooted to the spot. Was he lying about finding me on the riverbank? If it hadn’t been him or Dante, then who had rescued me? And why had they saved me only to run?

A horrible thought hit me. I’d worried that Kage or his family would think I was the killer and come after me, but what about the real killer? Whoever it was, what if they were afraid that I could identify them? What if they came after me? But that made no sense, at least as far as who pulled me out of the water. The real killer would have left me to drown.

Someone bumped into me hard as a few students rushed by me.

“Skipping class, Camille?” someone said, though I couldn’t make out exactly who. “I guess you’ve already got defense down to an art, right? It’s you on the offensive that people have to worry about.”

I closed my eyes, forcing myself not to react. A slow burning rage started to fill my chest as I marched toward the gym doors.

Fuck not reacting. I was done letting people walk all over me.

“If you have something to say, have the guts to say it to my face,” I yelled to everyone and no one, pushing my way inside and scanning the rows of students sitting on the bleachers.

A couple of them laughed but no one answered me. I slumped onto a bench as Professor Malachai took center stage, standing on one of many mats laid out in the center of the room. He had shortly cropped brown hair, inky black eyes, and a calming demeanor, though it was always edged with menace, a constant reminder of the lethal skills he possessed.

"Students," he started, his voice deep and measured. The chatter immediately died down. “I’m starting with a demonstration that requires a volunteer. Luckily, our newest addition to the class has graciously stepped up to assist."

To my surprise, Professor Malachai motioned towards Ty, who stood nearby. Malachai handed Ty a piece of fabric that Ty tied around his eyes. Blindfolded, Ty faced the class, his posture relaxed but alert. My heart raced, both from curiosity and because Ty was involved.

“Too bad the teacher’s here or someone might get what he deserves.”

The voice came from somewhere to my left and I saw Ty tense before he deliberately relaxed.

“Enough of that,” Professor Malachai snapped. “Or I’ll cancel the class and mark every one of you down as a fail. Same goesfor anyone who steps foot on these mats before they’re told to. Understood?”

After murmurs of agreement filled the air, the room darkened slightly as the overhead lights dimmed. Professor Malachai reached into his jacket and slowly revealed a long, ornate dagger.

A knot of anxiety tightened in my stomach. The professor was skilled enough with weapons not to hurt Ty if he didn’t want to, but with a blindfolded Ty and no safety nets, the risk for injury seemed high. What if something went wrong?

Professor Malachai started circling Ty, slashing the dagger. As if he was anticipating every move, Ty leaned, pivoted, or stepped out of the way. His movements were beyond graceful. Suddenly, the professor lunged at him from behind and sliced the blade across Ty's exposed throat.

I let out a gut-wrenching scream.

But there was no blood. No sounds of pain from Ty. He stood perfectly unharmed, the blade having left no mark. My gaze darted back to the professor, who now held the dagger up high for everyone to see.

“It’s a dull blade, folks.”

I felt overwhelming relief, yet embarrassment wasn't far behind since I’d been the only student to scream and everyone was looking at me evenmorelike I was a freak.

"Thank you, Ty,” Professor Malachai said.

Ty took off the blindfold then strode back to his seat, not looking once in my direction.

“Forgive the melodrama,” Malachi said, “but I wanted to impress upon you that even in battle, things can be illusory. Your enemy's mind is your greatest weapon. Camille might have screamed, but you were all focused on me. While you were, a conspirator, someone in on the game of distraction, could have snuck up on you.”

“So what does that mean?” Jenji asked. “That if someone holds a knife to a stranger or loved one or friend, we have to not react?”

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