Page 275 of Blood & Betrayals

"What's wrong with you?" Max snaps.

"You," I growl back, trying and failing to rein in my anger.

"The fuck does that mean?" Max growls.

"Given that you find me a hideous troll, I'm surprised you can even bring yourself to look at me."

"I didn't say that."

I glare at him and turn toward the stair climber. Max moves in front of me, blocking my path with his big, stupid body.

"Stop being a bitch."

I growl at him, feeling the anger building inside me.

"Stop acting like I've majorly insulted you."

"Well, you did."

Max snarls, "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"What the fuck did I do?"

"You have a boyfriend, and you're mad that I'm not fawning over you. Are you really so selfish that you need everyone to be in love with you?" Max's eyes flash green.

"Excuse me?"

"You are seriously mad that I didn't fall to my knees and exclaim how hot you are. When you're going home to golden boy. So why the fuck does it matter to you what I think?"

"I don't give a shit that you don't think I'm hot. It's the fact that I was trying to make light of an awkward situation, and you basically told me I was the most hideous being in all the realms. Completely unnecessary."

Max rolls his eyes. "I said you weren't my type, and that's how you took it?" Max's voice raises. "Stop acting like you'redoing me a favor by coming here. And stop obsessing over whether everyone in the realm thinks you're attractive or not."

"I don't give a fuck that I'm physically desirable to some. My ugly lies beneath the surface, and it runs deep." The truth spills from me, and the pain of it hits me like a truck.

Max's anger softens a little. "So does mine." Crossing my arms over my chest, I look away but feel his gaze on me. I want to run and hide. I want to claw that truth out of existence. "We fight and pretend like we're not monsters."

I wince at his words, and I hear the pain in them. He doesn't understand me, though. He's talking about the berserker. The monster inside me is so much scarier, and it's yet to truly rear its ugly head.

"Right."

"Come on," Max says, turning on his heel and walking into the sparring room.

I follow behind him. My anger has deflated into the deepest of sorrows, and it is easier than arguing with him. I look up just in time to catch the sai Max throws at me, and I wrap my fingers around them and take a deep breath. I feel stronger with them. Maybe, in time, they will be the key to killing the ultimate villain, the monster that lurks within me, the one with the dark thoughts and even darker desires.

"Stop it. You're overthinking," Max says, swinging his sword.

"Let's just do this so I can go be a monster in my own home."

"Keep twisting my words. Let it fuel you," Max taunts.

I spin the sai, preparing to fight. I didn't twist his words. He called me a monster, and he was right. How else can I explain what's wrong with me? Why can't I find satisfaction in perfection?

"Bring it," Max growls.

I launch at him, swinging my sai in unison just as he taught me. Max doesn't hold back this time, slamming his broadswordinto them. The power of the hit sends a vibration of pain through my bones, and I recede a step.

"You got it," Max says.

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