Page 40 of Storm of Shadows

“You seem to have this perverse idea of what a thrall is, sweetheart. It’s a fucking honor. A privilege.”

“Ha,” she snorts. “You can wrap it up in all the pretty little velvet collars you like. I know what it is. And I am not interested.”

I take a step forward.

“And I am sorry you seem to believe you have a choice in this matter.”

“Can’t you just pick some other girl or boy?” she says in frustration. “I mean, why the hell do you want me anyway?”

“Because I do,” I say. Maybe I could convince her if I told her the truth. But I don’t trust her enough to tell her. Dray and Thorne are the only ones who know about the visions. And I’d like it to stay that way. “And I always get what I want.”

“Not this time,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest.

Now it’s my time to snort. “Like I said, you seem to think you have a choice. You don’t. I’ve made up my mind. You are going to be our thrall – for the twelve months we’re at the academy. Maybe,” I say, my gaze traveling down her form with heat, “for longer if we choose.”

“Longer–” she cries, but I cut right across her.

“So, we can do this one of two ways. You can come willingly, like a good little thrall. Or you can come kicking and screaming. It makes no difference to me. I’ll happily drag you across the academy for every other student to see if that’s how you want it to be, sweetheart.”

“Drag me?” she scoffs, examining me and reading how deadly serious I am. “You wouldn’t?”

“You wanna try me and find out?”

She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, a little less sure of herself now.

Behind us, the handle of her door starts to turn and I raise my hand, forcing my magic against the door to hold it shut.

The door rattles in the doorway and then a voice calls out: “Cupcake, are you okay in there?”

I frown at her. “Him again. Is this the reason–”

“No–

“–because let me make myself clear. It’s just us. No one else. No one else gets to touch you.”

“Are you fucking serious?” she says.

“Deadly. Now, I’m giving you one last chance to show you can behave and to do as you’re told. You come to our rooms as instructed tomorrow evening. If you don’t …” I warn. “Do you understand?” I ask her. After all, I thought I’d made myself fucking clear earlier today and that didn’t prove to be the case. I want to be sure this time.

“What? You’re not going to drag me there now?” she says with a whole heap of sarcasm. Maybe she really is ignorantof what we can do. Maybe she really is unaware of just how powerful I am. If not, she has some serious balls for such a small scrap of a girl with no fucking powers, plus an only recently healed black eye and ankle.

“No, I want you to come willingly like a good little thrall,Cupcake,” I say, my eyes lingering on where I healed the bruising around her eye socket.

I release my hold on the door and that tall skinny boy with far too much attitude comes tumbling into the room.

“Touch her,” I say, bending over him and getting right into his face, “and I will kill you.”

Then I storm out and go to take my bad mood out on someone who most definitely deserves it.

Chapter Nineteen

Briony

“I told you,” Fly says, picking himself up off the ground and brushing himself down. “I told you they wouldn’t move on.”

“Yeah,” I say, flopping down on the bed.

“Guys like that aren’t used to people saying no to them,” Fly says, perching on the side of the bed beside me, then glancing down at the mattress. “You think he’ll skin me for sitting on your bed?”