Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“I thought so. It’s a power we need in this battle whether she wants to be in it or not.”
“I agree, but she goes so far as to risk hard labor by denying that power. She does not want to be here, with that I must agree. But how far would she go?”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
“For a brief moment, I considered that last night wasn’t an accident. It was an attempt to get her what she wanted. Either death or expulsion from the academy—”
“Hold on. An attempt to get what she wanted? How?”
He went on like I hadn’t spoken. “But that would be a stretch. The girl carted around a tenebrae demon, carrying it dangerously close to her throat. There are less painful ways to commit suicide. She obviously didn’t know what it was—”
I shot forward. “Wait. Did you say she carted around the demon?”
“That is exactly what I said. Miss Galanis was fooled by the shapeshifter into carrying it past the warding spells into the academy.”
Pressure built against my eardrums, drowning my ears in a muffled world like the one I found at the bottom of Marsyas Lake.
“She was under attack by the dryads, and Mr. Teresi believed he was helping a student in need. When he got close enough to realize what she truly held—”
“It killed him.” I couldn’t tell if that was said by me. The pressure was building, and I was sinking.
Slowly, I straightened. “Thank you, sir. I understand the situation.”
“Do you? Wonderful,” he replied. “I intend to have the same clarity when next I speak to Miss Galanis.”
“No need to wait. I’ll tell you now.” No, I couldn’t mistake it. That growl was definitely me. “That traitorous liar got Galen killed. She will spend the rest of a long and miserable life wishing I exploded her in the poisoned mud. Do you have objections?” I was already across the room and strangling the doorknob. “I don’t give a shit.”
Aella
Sweat trickled down my nose—slow, tickling, and unseen in the dark. To wipe it away was to line my prison with more shredded skin.
I shuddered, biting my lip hard. Pain sent a jolt to my brain and I peeled my eyes open. It made no difference to the dark, but falling asleep made a difference to my life.
That bread stopped me from feeling hunger, thirst, and the burning urge to pee. It did nothing to stop me from needing to sleep.
And that’s by design. They want me to wobble on shaking legs, desperately fighting to stay awake while pointed sentries haunted the dark. After one night, anyone trapped in here is begging to give Headmaster Drakos everything he wants.
Don’t let him break you. Stay awake, Aella.
Stay awake.
THE MAIDEN REVEALED her prize, and my blood graced the stone before me. I followed, collapsing in a heap on the ground.
“Get up, girl.”
Commander Vasili grabbed my forearms. My blood slicked his hold, dropping me right back on the floor.
“Ahh!” Pain ravaged my entire front and the half of my face unfortunate enough to meet the spikes. “P-please... help...”
“I said get up.”
I tried. Pushing up, my ruined hands dumped me flat. The world spun as two pairs of boots paused by either side of my head.
The commander and a man my double vision didn’t recognize hooked me under the arms. I knew nothing other than I was moving. Leaving. My leather-wrapped toes knocked against each step as they carried me up.
I lifted my head and it lolled, tipping my chin to the ceiling. “How... long?”
I wasn’t asking them. I was speaking to the shifting, morphing horror of the goddess. She was with me as the hours bled. Always with me, always laughing, but this time she didn’t hurt me. I was in too much pain to feel more.
“Three days.”
Cool air hit my face. A welcome gift before the wall of sound.
Voices. Stomping. Chairs scraping. Instructions shouted. It bowled me over then under, making me squeeze my eyes shut at the sudden assault on my senses.
“—battle strategy.”
“I have to study for this history test first. How about we...? Gods.”
The voices, the stomping, the scraping, the shouting—all stopped.
“Who is that?”
“Where did she come from?”
“Reflection room.” “Reflection room.” “Reflection room.”
The name bounced off the walls in every direction and stuck to me. It lingered on me long after they faded.
Along the marble floor, my toes dragged, trailing the way to Headmaster Drakos’s office. My eyes adjusted over the threshold. The sun must’ve been high outside, but it was near pitch black in here.
Drakos stood behind his desk, Madame Remis by his side.
“Welcome, Miss Galanis. Please, join us.”
Vasili and his friend dropped me on my ass before them. I screamed myself hoarse.
My back was no less mangled than my front. That’s what happened when panic turns to fear... and I change. The beast—so much bigger than I could be—grew in our cage and impaled herself on a hundred spikes, thrashing in rage. At least that’s what I had to assume when my mind returned and I was bleeding from everywhere. It’s only because of what the goddess made me that I was still alive.