Page 49 of First Ritual

The menacing tone of my voice echoed around us. The fourth member of the quad didn’t budge, proving he wasn’t completely stupid.

“You’re out of control,” he said.

The dude wasn’t wrong.

I dug the jagged blade in, my state almost hypnotic. “Sneak up on me again, and I’ll show you a real loss of control.”

“Noted. Now get your fucking dagger off my carotid.”

Not that simple.

With the effort of pulling in a thick wet rope, I heaved at my black fury, then banished the vicious blade. When everything was tucked away—which took longer than it should for a magus my age, I was well aware—only then did I release Corentin’s head from the unnatural angle to jump off his back.

I made sure to dig my heels into where I’d planted them on his hip bones.

Partway through regaining my control, the utter silence in the learning center had unfortunately become apparent. A tiny sigh left me. I’d revealed more than intended. Far more.

The majority of the subdued crowd were attempting to hide their stares, so the only person not trying stood out like a rooster at dawn vigil.

I sucked in a breath at Wild’s expression. He stood fully facing me, clad in athletic shorts and his pendants. The magus looked murderous, but that wasn’t what nearly had me backing up a step.

Wild looked murderous for me—torn between taking me to his chamber for a month or obliterating every person in this center to prove himself. My hands curled against my lower stomach, an instinctive reaction to the intensity of his display.

I felt wary. Afraid of his unmasked resolve.

I felt like prey. Drowning prey. Prey backed into a corner and held at the mercy of a predator.

I hated feeling that way.

“Enough standing around,” yelled Delta. “Get back to it.”

I yanked away from Wild’s gaze as the councilwoman crossed the mats toward me.

“That’s quite the battle affinity you’re sitting on,” she said.

I’d planned to sit on it until I transferred. Wild was still watching me. I tried my best to shake off my discomfort. “Thanks.”

“And quite the anger.” Delta searched my face.

I counted anger as a win. Anger meant I was somewhat balanced. Anger meant I’d managed to lock away the darkness within me into a tight box where it couldn’t become chaos. Plainly, I wasn’t afraid of anger, and I’d take the emotion any day of the week. “I don’t handle sneak attacks well.”

She held a finger to her lips. “Not something I’d say loudly. Though people would’ve put as much together from your reaction.”

When I frowned, she said, “Caves.”

“Really?” Then I added, “What side are you on?” How much should I tell her?

“Learning center leaders are under oath not to use privileged information against anyone in Caves.”

Huh. At least they had some boundaries.

She gestured to weapons. “Is the dagger your favorite?”

With my height? “Sword or spear.”

Delta hummed. “Not great in small spaces if you intend to play the game.”

“Still unsure on that.”