Page 43 of Shattered & Returned

Sindy and I were clearly the weakest here—every sneer in the hall confirmed it.

I remembered yesterday’s violence—the bloodied student, the indifferent crowd. My instincts screamed to refuse, consequences be damned. I could run. I’d spent years runningmiles to town and back, trading herbs just for library time, always racing Mother’s timer.

“Challenges require justification,”I said, clinging to Sindy’s hasty rules explanation from last night.

Angelina’s derisive laugh grated on my nerves.“I have a legitimate reason. You tried to steal my man by throwing yourself at Sebastian shamelessly like a whore.”

“When?”The word burst out of my shivering lips.

Pure jealousy had twisted her into some feral thing. There would be no talking my way out of this shit.

“Enough,” Sebastian ordered.

Angelina only grinned at me.“Won’t fight for a man, but you’ll hide behind one? Pathetic.”

Before Angelina could draw her blade, I launched myself upward, chair screeching against stone as it toppled. In one fluid motion, I snatched up Sindy’s untouched dessert and my half-eaten coq au vin, flinging both at Angelina’s face. The porcelain shattered against her brow, custard and wine sauce dripping into her widened eyes.

I didn’t question the unnatural force behind my next move; the table upended with a gust-aided kick, sending silverware clattering across her torso. Surprise was my only advantage, and I wielded it ruthlessly.

As she staggered, I swung the overturned chair like a battering ram. Wood splintered against her skull with a sickening crack. She collapsed, and I followed her down, knees driving into her ribs, a jagged chair leg now trembling in my grip.

“I kicked a demon in the teeth yesterday,”I hissed, pressing the splintered wood to her temple.“You’re nothing compared to that.”

The fight left her before she could unsheathe her blade.

My breaths came sharp and clean—no inhaler needed, though my hands shook. This violence felt disturbingly natural, as if my muscles remembered battles my mind had never fought.

I checked her pulse. Steady.

The hall stood frozen. Even Sebastian had lost his smirk.

I rose, wiping my hands on my skirt as if I could scrub away the adrenaline, the terrifying ease with which I’d wielded that chair. This place was changing me, unearthing something feral I hadn’t known lived inside me.

“Pity Angelina never yielded,”I mused, tapping the splintered chair leg against my palm.“Now I’m left wondering—should I stake her heart? Nah. Let her live with the humiliation.”

My gaze swept the silent hall. Part of me wanted to raise the makeshift weapon and roar,“Who’s next?” But I wasn’t reckless enough to invite another fight. Some idiots might actually take me up on it.

I turned to Sindy.“Sorry about your dessert. Let’s find a quieter table. I just want to eat in peace.”

I gave a casual wave to Sebastian. His answering smile was pure hunger, dark and promising. My skin prickled, the fine hairs on my neck rising.

Then I felt it.

A presence like a midnight storm rolling in.

Every head turned toward the entrance. Nero Ravencrux stood framed in the doorway, a shadow given the form of a dark god.

His eyes, icy green and burning, locked onto mine. Fury. Approval. Desire and pride.

He’d seen everything.

Chapter

Fifteen

Bloom

Umbra Grimoire

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