Page 88 of Vicious Princess
With a sigh, I turn to Kata. Her gaze shifts from the instructor to me.
I arch an eyebrow. “Are you going to make this hard?”
“I’m not going to fail this assignment just because you pissed Ezkai Gavriel off and he sat you next to me,” she says in a lethal voice. “I hope you have more than two brain cells in that head of yours.” After a brief pause, she adds, quietly enough so only I can hear, “Though it would surprise me after the recent things I’ve seen with my own two eyes.”
A chill goes down my spine. But I hold her gaze without flinching.
I match the tone of her voice when I say the next words. “Why don’t you mind your own business? I don’t threaten you in any way. This whole hateful fae act is getting old.”
Anger flickers in her gaze. She leans closer to me. “Every damn ounce of the hate I cradle towards you is more than justified.”
“I wasn’t the one responsible for your brother’s death,” I say, willing my voice to be as level as possible. Maybe if I turn her to my side, she won’t spill my secrets. “I’m sorry King Francis executed him, I truly?—”
“His blood may not be on your hands, but it’s on your father’s hands. Maybe in Wetra things are different, but here, a blood debt your parents carry applies to their children, and their grandchildren, and generations beyond. Until it’s finally repaid.”
Bewildered by her words, I blink rapidly. “What?My father has nothing?—”
Kata cuts me off again, which only makes my blood boil further. “Your father served as King Francis’s henchman. He’s the one who carried out the king’s orders and murdered my brother under false accusations.”
I don’t believe this. Shaking my head, I say, “Do not fucking bringmyfamily into this.”
Her fist slams onto the table next to my hand. I grip the quill hard enough that my knuckles turn white. “Your father was a murderer, and for that you’ll pay,yrathi.”
“Listen to me—King Francis is the one you should be angry with. My father was an honorable soldier who didn’t choose which orders to carry out. He was also murdered by King Franci?—”
“Good riddance,” she sneers.
The rage bubbling in my chest blinds me. I won’t stand her—or anyone—speaking ofmyfamily,mydad, who was myhero, in this way.
One moment, we sit whisper-yelling at each other, Kata baring her teeth at me.
And the next, I slam the sharp tip of the quill I hold into the back of her hand.
She growls at the pain, her eyes wide as she looks between me and the quill stuck in her hand.
I don’t expect what comes next. Even though, maybe I should.
She slaps me across the face with the back of her free hand so hard, I fly out of my seat. Immediately, I get back up to my feet and charge at her, but Ezkai Gavriel steps in my way.
A muscle in his jaw ticks, fury swirling in his gaze. “What, for the love of the spirits of the gods, do you think you’re doing?”
Panting, I point at Kata standing behind him. “She started?—”
Kata talks over me. “She stabbed me with a?—”
“Enough!” Ezkai Gavriel bellows.
Dangerous silence settles.
The instructor’s palm lands on the back of my neck, and he turns me around. His other palm cups the back of Kata’s neck, and then we’re out of the classroom.
Ezkai Gavriel’s strides are long and fast. We have to run to match his pace. His fingers dig painfully into my flesh.
There will be bruises.
I’m surprised to see he walks us towards the castle. The Ezkai we pass eye us with curiosity, but none dare to say anything.
This is where it all ends for me.
