Page 72 of The Vampire Court

He reaches for my hand, but I jerk away, sitting up and scooting away from him. He waits.

I know I should listen, but I’m so tired, and my lumpy bed looks so comfortable right now, even without the blanket and pillow.

I can feel my eyelids grow heavier at just thinking about a few more delicious minutes of sleep.

“All right,” he says, relaxing his arms. “I can see you won’t get up.”

A small smile creeps over my lips as I start to lower back down.

Cassius’s hand wraps around my wrist. In a swift movement, he pulls me up and flings me over his shoulder. I sputter, unable to form words as he strides from the room.

“What are you doing?” I snap, planting my hands on his lower back to lift my upper body, so I’m not hanging upside-down. “I’m not even dressed.”

My protests do nothing to slow his pace. If anything, he speeds up. The walls pass in a blur, making me dizzy. I let my arms go limp.

“You’re wearing clothes. Everything that needs to be covered is covered.”

It’s too early to go this fast. “Cassius Wellington, you unhand me this second and return me to my room.”

“If you want to be dressed when you practice, then you should learn to get up before I arrive.” His grip on my thighs tightens as we descend. My stomach rises and falls at the change of direction. “Did you think I was lying when I said I would make you practice for three hours before breakfast?”

Actually, I hadn’t put any thought into what he’d said. As soon as I saw Alaric’s face last night, I’d let everything else from the day fall away. Forgotten.

* * *

I take a step back,panting. My bare feet pad on the cold stone floor. A heavy bead of sweat drips down the side of my temple. I reach up and swipe at the wisps of hair clinging to my damp face.

Cassius closes the distance as fast as I create it, not giving me an inch of leeway.

My arms and legs shake from the effort, and my nightgown clings indecently to my body, making it difficult to move.

He swings. I fall to my knees to avoid the strike. His arm passes just over my head, creating its own wind, barely missing me.

Unlike Alaric, he doesn’t pull his punches, more than willing to strike to make his point. My bruised ribs are a testament to that.

The second my knees connect with the hard stone, I know I’ve lost the fight. It’s a terrible position to be in. My body is pushed to the limits, movements slow and messy.

Cassius plants his foot on my side and pushes, knocking me over with little effort.

I land hard on my side and roll to my back. He straddles my ribs, standing over me, saying nothing.

When he doesn’t move or continue the fight, I push on his legs but have no strength behind it.

“You’re a bastard,” I snarl.

Unfazed, he jerks his chin and says, “Get up and try again. I’m not letting you go until you can deflect.”

“I deflected,” I argue.

“No, you avoided. Waving your arms around won’t help you. It only uses up energy, energy you will need.”

I push up to my elbows and scrunch my nose. “Need for what exactly?”

Cassius crouches down, leveling his face with mine, baring his fangs. “Get up. I won’t ask again.”

My body is exhausted. I don’t think I can stand, even if I wanted to. I’m tired, my mind is sluggish, and all I want to do is close my eyes and sleep, even if that means doing so on this dusty old floor.

“What is it with you vampires and teaching me to fight?” I grumble.