Page 18 of Daughter of the Ninth Line: Part One

Predictably, her eyes went wide. Unpredictably, her fist snapped out and cracked me in the nose.

I roared as pain shot through my face. I could feel the splash of blood on my hands as I jumped to my feet. “You little…”

Taeme was immediately there, his eyes flashing with his beast that he kept leashed inside. At his feet were his hounds, growling with their teeth bared and saliva dripping from their maws. He stepped between me and the girl. “Make a move, Vylan,” he rumbled. “We’ll see which one of us is more powerful, once and for all.”

I scoffed, which made blood fly between us. “That isn’t even a question, Taeme.” The rest of his Line were behind him, and I didn’t even need to look behind me to know that my own Line was prepared to retaliate on my behalf. I waved a hand behind me, telling them to stand down. I’d gone too far. “Apologies, Avalon. I will keep my magic to myself until you beg me to share it.” I winked, though it hurt my face to do so.

Taeme hissed an angry noise at me, and I rolled my eyes.Fucking Third Line. Little better than animals.

Shaking my head, I looked around the crowd of people all staring at the three of us with varying levels of horror and glee at the thought of me and Hayle throwing down. Turning my back on him, I looked at Shay, my cousin and the next most powerful person in this school after Taeme and I. She was glaring at him, but gave me an equally annoyed look.

“Relax. Just a misunderstanding.” Someone handed me a pocket square, and I squeezed my nose to stop the flow of blood. It had been a decent punch, so I guess Avalon Halhed was learning something at Boellium after all. “Isn’t that right, Ninth? You wouldn’t purposefully commit treason by hurting your superior?”

Avalon’s eyes were still flashing, but she turned on her heel and moved back across the room to her Twelfth Line friends. I found her lack of bootlicking refreshing. How long had it been since someone other than Hayle Taeme and the rest of the Third Line disrespected me so thoroughly?

I grinned, and when Ephily shied away, I knew I must look like a mess. Taking the drink from where it dangled in her hand, I gulped it down. My nose stung, but I pressed a finger to the bridge, icing it so it didn’t bruise too badly. It didn’t feel broken, and I didn’t want to leave the party just yet.

The altercation had changed the vibe of the party, adrenaline now running high, and I noticed more and more people couplingup. One of the Third Line couples was already fucking against the wall, the steady thump of music muffling the girl’s moans. As if permission had been granted, the party kicked into gear, devolving into the debaucherous sexfest that it normally did.

It was inevitable, really. We worked hard, and we partied harder. Most of us would never get the choice later to choose our marital partners, and it was an unspoken agreement through the Lines that what happened at these parties stayed here. The price for running your mouth was ostracization, and I knew that in previous years, there’d been more than a few “accidents” in the training ring for those who’d opened their mouths to people they shouldn’t.

Hayle was sitting with Avalon, and whatever he was saying to her was making her laugh. But her eyes kept shifting around to couples fucking, the room getting hazy and filled with pheromones. The music was low and sensuous, made for fucking and dancing, and more than a few people were doing both right there on the makeshift dancefloor. Third Line parties always ended here faster than any other Line.Animals.

Avalon’s eyes met mine, and I grinned. I reached for Ephily, and she came willingly. “My nose hurts. Make me feel better?” Her eyes sparkled with glee as she began to kiss her way down my body, unbuttoning my shirt as she went. Her fingers scraped down my skin, and I gave myself over to the sensations.

Ephily slowly kissed her way down my abs, and I resisted the urge to push her head where I wanted it. I didn’t want or need foreplay. She undid my pants, dropping to her knees between my thighs. So pliable and eager to submit. Tedious, really.

I hated the idea that Ephily was blowing the Heir and not the man. However, she served a purpose for stress relief, and when she took my semi-hard cock in her mouth, I closed my eyes and buried my fingers in her hair. Avalon Halhed’s face popped into my mind, and despite the fact it was unfair to Ephily, I imaginedit was Avalon’s mouth on my cock right now. Imagined her defiant eyes looking up at me as I fucked her face. I was suddenly rock hard and fucking Ephily’s mouth, her saliva dripping down my shaft.

“Good girl,” I growled at imaginary Avalon. She would be a good girl as she took everything I gave her.

My eyes snapped open, and I looked straight into Avalon’s, feeling them burning against my skin. I held her gaze as I blew inside Ephily’s mouth, and when Avalon dragged her eyes back to Hayle, I realized he’d been staring at me too. His expression was harder to read.

Ephily tugged on the ends of my shirt, and guilt swept through me. I looked down at her, staring up at me with stars in her eyes. She might have been using me to get a better position in society, but I’d always promised myself I wouldn’t use women the way my brothers did, the way my father did with his mistresses.

So despite the fact that I’d just imagined she was a stubborn girl from the Ninth Line—and I’d just blown in her mouth while Avalon was hatefucking me with her eyes—I pulled Ephily up onto my lap and spoke to her softly for the rest of the night, like she mattered to me. Like that blowjob had meant anything more than a quick release.

I ignored the woman across the room, ignored the way she was laughing huskily at Hayle Taeme, ignored how much I still wanted her. Because she wasn’t for me, and never could be.

If I was honest with myself, that was the real reason why I hated her so much.

Twelve

Avalon

Iwatched some girl give Vox Vylan a blowjob and tried not to examine my feelings on the matter. I didn’t look too long at the burning in my gut that felt a little like lust. I hated that prick; if some little sycophant wanted to take his microdick in her mouth, so be it.

I sighed, not prone to lying to myself, especially when his cock was so obviously not a microdick. The girl was gagging as it hit the back of her throat, and it wasn’t even halfway past her lips.

Turning away, I looked back at Hayle, who was watching me with dark eyes. “You okay?”

I shrugged. I was okay. Honestly, I could have stood up and demanded he stop teasing me with his air a lot earlier, but the feel of the breeze gently caressing my leg had been… erotic. Even if the manipulator of the element was a psycho.

“I’m fine. He was just being an asshole.”

Hayle laughed. “That’s his default.” The silence settled back between us, and the mirth slowly left his face. “He’s powerful, though. Stay out of his way if you can.”

Shaking my head, I gave him a sad smile. “You’re all dangerous to me, Hayle. I shouldn’t even be here.” I wasbreaking my own rules, and this was my karmic justice. I looked around for Viana and her guys, but they seemed to be joining an orgy in the corner of the dorm.

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