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I tried to pretend like I cared about what they were saying, but it took more energy than I had left.

By the time I made it back to my room that night, Wolf was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter

Eleven

Ashlani surprised me the most. Over the next few days, the sparring session grew more and more intense. Everyone in the school sparred at least once—Wolf included, though it lasted only seconds.

When Ashlani was first called to sparr, I flinched at every punch her male opponent threw her way.

But she was surprisingly strong, and beneath those pretty eyes held an entire world of anger and aggression waiting to escape. She held her own. She threw punches fast and recovered even faster. She took a hit like a fae male, and she didn’t pout like they would, either.

“Who taught you to fight like that?” I asked Ashlani over breakfast.

Her roommate, Voiler, joined us too, just like she had the last couple of days over breakfast, but she remained quieter than most. She didn’t say a single word the entire time Ashlani and I ate, but I was okay with that.

Her presence wasn’t entirely off-putting. She kept her large, dark eyes down and kept to herself.

Ashlani stuffed another piece of bread into her mouth, swallowing it entirely before answering, “I taught myself,mostly. When you spend enough time being on the wrong side of a fight, you pick up on a few things.”

She pulled her blonde hair tightly into a braid that now hung loosely over her shoulder. She didn’t seem like the type to get into fights, but then again, I was sure I didn’t seem like the type, either.

“Is that where Lanson learned, too?” I asked. “You knew each other back home, right?”

She shrugged, returning her interest to the remaining pieces of bread. “Lanson’s father was always very strict on him. I only met him a few times, but hells. He scared the shit out of me.”

“Really?” It made sense. Lanson was a decent fighter, though not half as strong as the other fae.

I knew firsthand the type of things someone would do to impress the one who raised them.

Ashlani nodded. “Surprising, isn’t it? Lanson seems so sweet. He’s always been like that, really sweet and sensitive. It only made his father hate him even more.”

“And what about your parents?” I asked. “Do they know you spent your free time learning to throw punches?”

When she smiled, her eyes didn’t light up the way they usually did. “My parents don’t even know I’m here. They couldn’t care less about what I do in my free time.”

Damn. I reallyhadmisjudged her.

We weren’t all that different, it seemed.

Commander Macanthos walked into the dining hall then, and all eyes glued onto him as he approached the center of the room.

Straight toward our table.

“What?” Ashlani leaned forward and surveyed my worried face, completely unaware of the enormous man approaching from behind her. “What’s happening?”

Even Voiler looked up, freezing right next to Ashlani and giving me the same helpless look.

“Shut up,” I whispered, averting my gaze.

But two seconds later, Commander Macanthos stood directly behind her.

Staring atme.

“Huntyr,” he greeted. His hands were tightly clasped behind his back and his chin remained lifted, as poised and professional as ever. “Take a walk with me.”

My stomach sank. What would Commander Macanthos possibly want with me? I did nothing wrong. I carefully obeyed all the rules, in fact.