Page 35 of Vicious Princess (The Trials of Death and Honor #1)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

E zkai Gavriel doesn’t greet us as he enters the room. He makes his way to the end of the long table we sit around, his cape flowing behind him dramatically.

“Who pissed in his coffee this morning?” Roman whispers, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stifle a laugh.

“Someone pisses in his coffee every day, I think,” I whisper back.

Roman flashes me a smile, which drops quickly as we both startle at the sound of a book slamming on the table. Ezkai Gavriel glowers at us.

“You.” He points a finger at me, then at Roman next to me. “And you.”

“Yes, sir,” we both say in unison.

“Tell me, how old are you?”

We exchange a confused look.

“Ah, I’m twenty-one, sir,” I say.

“Twenty-two, sir,” Roman answers.

“Mm-hmm, I see.” Ezkai Gavriel nods to himself. “You both are adults, and yet, you sit at the end of my damn table at my damn lecture, giggling like fucking children. I’ve had enough of you two.”

“Sir—” I start to speak, but he lifts his palm to shut me up.

“Separate,” he orders. When we don’t move, he says, “Now. Cadet Wildarrow, I want you right here next to me.” Ezkai Gavriel taps a finger on the empty seat to his right. Nobody from our group ever dares to sit that close to our instructor.

From the way he stares at me, I can tell I have no choice but to gather my stuff and move seats.

Roman waves goodbye with one hand on his heart as if the separation is heartbreaking. Once I’m sitting in my new space, I realize Kata’s my neighbor.

What a treat.

I’m stuck between a fae who hates my guts and is keeping a secret that can destroy my future and my least favorite Ezkai in the whole Order.

Just when I think it can’t get any worse, Ezkai Gavriel says, “Today you’ll work in pairs to create a strategy for an upcoming mission. I’ll review your strategies and choose the best one that the Ezkai will implement in real life.”

All of us gape at the instructor.

“You’ve gotten a taste of what a mission is like. A lot is at stake here, so be very careful about putting this strategy on paper,” he says and passes down empty strategy sheets.

I glance at Kata next to me, but her gaze is trained on the instructor.

“The upcoming mission involves tackling an illegal underground gambling parlor in Jaakii run by none other than a powerful Caligos family—Tsubo,” Ezkai Gavriel says.

“Tsubo’s family head, Fatima Tsubo, is one of the richest fae in Ekios.

The family owns a number of legal gambling parlors across the country and a large number of illegal ones, too. That’s all you need to know.”

“In what part of Jaakii is this underground parlor located?” Bloom raises her hand. “Knowing the location may help us put together a plan.”

“As an Ezkai, you don’t always get all the nitty-gritty details to help you develop an effective strategy,” Ezkai Gavriel says. “The sooner you learn how to make the best with what you’ve got, the better. Work with what you have, because I gave you plenty.”

With a sigh, I turn to Kata. Her gaze shifts from the instructor to me.

I arch an eyebrow. “Are you going to make this hard?”

“I’m not going to fail this assignment just because you pissed Ezkai Gavriel off and he sat you next to me,” she says in a lethal voice.

“I hope you have more than two brain cells in that head of yours.” After a brief pause, she adds, quietly enough so only I can hear, “Though it would surprise me after the recent things I’ve seen with my own two eyes. ”

A chill goes down my spine. But I hold her gaze without flinching.

I match the tone of her voice when I say the next words. “Why don’t you mind your own business? I don’t threaten you in any way. This whole hateful fae act is getting old.”

Anger flickers in her gaze. She leans closer to me. “Every damn ounce of the hate I cradle towards you is more than justified.”

“I wasn’t the one responsible for your brother’s death,” I say, willing my voice to be as level as possible. Maybe if I turn her to my side, she won’t spill my secrets. “I’m sorry King Francis executed him, I truly?—”

“His blood may not be on your hands, but it’s on your father’s hands. Maybe in Wetra things are different, but here, a blood debt your parents carry applies to their children, and their grandchildren, and generations beyond. Until it’s finally repaid.”

Bewildered by her words, I blink rapidly. “ What? My father has nothing?—”

Kata cuts me off again, which only makes my blood boil further. “Your father served as King Francis’s henchman. He’s the one who carried out the king’s orders and murdered my brother under false accusations.”

I don’t believe this. Shaking my head, I say, “Do not fucking bring my family into this.”

Her fist slams onto the table next to my hand. I grip the quill hard enough that my knuckles turn white. “Your father was a murderer, and for that you’ll pay, yrathi .”

“Listen to me—King Francis is the one you should be angry with. My father was an honorable soldier who didn’t choose which orders to carry out. He was also murdered by King Franci?—”

“Good riddance,” she sneers.

The rage bubbling in my chest blinds me. I won’t stand her—or anyone—speaking of my family, my dad, who was my hero , in this way.

One moment, we sit whisper-yelling at each other, Kata baring her teeth at me.

And the next, I slam the sharp tip of the quill I hold into the back of her hand.

She growls at the pain, her eyes wide as she looks between me and the quill stuck in her hand.

I don’t expect what comes next. Even though, maybe I should.

She slaps me across the face with the back of her free hand so hard, I fly out of my seat. Immediately, I get back up to my feet and charge at her, but Ezkai Gavriel steps in my way.

A muscle in his jaw ticks, fury swirling in his gaze. “What, for the love of the spirits of the gods, do you think you’re doing?”

Panting, I point at Kata standing behind him. “She started?—”

Kata talks over me. “She stabbed me with a?—”

“Enough!” Ezkai Gavriel bellows.

Dangerous silence settles.

The instructor’s palm lands on the back of my neck, and he turns me around. His other palm cups the back of Kata’s neck, and then we’re out of the classroom.

Ezkai Gavriel’s strides are long and fast. We have to run to match his pace. His fingers dig painfully into my flesh.

There will be bruises.

I’m surprised to see he walks us towards the castle. The Ezkai we pass eye us with curiosity, but none dare to say anything.

This is where it all ends for me.

“You can’t solve every insult with blood,” Dad said with a disappointed sigh.

I was maybe ten. Blood on my knuckles. The older girl I’d fought had been twice my size, but I’d knocked her flat.

Mom crouched beside me. “If your anger drives you, it’ll destroy you.”

I shrugged, pretending it didn’t matter.

Dad said, “This is serious, Phoenix. If you can’t control your temper, someone else will control it for you. You won’t like how that ends.”

My foul temper finally caught up with me.

To my surprise, Ezkai Gavriel doesn’t take us to the administration. Instead, he takes us towards a dark stone stairway that leads somewhere into the basement. A couple of times, we almost slip on the moist stone, but Ezkai Gavriel keeps us upright.

At the bottom of the first staircase, he takes the left turn into a narrow, dimly lit corridor that has four iron doors on each side. Finally, his steps halt, and we can catch a breath.

“Time for another valuable lesson,” he says, voice cold.

“Whenever an Ezkai disobeys one of the Ezkai laws we swear to follow once we join the Order, they don’t get expelled or executed.

They are brought here to be taught a lesson.

Solitary confinement for an extended period of time is often enough to correct any behavior and turn a rebel into a duty-bound soldier once again.

You see, once you join the Order, it’s for life.

You two have the pleasure to experience it before you even get the chance to join the Order. ”

My heart drops when he lets go of my neck.

The instructor opens the first door and turns to me. Inside the cell, it’s dark. Not a single window or piece of furniture. Only a copper chamber pot in the corner.

“Not so brave anymore, Wildarrow? All the laughs and anger gone?” Ezkai Gavriel mocks me.

I swallow the ball in my throat, lift my chin, and brace myself for the punishment.

Only when the door of my solitary cell closes behind my back and I’m enveloped by cold darkness do I let myself fall apart.