Page 37 of Bound to Three Fae Beasts

I gave her an opening that she was smart enough not to take, but when I feinted twin blows, she was too distracted to block the true strike from my foot. It caught her knee and sent her to the ground. I stepped back, letting her process her mistake. She slammed a fist into the mat in frustration and pushed her ponytail over her shoulder.

Azriel struggled back to her feet, but I only started putting away the mats. “We’re done for today.”

She rubbed the leg I’d kicked as she shook her head. “I’m good to keep going. You don’t have to stop on my account.”

Stubborn. I smiled to myself when my back was turned to her. “There comes a point where the bravado and pretending to be stronger than you are only causes more damage, Azriel.”

“I’m not pretending anything, Seb.”

I liked the way my name sounded on her lips far more than I should. “Lord Seb. I’m the heir to my house, and you should give me the respect I deserve.”

“If I was giving you the respect you deserve, I’d be calling you ‘Dum-dum.’ Something immature, because you’re not even worth the respect of a decent insult.” Her voice trailed off a little at the end, and when I looked over my shoulder, her nose wrinkled and she shook her head. She was so clearly mentally kicking herself that I laughed out loud.

Her head jerked up.

I smiled at her, not bothering to hide it this time. She wouldn’t believe I was genuine, anyway. It was just so bizarre. I was used to people fawning over me. You didn’t just call one of the high court, especially not an heir, a ‘dum-dum,’ and yet this girl did.

“That right there is all I need to know that your mother didn’t teach you about the fae,” I told her. “Nobody who knew about the realities of this place would speak that way to an heir of Court Laurel.”

She scowled and limped back to her knapsack. “Maybe I’m just stupid.”

I didn’t answer. Stupid. No, she wasn’t stupid. Stubborn and reckless. Naïve. But stupid? No, I didn’t think she was stupid. She adjusted her behavior when she got new information. She hadn’t seen how dangerous her behavior toward me really was. I hoped she’d realize and adjust before it got her killed.

Not that it mattered. She wouldn’t survive the binding trials anyway. Not without a beast.

Chapter 17 - Azriel

The first of the public duels was held first thing the next week. It started with the first-years. The duels were held in one of the upper-floor arenas, though it wasn’t the same room where I’d snuck in that first day at the Academy. This one had bleachers all along the sides, and the massive arena was divided into three separate circles. Three duels would be going on at a time, and the winners of the duels would then fight each other.

The three ultimate winners of the first-year duelists would fight the lowest-ranking second-year students, and it would go on from there. First-years and second-years were not allowed to use magic. Third-years and fourth-years had limited magic use, while fifth-years were permitted to use their beast forms.

Freta, Penry, Silas and I sat together with the rest of the first-years. Freta had braided her hair today and kept toying with the end of it, clearly nervous. My knife was safe in my belt. I’d tried to convince the others to also arm themselves, but they refused, concerned that they would lose their weapons and have them used against them.

“Is it dangerous for spectators when the fifth-years fight?” Penry asked, twisting her hands.

“We won’t be here for that,” Silas told her. “After we lose a duel, we leave the room.”

The bully group lounged together, though unusually Seb didn’t sit with Gareth and Jasper. Instead, Red, Savannah, and Flora were all between them. Seb’s gaze flicked over to me and I quickly looked away, hoping he didn’t notice me watching.

The fights started. While Penry cringed and covered her eyes, I watched intently. Though the amount of blood left me feeling a bit nauseated, I studied the way they fought so I could copy their moves or know better how to combat them.

Silas and Freta were both called to the rings at the same time and forced to face off with each other. Both of them looked conflicted, Freta pale and Silas grim. We’d been practicing sparring in our free time, but as they faced each other in the ring, even I could see that they were pulling their punches.

Freta tripped over her own feet, earning howls and catcalls from the bully section. She pushed herself back to her feet, face flushed. Silas charged at her, but when she failed to duck out of the way of his punch, he averted his fist, grazing her cheekbone.

The two other fights were brutal. One of them had already broken their opponent’s arm, while the other was a brother and sister duo who were slashing each other with knifes.

“Enough,” Lotmas called, and the barriers pushed all the combatants apart. The teacher strode into the ring with Silas and Freta, and whacked them both across the back with his pointer stick. “This is a public duel, not a dance. Lady Hilda, change with Lady Freta.”

The sister from the other group moved to take Freta’s place. Lotmas moved back to join the other teachers. Headmaster Quincy was also here today, with a clipboard on which he took notes. He wrote something down as his eyes tracked Freta.

The barriers came back up and the girl, Hilda, immediately went for Silas. She stabbed at his gut, but he managed to twist out of the way. The knife cut across his abdomen, spilling blood down his stomach. He moved swiftly, but at that moment, the students let out a cheer. My attention was stolen by the third fighting ring, in which the victor stood with her foot on the back of her opponent’s neck.

When I looked back to Silas, he had disarmed Hilda. She punched him in the face, and he stabbed her in the stomach. Another cheer rose up, and from the corner of my eye I saw Robert, Freta’s opponent, start laughing. Apparently, there was no love lost there.

Silas was declared victor and he was moved to the other victors. The knife remained in his hand, covered in blood. His expression was blank, but when he glanced up at me, something unreadable briefly crossed his face.

I turned my attention back to Freta. She had been dodging Robert’s blows, but so far her attempts to disarm him had been in vain. Her eyes were wide, and I had a terrible sinking feeling in my stomach. This was the payoff for her warmth. She didn’t want to hurt this student who clearly wanted to hurt her. Robert smirked at her and tucked the knife back into his belt.