Page 19 of A Monarch's Fall

Idonea ignored her, inspecting Percy’s leg. I couldn’t see the damage to the limb as it was too dark without the lights, and I doubted Idonea could see either.

“Leave it alone, Idonea!” I warned.

“We need to see what’s wrong,” Idonea replied, before her face bounced off the headrest of her seat.

Everyone went quiet.

“What’s happening?” Katrina asked, trying to glance over her shoulder while driving on the narrow mountain road.

Percy had leaned forward and slapped Idonea.

“Fuck, Percy,” Dylan whispered beside her, a kind of awe in his voice.

Idonea held her abused cheek, and she glared at Percy.

“I’m only trying to help you,” she said angrily

“What happened?” Katrina asked again.

“Percy just bitch slapped Idonea,” Dylan answered, and I felt bile in my throat rise at the excitement in his voice.

“You’re disgusting,” I told him.

“What, my girls fighting is hot,” he replied.

“Girls?” Idonea and Percy asked in unison, equally angry, but I was sure it was for entirely different purposes.

“I am not your fucking girl, Dylan. I never will be. Even if I didn’t have Selene, I’d never touch you. You’re disgusting. You’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever known. It’s because of you that this is happening in the first place! You’re the reason I was abducted by Valen, you’re the reason everyone is dead! You killed Fredrick!” she roared and slapped him too, harder than she had Idonea, but it didn’t land with the same impact.

Idonea cruelly gripped Percy’s injured leg in retaliation. Some misplaced loyalty to a man who was only using her.

“Leave him alone, you bitch,” she screamed.

“What the fuck, Idonea!” Dylan shouted as Percy cried out in pain.

I stood from my seat.

“Hey! No fighting back there, or I’ll turn us around!” Katrina laughed from behind the wheel.

Percy lunged awkwardly forward, hitting Idonea in the nose with the heel of her palm.

I felt it as Idonea’s nose began to bleed, blood trickling down to her lips. Percy didn’t stop with one strike; she hit Idonea again and again before Dylan gripped her arms and pulled Percy back against his chest.

“Let me go!” Percy screamed.

Idonea seemed dazed. Her nose gushed, her hands cupped under her nose as if trying to collect what was spilled.

I reached between the seats and grazed my fingers against Idonea’s face, allowing my magic to find the burst blood vessels and encourage them to clot to stop the bleeding.

I pulled my hand back in shock. Blood was life, but it was more than that: it was connection, belonging, history, family. It wasn’t something I was particularly skilled in; I required more training, but I knew enough to recognise familial connections.

Idonea looked at me with recognition.

“I hate you!” Percy cried, still struggling against Dylan.

“Percy, baby, you’ve got to stop,” Dylan pleaded, and it only enraged Percy to fight against him with more force.

“I’m sorry, Percy,” I told her as I placed my hand gently against her cheek and calmed her heart, taking a moment to examine if I could find any burst vessels, any bleeding to heal. I hated myself for not checking her over sooner. “Percy, I’m so sorry,” I whispered as she turned to glare at me, and I allowedmy magic to flow and heal what I could before slowing her heart rate to the point that she passed out.