“But there’s some permanent damage.” His face constricted. I saw how hard he was working to keep it together. “They’re not sure...” He cleared his throat. “They’re not sure if I’ll still be able to be a scout. I might be expelled from Bloodwing if they won’t let me switch to a strategist training path instead.”

A wave of anger rushed through me. I’d seen this before. How highbloods treated blightborns who dared to step out of line. This was just like what had happened to me, what had happened to Florence.

Vaughn hadn’t fallen. He’d been attacked. It was written all over his face. It was in the way he was refusing to meet our eyes.

I tried to keep my voice low and steady, but my anger was barely restrained. “This wasn’t an accident, was it, Vaughn? Who did this to you?”

Vaughn winced, his face tightening as if in shame. He opened his mouth, then shut it again.

But his silence was answer enough.

“Who was it?” I pressed. I caught Florence giving me a dissuading look but I didn’t care. “Was it highbloods? Which one?”

“Highbloods?” Florence gasped. She looked back and forth between us, her shock seeming to deepen. “Vaughn, if they–if they did this, you have to tell someone. You should go to the headmaster. We’re supposed to be safe here.”

I ignored her. Anything I’d said at this point would have offended her. No one was going to do anything about this. No one cared. No one but us.

My stomach twisted. There was only one person I could think of who would have had the influence and the cruelty to attack the boy who liked Theo Drakharrow.

“Was it Blake?” I asked, my voice cold. “Did Blake Drakharrow do this to you? Because of Theo?”

Vaughn’s face crumpled, and though he didn’t say the words, the guilt in his expression was all the confirmation I needed.

Before I could say anything else, the door at the front of the room swung open and Professor Hassan strode in, her cane tapping sharply against the stones.

Her severe expression immediately ended all conversations.

I clenched my fists beneath the desk, my mind still racing.

Blake still had the fluffin.

That was the only thing that made me pause and consider for one moment the sanity of my next actions.

But ultimately, even the little pup wasn’t enough to stop me. Florence and I could sneak into the Drakharrow Tower and get it afterwards, I rationalized. We’d figure something out.

I stormed into Advanced Weaponry and paused in the doorway, scanning the room.

There. In the corner.

Fucking shirtless again. Of course he was. Cocky, egotistical asshole.

His back was to me. The sight of all that exposed skin and muscle made my chest tighten, but not with fear.

His narrow shoulders flexed as he worked the training bag, muscles rippling beneath the black tattoos that covered his pale skin like dark, forbidden scriptures.

Sure, he was gorgeous. He was also oblivious to Vaughn’s suffering and guilty as sin for causing it.

Fury was boiling in my veins. But beneath the rage was something else. Something far more infuriating and far more shameful.

There was a pull when I looked at Blake Drakharrow. He was beautiful in the way that fire was beautiful. Raw and scorching. I hated it. Hated that my breath caught in my throat when I saw him like this. Hated that my heart raced. Not just with anger, but with something I’d sworn I wouldn’t let myself name.

I thought of Vaughn. His black eye, his broken arm. I thought of the hopeful, sweet expression in his eyes when I’d run into him that night on the beach and he’d been on his way to see Theo.

Blake had done this to him because he was a blightborn. Because he thought Vaughn wasn’t good enough for Theo.

Just like he thought I wasn’t good enough for him.

Now was the time to end this.

I glanced around. I was early. The room was still empty, except for a few highblood students here and there, talking to one another or practicing warm-up drills. Professor Sankara hadn’t arrived yet. This was my chance.

I squared my shoulders and started across the room, my pulse a drumbeat in my ears.

As I neared him, I called his name.

“Blake.”

He froze mid-punch, his back still to me, then slowly lowered his fist. Then he turned, casual but alert, the hint of a cool smile already tugging at his lips.

His gray eyes narrowed, taking me in with that lazy arrogance I’d come to loathe.

“What do you want, Pen–” he started to drawl.

I didn’t give him time to finish. Before the words were fully formed, my fist was flying.

My knuckles connected with the sharp line of his jaw. The impact reverberated up my arm. It hurt. It also felt really good.

Blake staggered back, a flash of shock crossing his handsome face as he brought a hand up to his face, rubbing his jaw where I’d struck him.

“What the fuck was that for?” Blake roared.

His mocking arrogance and customary smugness was gone, replaced by something far more dangerous.

But before I could answer, a tall figure rushed towards me. I turned to see Coregon. The tall, dark-skinned young man eyed me warily. “You can’t take on Blake, Medra,” he warned, his voice surprisingly gentle. “Just walk away. He’s stronger than you are. You don’t want this.”

But Coregon’s words simply goaded me onwards. My fury was burning too hot to put out.

I stepped around Coregon and he let me, taking a few steps back.

“You know what this is about,” I spat at Blake. My fists rose as I moved towards him, body moving into a fighting stance. “Let’s go. You and me. Right now. No one’s going to stop us. You know you want this as much as I do.”

Blake raised an eyebrow. “Fight you?” he echoed, mockery thick in his voice. “I’m not going to fight you, little drag–”

My fist shot out before he could finish the sentence, but this time he was ready for me.

He was fast. Inhumanly fast. He easily sidestepped my blow.

Before I could recover my balance, his hand shot out, catching me by the wrist and twisting my arm. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to keep me off balance.

I could feel his strength. His grip was like iron and no matter how I struggled, I couldn’t shake him off.

But I was wild now. A frenzy of anger was giving me strength beyond reason. My dragon rider instincts finally triggering again? Maybe. Maybe there was something else to it, too, but I didn’t have the time to stop and question what it was.

I swung again, using my free hand, and while Blake dodged, it was clear he wasn’t used to fighting anyone in quite this state of reckless abandon.

My body collided against his and suddenly we were closer than we’d ever been before. His chest pressed up against mine. Even through the thin fabric of my training tunic, the contact was electric.

I hated how my heart stuttered at the sensation. Like I’d been doused in cold water.

Blake grunted. He was struggling to control me.

I didn’t want him to control me. I wanted him to fight back.

I twisted in his grip, trying to throw him off, but he was too strong.

He managed to push me down, pinning me to the ground, his body hovering mine. The breath was sucked out of me as my back hit the dirt.

It was like with Visha all over again... but different.

Our faces were inches apart. My breath was coming in ragged gasps. Blake’s lips were parted as he searched my face with a strange intensity.

I felt the weight of him pressing down on me, felt his heat against my skin. My pulse was thrumming in my ears. Not just from the fight, but from the proximity. My body was trying to betray my mind.

I twisted beneath him, lifting my hips to try to throw him off, and I saw him flinch. “You fucking coward. You're a monster, Blake Drakharrow. You thought you could hurt him and just get away with it? Hell no. Not while I’m around. ”