Page 99 of Above
“Talon is with her, and I fear the Zade’s plan to use her to gain influence and power,” I dared to argue. Father took the hilt of his blade and shoved it into my stomach, making me keel over.
“Stars, I bore a moron. An insolent child. A failure.”Pot meet kettle.Father walked away, beginning to pace. “We must kill her, Azazel.”
“The stars won’t—“
“The stars do not see how this can affect our future!” he shouted, not so drunk that he didn’t realize his words and flinch as he looked up at the ceiling. “I just mean that sometimes it is up to us to help the stars see reason. They mentioned you and thatthing,so clearly they see how the future is contingent on the two of you. Maybe they were hinting at something. Or perhaps they are only doing this with the hopes we will kill her and finally begin our initiative.”
That had him pausing, his smile stretching his face into something eerie and inhuman.
“Yes, that must be what they’re doing.” After that, he was gone, his mumbled plotting not relevant to me. So I risked shadow walking, knowing that the injuries meant flimsy will and inconsistent magic, and took my first deep breath of the night within the safety of my barracks room.
Moving to my bathroom, I began the tedious process of cleaning and healing myself, knowing I’d need professional help soon. I stripped bare, willing the tub to fill with warm water and then submerging myself within it.
A firm knock at my door had me stilling as I scrubbed my hair, the ache in my head nearly making me vomit from the sound.
Why was someone at my door?
Could it be Tershetta? If so, would I need to kill her? Or was it possible to win her over and show Father how my plan might suit us?
Leaping up, I nearly fell from the dizziness and slippery white tile, but I grabbed a towel and dashed to the door.
“Please don’t look too out of sorts,” I whispered to myself.
When I opened the door, I was met with the horrifying sight of Benadell Zade, her hair loose and her round lips painted red. She wore a thin black dress and no shoes. My mind strayed to the note she had placed in my tactical belt.
Save some time for me after your graduation.
Fuck. Not today. Any day but today.
“Hello, handsome,” she cooed, not waiting for a response before she stepped forward and pressed her lips into mine.
I had learned on the first day of academy that Captain Zade wanted me. It was such an odd thing, because she had watched me grow up. She had been a sort of second mother, if any of the core women could be labeled such a thing when I now knew people like Octavia Tersehtta existed.
So when she had told me she needed to speak with me and then pulled me into a closet, I hadn’t really understood. But then she began kissing me, and the picture became clear.
Resisting had been futile back then, but I officially graduated. She no longer held any sway.
“Get off of me,” I hissed, shoving her.
She only laughed, grabbing my towel and tearing it off of me. I backed away, covering my exposed cock with my hands, but she seemed to like that. With her foot she kicked the door closed, stalking forward after like a beast readying for the kill.
“You can’t do this to me anymore,” I said, wishing I wasn’t running like a coward.
“Oh I think I can,” she quipped, her hands moving to the hem of her dress and pulling it over her head. She, like Dove, was taller than many other women, her body fierce and curved. She was far too beautiful and powerful to need manipulation for sex, but I had a feeling this had been for something else. The same two things we all seemed to fight tooth and nail for.
Power and control.
“I’ve graduated. You have no power over me now.”
“I find it hilarious that you think that,” she said, her voice trailing off into a laugh. It was a biting one. Forced and short. My thighs hit my desk. She approached, her smile widening as she realized that she had me trapped. “Since thatthinghas the stars, you Altairs have lost all your influence. You are no more than any of the twenty families. In fact, with Talon fucking her, I’d say you’re even less than us now.”
A deep growl stalked up my chest and throat, crawling out of my mouth. Captain Zade stopped in front of me, her naked breasts against my stomach. A moan slipped out of her mouth in response to my heavy breaths, and I watched in disgust as she rubbed her peaked nipples against my skin.
I couldn’t do this anymore.
“If you don’t get off of me and leave me the fuck alone, then I’ll kill you and your entire worthless family!” I shouted, moving my hands up to shove her back a few feet.
A screech echoed off my ceiling as she ran back to me, clawing at my chest and shoving magic into my body. I was thrown back, my back slamming into the wall and my ass landing on top of my desk. She capitalized on my hesitation from the pain, using her shadows to wrap around me and then lifting me with her magic, dropping my tied body onto the bed.
