Page 60 of Sworn to Revenge
Uncle Clarion is furious as they detail exactly how I did it, lying aboutthe reason for my escape. Ever since Alin ran away, he’s been on edge, as if he’s got a few sea urchins stuck in his tail that he can’t get rid of.
“That’s not tru—” I scream, but the trident presses harder against my back in clear warning, reminding me I have no right to defend myself here.
“Bay of the royal house of Mal-El, shall be stripped of her powers, and be sent as a traitor to the Hunters’ pod,” the royal advisor reads the sentence, and my heart pounds wildly in my chest, feeling as though it’s about to burst out. I try to break free from the guards’ hold but fail. Three more guards appear before me, their tridents now aimed at my chest and throat as they escort me out.
“Bay?” Luca calls my name, pulling me out of the nightmare that returned to burn through my mind, and only now do I feel the warm tear sliding down my cheek. I quickly wipe it away with the back of my hand and turn to look at him.
“Good, for a moment I thought the Guardian had you again,” he sighs in relief. “You looked lost for a few moments.”
“I’m fine,” I lie, and he scans the side mirror, seemingly searching for something behind us. “What are you doing?” I ask with concern, noticing his dissatisfied expression.
“We’re being followed, and I can’t tell who they are,” he informs me, his voice emotionless, focused on doing what he has done his entire life—staying alive.
Pedro
“I’ve been through full training with Mariano most of my life,” I’m not even panting after an hour of knife training against my brother. “Why do you think this will help me control my powers?” I ask Alin, narrowly dodging the knife Mariano throws my way. He’s fast, but we’ve been training together since we were four—I know his fighting style as well as his reaction time.
“The goal isn’t to train you physically, but mentally,” she says from the bench in Flavio’s private training room. “You might be calculated, but your fuse is just as short as Luca’s—that’s where the risk lies.” She explains, then immediately shouts, “Again!”
I sigh and take my stance opposite Mariano once more, picking up the knife I always carry—in case I’m left without my gun—from the training mat.
“This time, I’ll let you start,” I flash a sly grin at Mariano. “Looks like you need the extra training at your age.” I tease, and he charges at me inan instant. I know him too well to fall for his traps, dodging every blow he sends my way. But he surprises me when I move to the side to evade him, and he swings his knife toward my neck from the other side.
“Son of a bitch,” I curse as I leap back, managing to avoid him at the last second.
“You keep underestimating my age, and I’ll keep proving you can’t beat me,” he shoots me a satisfied grin, “At least not in close combat.”
I chuckle and toss my knife to the floor, challenging him to a fistfight. He follows suit, waiting like a predator for my next move.
“You’ve always been the weakest among us. You never win at anything,” Mariano advances cautiously, fists up to protect his face.
“You’ll have to try harder if you want to get under my skin and throw me off balance,” I taunt, immediately noticing how he pivots his right foot back—he’s about to attack from my left. I predict his move and easily dodge every punch he throws.
“You think you’re impressing anyone with those dodges? I doubt Bay finds it attractive…” Mariano continues to test my limits, but I hold my ground, dodging strategically to wear him out.
“Really? Not even a flinch? You clearly don’t care much about Bay then,” he tries his luck again, this time looking surprised that I’ve held my temper so long. I take advantage of his momentary distraction, feigning a right-hand attack. He blocks it immediately, but not before my left fist slams into his ribs, and he gasps.
“Bastard! We trained you too well,” he chuckles between sharp breathsto control his pain, and I smile in satisfaction.
“Are you being followed?” Alin’s voice echoes through the training room, and my breath catches the second I realize she is on the phone.Is that Bay?
“Put Luca on the phone,” she demands.
“Do you need help? You know how many—” she starts asking Luca, her voice tenses together with my body.
“Don’t tell me not to worry! You’re in the middle of nowhe—” her sentences keep getting cut off, and I can only assume my brother keeps silencing her.
She shoots a scared look at my direction as I am starting to lose my chill.
“Bay? What’s that noise? Are those gunshots? Luca? What’s going on there?” Alin shouts into the phone, her voice rising with panic. My heart pounds against my chest. I rush to grab my cell, Mariano right on my heels.
The busy signal prevents us from reaching either of them, and I can already feel the tingling in my palm starting again.
“What did they say to you?” I lock eyes with Alin, taking deep breaths as she’s taught me.Don’t burn the place. Control yourself.
“Maybe we should’ve started training directly with Bay,” she chuckles nervously, trying to avoid my question.
“Alin, I won’t ask again—what did they say?” The electric currents in my body scorch through every fiber, fueled by the anger mixed with my panic.
