Page 12 of Soulless Rivalry

“I said pick. It. Up.”

The way he articulated each word, both as a way to make his order clear and to make it seem like I’d be too stupid to understand otherwise, made me angrier.

It was a miracle for my teeth to still be intact from the force with which I gritted them. “You’re a piece of shit.”

“And you’re my bitch now. Everything I say from now on, you’ll do. If I say jump, you say how high.” Bringing his face evencloser to mine but never quite touching me, he continued, “If I tell you I need my cock sucked, you ask how deep.”

My breath got caught in my throat. I froze on the spot as his words echoed through my brain. In the two years since I’d known him, I never heard Konstantin utter such crude words. They shook me to my core, but I refused to let him know that. I refused to show him the fear, anger, and… curiosity they inspired in me.

“I would rather die,” I spat in anger.

He answered without missing a beat,“That can be arranged too.”

My hands turned into fists from repressing the sudden urge to wring his neck. He might have been bigger and stronger but I had something he didn’t possess, or at least not in such quantity: anger.

Years and years of repressed anger that begged to be let out. Anger at my grandfather, my uncles, my cousins, hell, even my mother in a way. Anger at myself for being so stupid as to resort to cheating last year.

Anger at him for being such an asshole to me even though I had never really done anything to him.

“Pick it up, little cheater,” he breathed, eyes boring into mine like he could hear the internal battle going on inside of me.

Anger, anger, anger. So much fucking anger.

And I swallowed it all. I had come too far to just kiss everything I’d built here goodbye.

If Konstantin went to the dean with what he knew, they might not believe him straight up, but they sure would open an investigation, as the Academy had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to cheating.

So even if they didn’t kick me out straight away, they would still call my legal guardian, who had been my grandfather since my thirteenth birthday. And the old man would take this as hisexcuse to get me back home and marry me off to the highest bidder.

So I gulped down my pride, swallowed the fierce hatred that was clogging my throat, and let myself glide down the shelf, bending my knees and picking the book up without sparing him a glance.

I couldn’t bear to look up and see his stupid smirk stare back at me. As soon as I had the book in hand, I stood back up, my eyes riveted on the hardwood floors of the library. I tried my best to control my breathing but the truth was that it was coming out shallow, like I’d just run a fucking marathon.

“See,” he mused, “wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Fuck you! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!

Was what I wanted to say, but I didn’t. Instead, I stared at the floor.

“I’ll see you around, Ayaari.”

I still refused to look at him but I could see his shoes retreat down a dark hallway, leaving me alone in the aisle.

Once I couldn’t hear him anymore, I threw the book against a wall, crying out in rage.

ELYSSA

Clutching the strap of my bag, I let my eyes wander through the dining hall where everyone gathered to eat. The kitchens closed at eight every night and if you didn’t come to eat in time, then you’d be without food until the following morning.

The Academy had strict rules in place, they expected us to obey them and if we didn’t, strict punishments would ensue.

Unless your parents were wealthy and scary enough, that was.

Once my eyes set on the blond head I had been looking for, I breathed a little easier and went to join her. Mia was already sitting with Briar and Lorenzo, along with a new girl I had never seen before.

I felt myself tense a little bit. Rationally, I knew my cousins and best friend wouldn’t bring just anyone to our table, so the new girl had to be nice at the very least. But a small part of me still thought the worst. Years of bullying, especially by the people who were supposed to care for you, did that to someone. It made you build walls so high that believing everyone was good before immediately thinking they were evil seemed impossible.

Still, I walked towards them and took her in. Her uniform was similar to ours, with the difference that hers was… a light pink color?

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