Page 77 of Vicious Princess
My intent for tonight’s mission is not only to come out alive but to make sure I perform well enough the Ezkai can see there’s value in having me amongst their ranks. Even if I’m a mere human.
Someone grabs my forearm and yanks on it hard enough to whirl me around.
It’s Kata.
I jerk my arm away from her. “What the fuck do you want?”
Her pretty mouth curls into a cruel smirk. “I want you gone. I thought I made it clear that night I almost drowned you.” She takes a step closer to me. I step away. “It’s not your fault your little human mind struggles to understand when you’re welcome and when you’re not.” Another step closer. I step away again. My back hits the wall. “But let me try one more time,yrathi—if I were you, I would make sure I don’t survive this mission.”
I lift my chin. “I bet you’d love that. Sorry, no can do, sweetheart.”
Kata brings her face close to mine and whispers the next words so only I can hear them: “Oh, I think you can, and you’ll definitely want to. Unless you want to give me the satisfaction of going straight to the General to tell him one of his mostprominent Ezkai Majors is fucking a cadet. Don’t try denying it. I’ve seen you kiss. Right here, in the academy.” She laughs, cruel and merciless. “If you’re breaking rules, do itdiscreetly. But I guess that’s too much for that little brain of yours to comprehend.”
The whole world tilts. My heart drops all the way to my heels.
Kata pulls away and sneers. “How filthy and degrading. I’m surprised someone like Ezkai Daegel Talbot would be attracted to a godsdamnedyrathi.”
With a toss of her hair, she walks away.
I’m so fucked.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
We travel to Yal’s estate in Yursus inside two merchant carriages. They split our group in half and do the same with the Ezkai. Taaslord Noire travels a carriage with the first group, and General sits right in front of me on the bench with my group.
I’m so unnerved by the conversation with Kata that I can barely sit still. My knee’s bouncing, and all I can focus on is managing my breathing and heartbeat. Everyone will think I’m a fragile fucking human nervous about going into the mission.
I don’t want to look weak in front of the most powerful man in Ekios. The man whose approval I seek. Who thinks I may be the key to a new future, even if I don’t give a shit about it.
To my relief, nobody says anything. Everyone’s lost in their own thoughts or preparing themselves mentally for the raid. Thank fuck Kata is in the other group.
I can’t do what she asks of me. No way am I going to sabotage my chances of becoming an Ezkai, even if she knows about me and Daegel.
There must be a way out.
The first thing that comes to mind is to kill her. It would be easier during a mission, if things get hectic. The General himselfsaid the chances of death are high. Nobody would question if a cadet died in the process.
The thought alone gives me jitters. Can I murder someone like this, in cold blood? To protect myself and my ambition?
“Don’t ask if you can kill. As soldiers, we’re born for it,”Dad said once,“but before you do, ask why you should.”
I was thirteen, blood on my tunic after sparring too hard. The boy’s arm had broken with a snap that still echoed in my head.
“And if the reason’s strong enough?” I asked.
“Then don’t hesitate.” He tapped the middle of my chest. “But you better be certain your reason aligns with your inner compass. Because every life you take stays with you until the end of yours.”
I’ve done it before. To survive. Why am I hesitating now?
Ending Kata’s life is for survival. Or is it not?
Before my mind can spiral any further, the carriage halts. All heads rise. My muscles tense, prepared for action.
“The first group, led by the Taaslord, will go through the back of the estate,” the General says. “We’ll go through the front, which means we’ll take the most heat. Make sure you have each other’s backs and do everything you must to get to Yal Absom.”
I give the General a sharp nod. One last time, I run my hands over all the blades strapped to me.
I’m fucking ready.
