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“Why wouldn’t you stop me sooner if I wasn’t supposed to!” I snapped back frantically.

“I was trying to,” Dukovich breathed.

“I told you not to touch me,” I scolded again, watching as the blood began to trickle down his legs and form a small puddle at his boots.

“Unless your plan is to watch me bleed out, I suggest you take me to your healer.” Dukovich groaned, flinching as the words came out of his mouth, but I could hear amusement saturating his tone.

“You knew I would stab you, didn’t you?” I crossed my arms, glaring up at him.

“Thought it might help . . .” Another groan. “. . . you feel better to know you have now wounded me too.” He smirked at me through the pain. “Now, about that healer.”

I rolled my eyes, letting out a sharp breath as I took a step toward him and pulled his arm over my shoulder.

“Get a single drop of your blood on me and I will stab you in your other side.”

A breathy chuckle left his lips at my words. “So many threats.”

I opened the door, and made a left toward the war room. Landers was most likely there, and I knew I would find Andrues at his side.

We didn’t make it more than three steps before they tethered only feet in front of us.

The corners of Andrues’s lips turned up at the sight of us.

“You owe me fifty coin,” Landers said to Andrues over his shoulder as he raised a brow at me.

A scowl seeped into my features. “You made bets?”

“I thought it might take a little longer, but I did not expect Dukovich to make it out of that room unscathed,” Landers said with a low chuckle.

“I hate to interrupt,” Dukovich cut in, “But, if you could stop this bleeding, I would very much appreciate it.” I turned my head, looking up to see his light brown skin paling.

Landers gestured his head toward us and Andrues strode forward, relieving me of the weight of him as he took my place at Dukovich’s side.

I stepped away from them and a knot formed in the pit of my stomach as they tethered away.

“Well,” Landers started, dragging a hand through his hair. “Do you feel better?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” I said, turning on my heel toward my rooms.

“Tomorrow, Changling, please try not to wound him,” Landers called out as I strode down the hall.

I smiled to myself as I rounded the corner of the corridor.

There was no way I was making that promise.

I walked to my quarters as quickly as possible, desperate to bathe the scent of him off of me. I closed the door behind me, locking it as I sighed into the familiar quiet of my chamber.

The knot in the pit of my stomach tightened.

I had never lost control like that, never hurt someone that badly on accident. I shook my head.

He deserved it.

He had let the Priestesses do so much worse to me—let them tear me apart. There were scars strewn across my entire body that proved it. Andrues had not been able to heal them all. Not even the Yaldrin healers could fix all of the damage done from the residue—the Svech that had been packed into the open wounds to torture me.

I had never spoken of it—to anyone.

The pain I had endured.