Page 91 of My Trojan Horse Majesty

“You—you did what? I had no idea you were that selfish, or that painfully stupid.”

“I’m just embarrassed it took me so long to do something about it,” she says.

And then I hear a crack—a sound I’d know anywhere.

I round the doorway as he’s reaching back to strike her again. I whip him backward with bands of air, and then I release him. He falls forward on his hands and knees.

I smile.

“You struck her.” I glance back, and fury floods my entire body.

Izzy’s on the ground, a bruise already spreading across her cheek. Her lip’s bleeding, and there’s a small cut under her left eye. She shoves up to her feet, shaking her head. “Leo, no.”

“No,what?” I’m so angry that my hand’s shaking where I’ve balled it into a fist at my side. “I won’t even use magic.” I toss my head. “I can destroy him with my bare hands, just like last time, but this time, there’s no camera recording it.”

Tim’s back on his feet. “What was that?” He’s scowling. “What kind of sick, weird technology do you have, weirdo?”

Before I can say another word, he comes after me. I’m smiling when I clock him hard on his jaw. He stumbles backward, swearing under his breath. “I will end you, Ruski.”

I laugh. It’s going to be very, very fun tearing him apart.

“Leo, please,” Izzy says.

I turn around, my whole body aching to attack. “But he’s dark. Really, really dark.”

She shakes her head.

“He’s—you know he is. You said you turned him over to the board.”

“You were listening in.” She sighs. “Now that I’ve done that, we’ll wait and see what they do.”

“What if they don’t do anything?”

He swings at me again, a slow, lumbering blow that’s easy to dodge. I dance around and slam him in his ribs.

“Fine. I won’t kill him. I’ll just beat him up really bad.” I lift my eyebrows. “Surely that’s fine.”

She shakes her head again. “Leo.”

The disapproval in her face has me gnashing my teeth.

He tries to grab me then, with his meaty arms. I let him, gritting my teeth while he pulls one hand back and clocks me in the jaw.

“There.” He’s still trying to clobber me, but I dance away. “He gotme. Now I can retaliate, right?” I dance a step or two, and then slam him good.

This time, the big idiot collapses to the ground, groaning.

It’s so unsatisfying to beat up a wiener like this.

“I can drag him outside,” I say. “I’ll use air, so no one can track me, and then I can take care of him out in the mountains.”

“Leonid.”

“Before you say I’d be breaking the law. . .” I pause.

“If you say diplomatic immunity,” she says.

“Then what?” I arch one eyebrow. “Marry me, and you’d have diplomatic immunity too. You couldhelp.”

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