Page 145 of Vicious Princess
Exhale.
Let go.
With a roar, Gloria raises her sword to cut through Daegel’s side. Before she can do that, my arrow pierces her shoulder, throwing her off-balance.
It gives Daegel an opening.
He slashes the air between them in one clean horizontal strike.
I cease breathing.
Gloria’s eyes go wide, and then her head rolls off her shoulders, away from her body.
The relief that floods me makes me stumble.
Daegel’s eyes find mine, and the ruthlessness there evaporates in an instant, replaced with affection. It turns into worry the moment his eyes scan me and notice the blade still stuck in my side.
I’m shaking all over, nausea rolling through me in waves. He’s next to me in the blink of an eye, wrapping his arm around me to keep me upright.
“I killed her,” I murmur, leaning my weight onto Daegel. “I slit her throat.”
“That’s my girl,” Daegel says, sounding amused. But he’s not fooling me. I can see the worry in his gaze. “We’re getting you out of here now. Hang tight, princess. Cadet Barthol!”
I try to smile, but I’m not feeling too well. Maybe I lost more blood than I thought. Daegel carefully scoops me into his arms. My feet and arms dangle.
“I did it, though,” I whisper. “I. Fucking. Did. It.”
I don’t hear Daegel’s response before darkness claims me.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
There are about a hundred cadets gathering in the great hall of Ezkai Castle. I’m one of them.
All of us have trained and worked relentlessly up until this day.
But not all of us will receive an invitation to join the Order and get the honor of calling ourselves Ezkai.
With a deep inhale, I raise my chin and square my shoulders. The wound in my side is only a faint ache by now—over the last three days, it’s almost healed completely. The mender says I won’t even have a scar.
As if that matters. Adding one more to my extensive collection won’t make a difference.
Eagerly, I scan the army of black-clad Ezkai gathered in front of us across the great hall. There’s one face in particular I ache to see.
There. My heart flutters when I lock gazes with Daegel. He looks tall and proud. Proud ofme.
A deafening screech pierces the air. I look up. Through the opening in the tall ceiling, a regal dragon soars, with the Ezkai General riding on its back.
The ground under our feet shakes when the creature lands.
It raises its long neck and head, stretching upward. The white flame that sprouts from its open jaw sends a gust of warm air over us.
With ease, the General slides off his dragon, and the moment he’s securely on the ground, the creature raises its bat-like wings and, with a roar, rushes towards the sky.
A little smile dances at the corner of the Ezkai General’s lips as his eyes slide over the trainees in front of him.
“Honorable cadets,” he bellows loudly enough that his voice bounces off the stone walls and echoes all around us. “We have gathered here for a very special occasion.”
None of us cheer. Not yet.
