Page 99 of Vicious Princess
“Unbelievable.” I shake my head. “I don’t even have a brother!”
Roman shrugs and inspects his nails. “People don’t care about the details or the truth. As long as you give them something juicy to talk about.”
The magical brew must be working on me, because I can’t muster an ounce of anger, even though I should be furious right now. All I feel is dreamy fuzziness in my chest, and my limbs are light.
As if I’m a cloud.
A soft, fluffy cloud.
Roman doesn’t speak until the healer is finished with the stitches and wraps my forearm in a bandage. Next he works on my thigh.
“Here you go,” the old fae says once he’s done. “I’d recommend you rest for the day. I know human Decarios heal quicker than regular humans, but still slower than fae Decarios, so it’s best if you let your body recover before jumping into another fight.”
I nod, but I’m not pleased.
I don’t have the luxury of resting or slowing down. Not when I have Kata breathing down my neck, and I still have to nail therest of my training before our rapidly approaching graduation day.
If, after all this, I don’t receive an invitation to join the Order… Well, I don’t know what I’ll do.
“There are other types of rumors about you,” Roman whispers once the healer is gone and we’re alone.
All the usual amusement and mischief are gone from his face and voice.
Even the calming elixir doesn’t soothe my anxiety. I think I may throw up.
I swallow and pretend to be as disinterested as I can. “What rumor now?”
“That a certain Ezkai has a thing for you,” he says.
Son of a bitch.
I arch an eyebrow. “Is it Ezkai Gavriel? Do people think he brought us to the dungeons under the castle and fucked us there as our punishment?”
My joke doesn’t land. Roman remains serious. I haveneverseen him serious.
“You know exactlywhichEzkai I mean.”
I shrug. “So? They can think whatever they want. I can’t stop them from imagining things.”
“Is there any truth to those rumors?”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously? I know fae think humans are stupid, but I’mnotthat stupid. I know the rules.”
Roman searches my face, clearly not convinced.
“I hope you’re telling the truth,” he says. “Because even the rumor alone is enough to ruin lives.”
CHAPTER FORTY
The next day, I’m back to training.
We have a full schedule of the emotional-manipulation lecture, which, while challenging, has been my favorite and most relaxing lecture of all.
Ezkai Cassandra already waits in the lecture hall as Roman and I enter, with the rest of the group filtering in after us one by one.
When all the cadets are in their seats, the instructor says, “We have an exciting day ahead of us. So far, you’ve been honing your emotional-manipulation skills in a vacuum. We’ve been focusing on understanding the intricacies of your special Decarios ability and mastering control over it, which has been great, yet it’s not enough to be a successful Ezkai.”
I’ve been wondering when this day would finally come.
