Page 60 of Vicious Princess
At the end of every day, my temples throb from the amount of information my brain tries to process in a foreign tongue. However, I notice the difference, no matter how small it is.
Not only in my language skills, or my understanding on Ekiosh politics and the nation’s long history full of bloodshed and ancient vows, but also in my body composition. I’ve gained back more muscle since I joined the academy despite the ruthless physical training and lack of meat.
But at the end of each day, I’m so tired that sleep claims me the moment my head hits the pillow. Either my nightmareshave abandoned me, or I simply don’t remember them due to exhaustion.
I have no time to worry about not being invited to the weekly Bloodiamond game everyone else attends.
Nor do I have the capacity to worry about Kata and the sharp glares she shoots my way whenever she’s presented with the opportunity.
I guess she’s all bark and no bite. Or at least, threatening to drawn me in the fountain was as far as that little Phantom Ranger wannabe is willing to go. No matter. She’s not the one I’m concerned about, anyway.
Daegel, on the other hand…
“Good morning, princess.”
He pushes off the wall the moment I enter the training hall. In his hands, he holds two clay cups.
“I’ve told this to Roman already, and I’ll tell you that, too—stop calling me a fucking princess. I’m not a royal back in Wetra. I don’t know who came up with this stupid rumor.”
When I walk up to him, he offers me one of the cups. The most delicious smell of black coffee tickles my nose. I take the cup without hesitation and inhale the scent greedily.
Daegel shrugs. “You may not be a royal, but if the shoe fits…”
Over the last two months of training together, Daegel’s demeanor has started to shift. He’s much more relaxed when he’s around me. Which only makes him more charming.
And dangerous.
I take a sip, the coffee bitter on my tongue. I close my eyes and savor the taste. Daegel circles me, prowling like a predator around its prey.
“Besides, I’m not Roman,” he says, coming closer. I stand frozen; my heart hammers in my chest, and it’s not because of the coffee. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think he’s earned the right to give you pet names.” He’s so close, his chest brushesmy shoulder as he makes one last circle and then halts in front of me. “After all, it wasn’t him who made you scream from pleasure as you came around his cock, was it?”
I’m stunned into silence for a heartbeat. My cheeks heat, and I glance around.
“You can’t speak like that,” I whisper-yell at him. “Someone might hear you, and then we’ll be fucked. Both of us.”
Daegel’s smirk is wicked. “Nobody but us is here. Everyone else is fast asleep. But let me make you a deal—best me in a fight, and I’ll quit calling you a princess.”
I take another greedy sip and jerk my chin at him. “Blades or chosen weapons?”
“Oh, darling. Hand-to-hand combat.”
I pause on my way to place the half-empty cup on the nearest bench. But, eventually, I give in.
“Fine.” I put the cup down after I swallow the rest of it and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “Let’s do this. If I win, you’ll stop calling me that.”
“And if I win, you’ll have to promise me that if the day ever comes when you have to give me the benefit of the doubt, you will,” he says.
I blink at him, confused.What is that supposed to mean?
“You’re my instructor and my mentor. I think it’s a fair ask. I owe you that much,” I say with a shrug. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“Anytime, princess.”
He advances towards me fast as a lightning.
I barely manage to step out of his way before he can tackle me to the ground. Daegel is swift to pivot, though. Just as I whip around to throw a punch at him, he catches my wrist and twists my arm behind my back.
If this were an actual fight with an enemy who wanted to hurt me, I would have popped my shoulder out of the socket.
