Page 8 of Traitor Wolf (Bonded by Fate Duet #1)

Chapter Six

K aelric and I were shown to the residence hall at Aerlyn Academy.

It was a private dormitory type of living, with two bedrooms to each dorm and a shared bathroom, kitchen, and living room between.

It was bigger than my house in the Dregs.

Kaelric and I were separated by just a thin wall.

I’d probably never sleep here. There was a common room and shared training space.

Right after we checked in, we were given a plethora of clothing, toiletries, and training shoes, then told to get ready for the Arcane Trials Ball.

It was some fancy dinner to kick off the festivities, but I didn’t want to go to an Elite ball. It would be filled with Elites who didn’t want me here, people who probably wanted me dead.

“Go and show off that weapon. Show off me,” Kaelric said from the open doorway as I sat at the edge of my bed. I jumped a little at his presence. I really needed to lock that bedroom door.

I rolled my eyes. “Are you always so full of yourself?”

His gaze narrowed as he leaned against the doorframe, and I had to refrain from staring at his defined arm muscles.

“Are you always so self-deprecating and reclusive?”

“I’m not reclusive,” I spat. “You don’t understand. I don’t live in this world. I don’t know how to act at fancy parties. I don’t want to watch them laugh at me and call me a trash-digging rat.”

“So don’t.” He pushed off the door and stood before me so that he was looming over me. “The second someone insults you, push that blade to their throat and tell them to pray to the Creator that they be spared.”

My eyes widened at his bold statement, and I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. “I don’t have a death wish, so no, I will not be doing that. I can’t even touch an Elite without ending up dangling from a rope.”

He frowned, as if he were disappointed in me.

“What?” I rolled my eyes. “You’d rather I threaten every Elite that calls me a name? ”

“Yes. You are the wielder of Valkaryn. You are above the Elite scum.”

Scum? I’d never heard anyone call the Elite that. It gave me pause. “I… I’m not. Not here. Maybe where you come from.”

“Where everyone comes from. Do they not teach you of the King Killer in the Dregs?”

Was he insulting my education? I stood, gripping her between my fingers and hefting her at my side.

“No, they do not,” I snapped. “They teach us basic math, reading, and how to stay alive. Knowing about some famous sword isn’t going to put food in my belly!”

He grinned, and Creator help me, it made my knees go weak. “Yes, it would. If you knew the power you currently held, you could make this whole world bend at the knee to you. They’d give you food from every corner of every kingdom just to please you.”

My heart beat wildly in my chest, and for the first time, I wondered if maybe the weapon I held was more than just a weapon.

“Well, that’s for a magic user. I can’t do magic, so it wouldn’t work for me.”

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Valkaryn doesn’t make mistakes. If you wield her, her power will work for you. You need to toughen up, little human. People will walk all over you for as long as you let them.”

I swallowed hard, thinking of his words. They sounded amazing, but in reality, I’d land myself so fast in the mines or just be killed if I did any number of the things he suggested. The magistrate was just looking for a reason to take me out.

There was a knock at the door, and both Kaelric and I moved into the living room.

“Come in.” I stepped away from Kaelric as Cassian popped his head in. He took one look at my outfit and frowned. “Are you going to change for the ball? There are some dresses in the closet.”

I shrugged. “I’m good. I just want to get this over with.”

Cassian hesitated for a second before nodding and then looked to Kaelric.

Kaelric inclined his head to his room. “I’ll be five minutes. I do like to play the part at these galas.”

What did that mean? I didn’t like to play the part? And what part was he talking about?

Ugh, that man was frustrating, and I barely knew him.

I slid Valkaryn into the sheath at my waist and stepped into the bathroom to wash my hands and face.

I wasn’t going to put a bow on a Dreg rat and play as an Elite. I was who I was, and I didn’t want to stoop to their customs. The dresses in the closet waiting for me probably cost more than my yearly wages. Frankly, it disgusted me.

After I was clean, I met Cassian in the hallway. He was wearing a dark gray silk tunic with golden thread and looked very handsome.

I gave him a soft smile. “You look a lot like your brother.”

Sadness crossed over his features, but he nodded. “We got that a lot in school.”

The door opened beside me, and I turned, facing Kaelric, and it felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest.

He wore an emerald-green silk tunic that matched the color of his eyes, and over that were black leather shoulder spaulders with armguards. On his hip were two golden daggers that hung from black leather pants. He looked like an Elite warrior, and I had to steady my breathing.

Cassian opened the front door of our dorm. A few other trial initiates were lingering in the hallway, casting glances inside the apartment at Kaelric.

“Have we set up extra protection for the night? I am the best warrior here, but I do need sleep,” Kaelric told Cassian as he caught the initiates’ glares and held them. They lowered their gazes and walked away.

I scoffed at “best warrior here”.

Cassian blanched a little. “Protection at Aerlyn Academy? Against whom?”

Aerlyn Academy was impenetrable from outside attack, including being magically warded.

Kaelric looked at Cassian like he was a small boy, when in reality, there were only a few years between them.

“Every initiate in this building wants her dead and to carry that sword on their hip.” Kaelric pointed to Valkaryn. “I overheard one of them wondering if he carved the sponsor mark from her chest, if she could still compete.”

My eyes bugged at that; my hand came up to rub the spot on my chest. I thought he was being overly dramatic, but the glares from other initiates passing by in their best regal attire told me he might not be.

Cassian swallowed hard as if he hadn’t considered that. “I can do it. I can take the night shift.”

I frowned. “The House of Draven heir? Surely you have a guard who can do it for you?”

Cassian met my gaze. “None that I trust.”

Oh. That was really sweet.

Kaelric slapped him on the back as he passed. “It’s settled, then.”

And with that, we went to a ball for a trial I was never supposed to be in with the most egotistical man I’d ever met.