Page 100 of Vicious Princess
“You’re approaching your graduation. On that special day, some of you will be extended an invitation by one of the five units to join the Order of Ezkai. It’s an honor like none other, one you get only once in a lifetime. To help the units choose which of you deserve an invitation, they will judge you by your performance on the missions.”
Missions?That’s plural. We only had one mission so far, which means?—
“Soon, you’ll be called to participate in another mission. The first mission was only a light test, a teaser for you to get a taste of what it feels like to be an Ezkai. This second mission will be an opportunity to put all that you’ve learned during your time at Ezkai Academy to the test, and all the units will watch. No pressure,” she says with a smile. “That’s why it’s crucial you get to practice your skills in a more realistic setting beforehand. You see, unless you’re in the Spy or Executioner Units and have to interrogate an enemy, you’ll rarely have a moment where you sit comfortably on a chair in front of your target and try to manipulate them. Most often, you’ll be in the field, on a mission, where, as you already learned, things rarely ever go as you planned and are often out of your control.”
So much for an easy, relaxing day.
“To give you an opportunity to practice your ability in combat, we’ll be collaborating with Ezkai Daegel today. So gather your stuff and make your way to the training hall. I’m right behind you.”
We rise and shuffle out of the lecture hall back outside, then make our way to the training hall. What awaits us there stuns the whole group.
Tense silence lingers in the air while we wait for Ezkai Cassandra to catch up.
“Thank you, Ezkai Daegel,” she says, entering the training hall a moment after. “I see we have everything we need for today.”
“My pleasure, Ezkai Cassandra,” Daegel says, with a slight nod. He jerks his chin at seven fae lined up on his right. “We have until four in the afternoon before the prisoners must be returned to their cells.”
Hearing these are prisoners, fae who have been sentenced for their crimes, makes the hair at the back of my neck rise.
Quickly, I scan their bodies, looking for tattoos. While three large fae wear the marks of Caligos, the rest don’t. At least, theirs are not visible.
“These fae prisoners are not Decarios, and each one of you will get an opportunity to practice your emotional-manipulation skills in combat,” Ezkai Cassandra explains. Her gaze slides over us, and she arches an amused eyebrow. “Well, who’s going first?”
One hand rises. A blue-haired fae who’s barely said five words since we’ve been here. I don’t even know his damn name.
“Cadet Quang, please come forwards and take your stance.” Ezkai Cassandra gestures at the space in the center of the hall for him and orders us to retreat. “Your goal is to subdue the prisoner with your ability, not physical force. Got it?”
Cadet Quang gives the instructor a sharp nod. His feet are quick and graceful as he makes his way to the middle and takes a fighting stance.
The subtle nod Ezkai Cassandra gives Daegel is easy to miss. Daegel unlocks the chains that restrain the first prisoner, a short, chubby fae who’s missing two front teeth. Iron falls heavily onto the floor.
The moment he’s free, the prisoner charges at Quang with a screech. Quang is fast enough to move out of his path before they collide. He draws two blades from the sheaths on his thighs and flips them in the air.
The prisoner whirls around and watches Quang with feral eyes. The way he’s hunched forwards, baring his teeth at his opponent, reminds me of a wild animal in a cage.
From the stains on his humble clothing and the dirt under his long fingernails, I guess the prisoners here are treated much like animals.
Quang watches the prisoner with intense concentration. For a moment, nothing happens. A frown forms between his cobalt eyebrows. The prisoner hisses at him and advances again.
This time around, Quang is too preoccupied by the emotional manipulation. He steps out of the prisoner’s way a moment too late, and the wild fae catches one of his wrists.
The sound of bone cracking echoes around us.
Quang screams.
The blade he holds doesn’t reach the floor—the prisoner tears it out of his weakened grip and swings the blade directly at the poor cadet.
Before the knife can land in the middle of Quang’s throat, Daegel closes the distance between them in a few long strides. He grabs the back of the prisoner’s neck with one hand and gets ahold of the prisoner’s hand with the other. Kicking the prisoner in the back of his knees, Daegel sends him flat on the floor, face down.
Oh, Daegel…
This man.
The way he presses his knee in between the prisoner’s shoulder blades and twists his arm to keep him pinned to the ground makes me hot all over.
I don’t think I’ve ever been as turned on by him as in this moment.
“Just a moment!” Ezkai Cassandra’s voice snaps me from the delirious fantasy world.
