Wilder was nodding. “Your blood,” he finished.
“Your reaction was much slower though. He vomited straight after he tasted it. It’s why I forgot,” I babbled.
He frowned and broke eye contact. I felt a pang of something. Desire, loss—I had no idea. “I’ve never come across anything like it. It was just suddenly there, burning a hole in my throat.”
I bit my lip. “My blood didn’t taste like that right away though, did it?”
I tried to make it sound like an innocent question, like his answer meant nothing. Wilder wasn’t fooled. He stared into my eyes—into me—and the strength of that look made me want to dip my head. I fought the impulse.
“No, it did not,” he said, ice woven into every word. “Serena …”
Oh, there was that tone again. I’d heard it during training a hundred times over. A warning, a scolding. Ugh. He took a deep sniff as if to clear his nostrils of my scent, and said, “You must not mistake my bite as a claim.”
Stars, how did he always get under my skin?
“I didn’t. Because I don’t know what that means.”
Mimicking his coolness, I folded my arms and dropped a hip.
Again, a warning look. “You know exactly what it means,” he said, rotating his shoulders and grimacing. “I’m old enough to be your ancestor, and while age gaps don’t usually matter for fae couplings, it does when one of them is human. I’m also your instructor—”
Enough. I was done. Done. “Don’t you think I know that?”
Wilder firmed his jaw.
“But what just happened …” I almost choked on the words, on what it cost me to say them. “It wasn’t nothing.”
“You are a human,” he said, louder than necessary. “And you clearly know nothing about fae.” My chest splintered. “When we bite, we can lose ourselves. That’s all that happened here tonight—overwhelmed senses on my part, and a na?ve crush on yours.”
That hollowed me out. “Go fuck yourself, Wilder.”
I went to turn; he caught me by the arm, gripping hard enough to leave a bruise. He tugged me toward him, his teeth extended. Only he didn’t bite this time. He just got up in my face, snarling. Big baby.
“You’ve no idea how dangerous it is for a human to talk to a fae like that. We’ve broken bones for less. If you can’t control yourself, you’ll be punished.”
Pure, uncomplicated rage shook me. A fire built at my throat again. I savored it, embraced it, and then released the strength it poured into me. I shoved, hard. Somehow it worked and he staggered, releasing me. Not done yet, I went nose to nose with him and gave my best fae impression, baring my teeth and growling low in the throat. “Don’t threaten me. I might be just a lowly human to you.” I could’ve sworn he flinched for a second. “But if you break any part of my body, then so help me—”
“Yes,” he said, uncurling a wolfish smile. “What are you going to do? I’m no fool. That sort of mad attack won’t work again.”
My gut screamed to back down, but something was pushing me. Huffing a laugh, I said, “I’m not stupid. I won’t go for your wings again, but fae have other weaknesses: salt and iron, for instance.”
I let the threat hang in the air. He looked close to ripping my head off, but instead he breathed, “Did you just threaten to poison me?”
Stars, did he sound impressed?
I’d actually been thinking of using an iron weapon to fight him, to even the odds, not to poison him. The very idea filled me with shame. After Elain’s threats, how could I? What was happening to me? He was still staring. I could back down, apologize. But my damned pride got in the way. It kept my spine stiff, unyielding. So I let a shrug roll over my shoulders. Oh, so casual. “You threatened me first.”
He replied with a soft, reluctant laugh. “You really are a perfect little savage.”
I shifted, gulping. That hit hard, even if he’d made it sound like a compliment.
Don’t let him get to you, dear, said the singsong voice.
I blinked at the odd comfort that bestowed.
He took a step back, inclining his head. We were back to cool detachment, then. “If you’d listened properly, you would’ve realized I wasn’t threatening. I was warning you what another fae might do.” He flared his wings slightly. “For your own safety, you need to keep a civil tongue in your head. As for what just happened, I am first and foremost your instructor.” He emphasized that last part. “You will go back to adopting a respectful attitude and treating me as nothing more or less than your elder and trainer. This,” he gestured up and down my body, “blood rage must stop tonight.”
“Blood rage?”
“The fury—the anger in your heart. You need to tuck it away for when the time’s right and you can use it to survive.”
A part of me felt shame for my actions. And as I knew close to nothing about the necklace, the fire, or the strength it’d given me tonight, it was an easy promise to make. “Fine.”
“Good,” Wilder said bluntly. “See you tomorrow.”
Wilder spread his wings and shot into the sky.
I stalked to the barracks, wiping the blood from my neck with a sleeve. On reflection, I realized he’d asked the impossible. I could wash away the evidence of what’d happened, but I couldn’t pretend he meant nothing. There was no going back. Not for me.
In the days leading up to the first trial, Wilder resumed his pre-bite behavior. So basically, the hard-ass teacher who pushed and pushed and never said anything nice. However, there was one tiny improvement. He had less reason to criticize, because I’d started to improve. It wasn’t enough to make me a real threat, but it stopped my limbs shaking after every exercise. Wilder even introduced me to more advanced forms of combat, but as the instructors gathered side by side to announce the trial to the class, those achievements felt wholly pathetic. I was still outmatched.
The mentors: Cecile, Goldwyn, Wilder, Dimitri, and Mikael had waited until the end of the training day. Everyone was on edge—cruel, cunning bastards.
Dimitri stepped forward. My hand flew to my throat, a reflex. He was the slenderest of the male instructors. All apricot skin, dark features, and hooded eyes. He was also a brutal taskmaster. I felt a comforting trickle of heat warm the skin at my throat.
“RECRUITS!” Dimitri’s gravelly voice boomed. “Today marks the end of regular training. Tomorrow, the trial phase begins.”
Excited whispers and moans of terror followed this statement.
“Silence!” Dimitri’s voice cracked like a whip.
Every recruit hushed and faced him, waiting … except for me. I couldn’t stop looking at Wilder. If regular training was over, then today would mark the end of our private lessons. My gut knotted at the thought.
Dimitri continued, eyeballing the crowd with a menacing expression. “Tomorrow, you are to report to the gateway behind the stables.” He drew himself up to his full height, relishing a lengthy pause before he went on. “You have an hour for breakfast. We begin at 8:30BN. The trial in question will test your individual levels of endurance and resilience. Your pack’s performance will mean nothing.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “All you have to do is outlast the other recruits. The first two to give up of their own accord, pass out, or show signs they need urgent medical attention will be the first to go. This is non-negotiable.”
Dimitri let that sink in as he browsed the crowd with a satisfied smirk.
Cai angled his head toward me and to Liora who was next to me. “Don’t break anything then,” he whispered.
Stars …
“This is a message to the fae in our group.”
My head whipped back around to the sound of Wilder’s voice.
“We’ve decided on a new rule. One that has each fae wearing a weighted bag. This trial is about pushing each of you to your limits, and given our advantages over the humans, this is the only fair way to assess you as a group. Flight will also be strictly prohibited during the first trial.”