Page 185 of Vampire so Virtuous

Joon studied her, then spun on his heel. “Hana, dul, set—Guman!”He called.“We’re about done anyway,” he said, as the class pulled apart and lined up. “Cool-down time. Ten minutes stretching, then you can hit the showers and go home. Anyone slow to get out spars with Cally here.”

A few chuckles rippled through the group, and a couple of students threw looks her way. They all knew who she was.

“Coffee?” Joon asked.

“Yes, please.”

She followed him around the mats to the small kitchen, leaning against the counter while he filled the kettle with water. It was tempting to touch the side of her neck, just to ensure that Antoine’s last feed didn’t still show. But it had only been this morning—it would still be there. She wondered if Joon had noticed, despite her hoodie. His movements seemed stiffer than usual, and he carefully avoided meeting her eyes.

“I’m sorry I’ve missed two sessions,” she began. “I’ll pay of course, I—”

He waved her off. “I figured you had your reasons.”

Cally winced again. The laid-back response didn’t make this any easier. “I do, but… it’s complicated. Let’s wait until we’re sitting down, okay?” Until they were alone, in other words.

“Sure.” Joon turned to inspect the class, watching in silence as they fell into their usual routines.

Then the door to the dojang opened, and two large men walked in. Seconds later, three more followed.

Oh no.

The students stopped, uncertain, looking to Joon before pulling away to the edges of the mats. Joon stepped forward, but Cally pushed past him.

“This domain is tranquil,” she called, crossing her mental fingers.

The nearest thrall sneered. “So you’re the one we want. Thanks for making it so easy.”

“These people are under my protection,” she said, ignoring Joon as he stared at her. “Hurt them, and Antoine will hunt you down. This is his territory.”

The door opened again. “Antoine has his own problems,” the newcomer drawled, voice dripping disdain. “But if I were you, I’d be more concerned for yourself.” He strode in like he owned the place, dressed in the same suit, his polished shoes making soft, deliberate impressions on Joon’s mats, red eyes gleaming.

Joon tensed beside her. “Who the hell are you?” He shot a glance at Cally, a question in his eyes, before narrowing his eyes at Minh, his jaw clenching. “You know what? I don’t care who you are. Get the hell out of my dojang.”

With a blur of movement, Minh was behind Joon before Cally could even track it. Joon didn’t see it at all, staring in disbelief as Minh seemed to vanish. He had no warning as Minh wrapped his arm around Joon’s neck and began to squeeze.

“No!” Her voice cracked, raw with the shock and inevitability of what would happen.

Joon reached up for Minh’s arm, bending his knees and tucking his chin—the textbook defense—but it relied on his opponent being human, and Minh was not. The vampire didn’t even twitch, merely flexed his arm as he squeezed tighter, and Joon choked out a strangled breath. The whole time, Minh watched Cally and smiled.

“Let him go, Minh. He’s nothing to you.”

“You’re right,” Minh said, snapping Joon’s neck with a jerk of his arm. Joon’s body slumped facedown onto his mats. “Nothing at all.”

A horrified gasp swept through the students, who immediately fell into ready stances.

One of the thralls waved his hand, and the five men fanned out aggressively. Another scream died on her lips, swallowed by the sickening realization that nothing she did could change this.

Minh’s brow furrowed in confusion, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her. “Someone gave you resistance.” A second later, he was behind Cally. She saw him coming, tried to spin out of the way, but Minh was too fast. His hand closed around her throat, yanking her back against him. Behind them cries of “kihap!” were punctuated by dull thumps and muffled screams, but Cally couldn’t break Minh’s hold, let alone turn to see what was happening.

“Did the Outcast do this?” Minh said, his voice dripping with distaste. “Is it not enough that he’s marked you? Do you mean so much to him?”

The sounds of fighting quieted swiftly, a final cry cut off with the crunch of bone snapping.

“No,” Cally whimpered. Joon lay dead on the mats just feet away, a grim testament to what had happened five more times behind her.

“Oh really?” Minh said, misunderstanding her involuntary exclamation. “Someone else then?” He sniffed. “Ah. You smell of Gabriel.” He gave another disgusted noise. “No matter, he will be dead soon too.”

“My lord,” one of the thralls said from behind her. “Matteo’s thralls have become… unthralled.”