Page 43 of Vicious Princess
“Even your bow hates you,yrathi,” Kata teases, her voice full of venom. “Why don’t you show off your lack of skills somewhere else?”
I take a step closer to her. “My bow might hate me for now, but at least I have an affinity, unlike someone else.”
Kata’s smirk drops, and she sneers at me. She’s about to punch me in the face, but Daegel steps between us smoothly.
“Did I not make myself clear enough, Nightingale?” He looks at Kata. “Stop wasting everyone’s time and get going, or I will suspend you from the training.”
Kata blinks, then bows her head. Without giving me any more attention, she moves into place.
I can’t believe he stepped in and saved me from a humiliating catfight that would have ended badly for me.
Daegel turns to me. Neither his dark eyes or his voice is kind when he says, “You’re bleeding all over my training hall floors. Get to the menders before you bleed out and I have to deal with a human corpse.”
And he walks away.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ihave a hard time sleeping during the night. For most of it, I toss and turn in my bunk, my mind running a thousand miles an hour.
When I left my bow with Vasquez, I did it with the right intentions. I wanted him to remember me. I still want that. But what if my selfish vanity will be the reason for my failure?
My new bow might be a beautiful piece of art, a one-of-a-kind weapon, but it’s a sassy, rebellious little shit that doesn’t want to work with me. Never before did I hear of something like this happening. What am I to do now?
I don’t have enough money to buy a new bow. Not a quality one, at least. What if I buy a new one, and it turns out that it doesn’t listen to me either? Because, apparently, bows have a mind of their own here and have to choose their archer.
Godsdamned bullshit.
What good do my affinity and skill do if I don’t have a weapon to use?
At least today I don’t have to worry about seeing Daegel. I’ll spend my whole day in the auditorium in my politics and history lecture. Not sure what any of that has to do with becoming an Ezkai, but I have no choice on the matter.
I get up and get dressed before anyone is awake. When I leave the barracks, the moon is only now making its way towards the horizon. Chilly air nips at my skin, and my lungs burn with cool air as I run down the path leading towards the gardens.
Training is a better use of my time than tossing and turning in the bed full of anxiety. As I near the end of the gardens and emerge into the main path leading towards Ezkai Castle, I collide with two Ezkai.
Two strong hands catch my shoulders before I plop on my ass.
“Apologies, I’m so sorry,” I blurt out, then look up.
A handsome Ezkai with dark eyes and beige skin lets go of my shoulders, and I take a step backwards. Next to him, another Ezkai with a bald head and black silk tunic reaching all the way to the ground eyes me with a curious smile on his lips.
Remembering myself, I press my fist over my heart and bow my head.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before, young lady,” the handsome Ezkai says. “Especially not in the middle of the night.”
“Ah—uh, I’m a new cadet at Ezkai Academy, sir,” I say. “Just started my training earlier this week.”
“Ah, how wonderful,” the odd Ezkai says. His voice is dreamy and musical. “What a dedicated cadet you are, young lady. Training before the dawn.”
“I couldn’t sleep, sir.” A little defensively, I add, “That’s not breaking any of the academy laws that I know of.”
They exchange an amused glance. The odd Ezkai says, “None at all. Don’t worry.”
“You’re human,” the handsome Ezkai says, after a beat of silence passes between us. His face is open, eyes widened a little as if he’s in awe of the fact.
“Yes, sir,” I say, lowering my eyes to the ground.
I should have stayed in my bed.
