Page 36 of Vicious Princess
She fists the hair at the back of my head and drags me a few steps closer to the fountain. Tears spring to my eyes against my will.
“Filthy savageyrathilike you, Decarios or not, are not welcome here in Ekios,” she seethes. “You should have fucking stayed in your rotten land of barbarians where you belong.”
She stuffs her fingers in my mouth, gagging me, and rips the cloth out. Before I know it, my head is underwater.
The panic that seizes me is bottomless. I thrash against her hold, desperate to get air into my lungs. But that redheaded bitch is strong. She holds my head underwater for what feels like forever. I try hard not to let the water rush into my lungs, but they burn badly with the desire for oxygen.
Just when I’m about to give into it, she pulls me out of the water. I gasp for air, then cough.
“If you don’t want to suffer anymore,leave,” the redhead says. “Otherwise, you might not live to see your graduation day.”
Once more, my head is pushed underwater. I’m thrashing as hard as I can, screaming into the dark water. Water burns my eyes and assaults my nostrils and my throat.
She pulls me out again. I’m struggling to catch my breath. The rest of my attackers stand around us…laughing.
That sound fills me with rage strong enough to move mountains.
I did not survive the brutal Decarios training in Wetra, where I needed to carve myself a thousand times to prove I’m strong enough, escape the damn fire that claimed the lives of my family, and withstand the harsh conditions of the sea on my way here just to be mocked by a bunch of self-righteous, elitist fae who think they’re better than me just because they were born with pointy fucking ears.
The scream that tears out of my chest cuts through the silent night. It doesn’t come from fear.
No.
It’s fury, hot and thick like molten lava, burning me from the inside out.
Tensing my core, I swing my legs sideways and kick right where I know the wound from my arrow is in the middle of redhead’s thigh.
The pain forces her to let go of my hair, and she stumbles away with a hiss. That’s all I manage the strength for. I roll away from the fountain, with my lungs still burning, my whole body aflame.
When the redhead approaches, I curl into a ball on my side as I brace for more pain. Towering over me, she removes the mask. Her pretty face is contorted with an arrogant sneer.
She spits on me, then says, “This is just the beginning,yrathi. If I were you, I’d sleep with one eye open.”
They leave me lying there on the stone ground, hands and legs still bound with rope. Only when the echoes of their steps disappear do I allow the tears to flow down my cheeks. But I bite my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood so no sound escapes.
I make a vow to myself.
They’ll never make me feel weak again.
Never.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It’s my third day at Ezkai Academy, the second official day of my training, and my body feels like it survived a hurricane.
My ribs ache, and I have a shooting pain in my right hip and knee whenever I walk. If that’s not enough, I have a brutal bruise on my neck where that damn giant strangled me the other day, plus at least a dozen large purple-and-blue bruises are scattered all over my flesh.
“Again.” Dad’s voice was calm, but unyielding.
I was fifteen. Knees scabbed. Palms bruised. Tears burned the backs of my eyes.
But I tightened my stance, fisted my hands by my sides, and prepared. My opponent, twice as big as me, charged at me with a roar.
When his fist collided with my jaw, I barely managed to stay on my feet. Copper taste filled my mouth. I spat the blood on the hot sand beneath my feet.
“Keep your breathing steady. Core tense. You’re stronger than the pain.”
Another punch to my cheek. My head whipped to the side, but I remained standing. A kick to my side. With a groan, I bent over. Still standing, though. Still breathing.
