Page 8 of Daughter of the Ninth Line: Part Two

“Or else what, Taeme? You’ll send your puppies after me? They can’t take me.Youcan’t take me. And I’m sick of your littlespies everywhere listening to fuck knows what. Maybe I should just take all this one’s air? It’s just a dirty mouse.”

A hand reached up and plucked the mouse from where it was suspended in ropes of air. I watched as Avalon Halhed put the mouse in her pocket and went back to looking at the instructor, like that hadn’t just happened.

She couldn’t have just stolen the mouse from Vox’s power unless he let her. What the fuck did that mean?

I stared Vox down once more, until Instructor Perot cleared his throat. “If you’re done, keep your squabbles out of my damn classroom. Inside is for learning, outside is for posturing. There’s an entire ring for you to flex at each other, and it’s a lot easier to clean blood from sand than from thousand-year-old parquetry.”

Sitting back down, I didn’t relax until the class was declared complete, then I walked out of the room with my head held high and my back turned to Vox Vylan, completely unbothered that he’d come for me like the coward he was.

I reached a room where the college staff kept cleaning products and stepped into it. Getting Quarry, my raven, to keep an eye out for the girl, I waited until she was in front of the door before I grabbed her and yanked her in.

The girl squeaked out a scream that I muffled with my palm. “We need to talk.”

Six

Avalon

Ibreathed heavily against the palm of Hayle Taeme. This close, the ache in my gut, that primal feeling of fear and pain, was nearly overwhelming. He removed his hand, and I glared at him.

“What iswrongwith you? You don’t drag women into dark closets, you animal,” I hissed. All the while, my hand was searching for the doorknob behind me.

He leaned closer, inhaling deeply. “You’re right. I am an animal.” His tone strongly suggested that I was the prey.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the mouse. I hadn’t wanted to get between powerful Heirs, but I wasn’t going to let a defenseless mouse be hurt, just because they couldn’t keep their egos in check. I thrust the tiny creature out at him. It was curled in my palm, obviously having been napping in my pocket.

“Take better care of your pets. I can’t keep saving them for you.”

He glared at me, and honestly, the expression was terrifying. But he took the mouse with gentle fingers, releasing it up into the collar of his shirt. “I take excellent care of my animal companions, as do my whole Line. Their trust is our magic.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, well, what about the stolt that you keep stink-eyeing me about?”

Now it was his turn to look incredulous. “None of the Third Line here at Boellium have a stolt. I certainly don’t.” He raised an eyebrow. “That one is all you.”

Impossible, because Epsy was super tame. Last night, I’d caught him sleeping in my boot and chewing on the leather like it was his favorite pastime. Those were not the actions of a wild animal.

“Whatever,” I coughed out, because the scent of his skin was starting to whisper into my nose, and he smelled amazing. “What do you want, exactly?”

He looked down at me, his eyes stern. “Whoareyou, Avalon Halhed?”

Had this guy been dropped on his head as a baby? “You literally just said my name. Avalon Halhed. And in case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard the whispers that echo around the hall, I’m the only conscript in the place from the Ninth Line. That’s all there is to know.”

He growled, and the noise was equal parts terrifying and arousing. Well, that was awkward.

“And your connection to the First Line?”

I frowned. I didn’t want to be some chew toy in inter-Line politics, but still, who did he think he was? “None of your fucking business.”

He leaned forward until his nose was brushing mine, those green eyes arresting. “What if I make it my business?”

I wanted to run away, or fall to my knees, and I didn’t like either option. Instead, I showed a little bit of spine. “Then I guess we’re both bound for disappointment.”

Finally finding the doorknob, I twisted it open and escaped before he could grab me and hold me hostage in that tiny room any longer. If anyone thought it was weird that I was in a cleaning closet, they minded their own business for once.

In the next class, we were scheduled for hand-to-hand combat, and the instructor was a hard-ass. He’d punish me just because I looked soft. My brother, Kian, had taught me a little self-defense, enough to escape my father if he ever managed to corner me drunk and tried to beat me to death… again.

But being able to escape a drunk old man was very different to being able to best a trained soldier in combat. Or an untrained soldier, as I would later discover.

“Halhed, you are so weak and uncoordinated, I’m amazed you’ve never tripped over your own feet and been eaten by chickens. You’re that Goddess-cursed slow. Move. Jab, jab, turn, sweep. It’s not that hard. Think of it like a dance, if that helps with your courtly attitude.”

---