Page 16 of Great Falls Protector
My free hand closes into a fist, and I take a slow breath to cool my simmering blood. There is one thing I’ve not done to repair this void between us, and I owe that to us both. A last-ditch effort that should have been the first. “Tye, I’m sorry.”
“No, you are not.” Emerald eyes flash. “And in case no one ever told you, you are a terrible liar, Lera.”
“I’m sorry that I hurt you.” Full truth there—though, cruel as Tye is being, it might not be true much longer.
Tye’s nostrils flare, pain flashing in his eyes before ice crystals grip his irises. “I was no more than collateral damage in your plans.” He tips his head back, taking a few moments to breathe before looking back at me, his voice collected once more. “If the deputy headmaster decided to take his conversation over your performance into the southern territories, it was plainly done with mutual consent. So, don’t worry, Leralynn—I won’t throw River to the wolves. That’s your style, not mine.”
My teeth grind together. “Thank you.”
“Don’t bother. I’m doing it for River.” Tye jerks his arm free from my hold and continues down the step. “As for you, you want to be on the Prowess team? Well, welcome. Now you get to discover what that means in Han’s world.”
Covering the rest of the steps in speedy silence, Tye and I exit the keep into what’s now turned into a pounding sheet of rain, the sky so dark gray that it might as well be evening. The water soaks my uniform and hair at once, which at least has the advantage of washing River’s scent off me. The courtyard is empty, save for a few scurrying servants braving the rain to complete their tasks. And Han. Waiting under the cover of the arena’s scaffolding, he stands with his arms crossed, his eyes boring into me with a butcher’s evaluation.
“That stunt you pulled in Briar’s class was unacceptable,” Han says by way of greeting. My gut churns as always at the sight of him. The wrongness of him.“Especially with only three days until the opening ceremonies.”
My pulse taps a beat to match the pounding rain, my bunched muscles tingling with energy. “Sir—”
Han’s backhand strikes my face with a vicious casualness, and I stumble back, wiping a trickle of blood now snaking from the corner of my mouth.
Through the sheet of rain, I mark Tye standing easy a few paces away, hands still in his pockets as his soaked white shirt molds to his chest and cut abdomen.
“You want to stay on the team?” Han kicks the ground, sending chunks of muddy earth into the air and splattering against my uniform. “Then beg for it. On your knees.”
For a heartbeat, I think he’s jesting, but one look at his hard blue-gray eyes tells me the man means every word. Not out of vengeance or mindless fury, but sheer calculation—as if I were a dog whose nose he intends to rub in a carpet mess. My gut clenches, my pride clashing against my mission. Before I can decide, however, Tye grabs the back of my shirt and forces me down to the ground with iron strength, not stopping until my knees and then my face are ground into the mud. His lips brush my ear as grit slides into my mouth and eyes.
“Do it,” Tye demands. “Beg or quit. Choose, Leralynn.”
Something inside me snaps, the feel of Tye’s hand on my back suddenly more despicable than Han’s presence. I shared myself with this bastard—my body and my soul—and now he’s grinding both into the mud as if I’m a bug under his shoe. I don’t deserve this. No one does. And maybe that’s the point, the final period at the sentence’s end. We are done, Tye and I. From this moment and forever.
Everything inside me coils, and it’s all I can do to keep from turning and driving my fist right into his jaw. Except the bastard isn’t worth it. I need to stay on the Prowess team for reasons that have nothing to do with him. And now, never will.
“Please, Master Han.” I raise my face from the mud only so far as to ensure my words carry, shouting through the pounding rain. “Forgive my impertinence at the mock exams earlier and permit me to stay.”
My heart pounds as Han’s boots close with my face, Tye still gripping my shirt.
“Kiss them.” Han sticks the dirty toe beneath my nose, shredding my dignity a bit deeper with every breath.
For a moment, my fingers grip the mud, itching to flip the man onto his back, but I overrule them, pressing my lips against the dirty leather.
Han snorts. “Animals. All alike at the core.” Stepping back, he straightens his rain-drenched tunic. “Good enough. Tyelor, run her for two hours on the arena steps to encourage a change in attitude, and we will consider the matter closed.”
Tye’s grip on me releases as Han walks away, and I am on my feet in a moment, a handful of dirt I’d pulled into my palm flying directly into Tye’s nose. The caked mud lands with a stickythwap, covering his freckles and one sharp cheekbone.
“I hope you enjoyed the show.” My voice is so cold, I barely recognize it. “It would be a shame to have wasted the opportunity.”
“You’re welcome.” Tye rolls back on his heels, the pounding rain already washing his face clean. Despite the attempt at nonchalance, his jaw is tight, the muscles vibrating along the side of his face. His voice drops, and I wonder if he didn’t feel it too, that moment when the bridge between us cracked and fell into a cold abyss. “Had you let your mouth run, the afternoon would have been a great deal more painful.”
“Noted.” I jerk my chin at the arena steps. “You heard our master. Lead the way.”
“Stars damn it, lass.” Closing the distance, Tye grabs my arm, his lips pulling back from his teeth. “You could have walked away. No one is forcing you to stay on the team—but if you choose to, you play by Han’s rules. Believe me, you are fortunate to have been reminded of this by me rather than by him.”
“Oh, so that’s why you ground my face into the mud?—To protect me from the fierce Prowess coach? I should be thanking you on my knees, no doubt.”
“Lera—”
I yank my arm away just as lightning cracks the dark sky, outlining the keep’s jutting tower in eerie detail. “One—don’t touch me. Two—I’m not out here to talk.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Lera. You barely walked down the keep’s dry steps. Run these, and you’ll break your neck.” Tye shakes his head, soaked red hair flying. “Just wait here. If Han cared enough, he’d have stayed.”
