MasukHe didn't wait for an invitation, and he pulled a metal chair away from the small desk and sat down right next to my bed.The soft, polite tone he used was infinitely more terrifying than if he had just started screaming at me."I... I was just hiding behind the rocks like the combat teachers told us to do," I stammered, gripping the edge of the thin hospital blanket with my bandaged hands."Is that right?" Malakar asked, tilting his head slightly to the side."The security logs show a massive anomaly in sector four, and the automated system claims a faulty holographic landmine detonated and leveled fifty yards of timber.""I guess the machine just broke," I muttered, staring intently at the white hospital sheets so I wouldn't have to look into his dark eyes."An interesting malfunction," he murmured, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning closer to my face."The heat signature left in the crater was hot enough to melt stone, yet you managed to walk away with a few bruises and a
"You just detonated a massive wave of ancient power in front of half the academy, and I refuse to let my best investment get locked in a cage."Fear hit me hard again, making my chest tighten painfully.The elite students had seen me sitting in the center of the crater.The combat professors had seen the vaporized pine trees and the ruined earth."They know," I whispered, pulling the thin white hospital sheet up to my chin like a pathetic shield."They saw the blast, Lucius... they all know what I am.""They saw a blinding light and a smoking hole in the ground," he corrected, resting his hands in his pockets."They do not understand what they witnessed because their privileged little minds cannot process anything outside their standard textbooks.""I blew up a shadow-fiend," I argued, my voice shaking with raw fear."You can't just hide a fifty-foot crater from the administration.""I don't have to hide the crater," he smirked faintly, looking very satisfied with his own cleverness.
I sucked in a violent, ragged breath, and it felt like inhaling a handful of crushed glass.My eyes snapped open to blinding, sterile white light.I jerked upright on the stiff mattress, gasping desperately for air.The sudden movement sent a wave of liquid fire radiating straight through my cracked ribs, stealing the breath right back out of my lungs.I groaned loudly and clutched my chest, squeezing my eyes shut until the bright, fuzzy spots faded from my vision.The heart monitors attached to my skin started screaming in a high-pitched, frantic rhythm.The harsh noise pierced my eardrums, making my head pound with a vicious, throbbing ache.I tried to rip the sticky plastic pads off my collarbone so I could get out of the bed.My hands were shaking too badly to grasp the thin wires, and my fingers felt incredibly clumsy.I looked down and realized my blistered palms were wrapped in thick, tight bandages that smelled strongly of cooling mint and medical alcohol.My street-rat instin
They were planning to chain her to a metal bed and drain her magic for Malakar's twisted experiments."Put the student on the stretcher, Zayden, or we will be forced to restrain you as well," the medic ordered, taking a cautious step forward.He made a massive mistake trying to pull rank on a royal heir.My inner dragon flared to life, rushing to the surface in a violent wave of possessive heat.The air around my shoulders actually shimmered with sudden fire, turning the damp mud beneath my boots into dry, cracked clay."If you take one more step toward her, I will melt the flesh right off your bones," I promised.I didn't yell, and I didn't raise my voice, but the deadly truth in my tone stopped the man dead in his tracks.The other three medics backed up instantly, their eyes going wide as they felt the sudden spike in temperature."I am the crown prince of the Eastern Ridge, and this student is under my direct protection," I told them, staring the lead medic right in the eyes."You
I shoved past the frozen line of combat professors, ignoring the strict academy rules about maintaining rank and order.I knocked a tall warlock right out of my way, sending his wooden staff clattering against the damp rocks.None of them moved to stop me, and none of them stepped a single foot inside the smoking crater.They just stood on the jagged edge of the ruined tree line like cowards, terrified of the unranked human girl bleeding out in the dirt.I sprinted across the hot ash, my boots sinking deep into the warm mud as I closed the distance between us.Liora collapsed face-first into the wet ground just a split second before I reached her.I dropped to my knees and slid the rest of the way, ignoring the sharp rocks tearing into my uniform pants."Liora," I barked, reaching out to grab her shoulders.I tried to turn her over gently, but the fabric of her stolen tactical vest was soaked through with dark, sticky blood.Deep puncture wounds carved through her canvas jacket, leavi
"What the hell are you?" Saskia's voice trembled, breaking the heavy silence of the steaming crater.I stayed on my side in the wet dirt for a long second, just trying to process the fact that I was still breathing.My ears were ringing with a loud, high-pitched whine from the explosion, and the sharp scent of ozone burned the inside of my nose.I placed my palms flat against the warm mud and slowly pushed myself up onto my knees.My cracked ribs screamed in protest, but the pain felt distant and dull underneath the roaring heat still trapped inside my veins."Saskia, are you hurt?" I asked, my voice coming out as a dry, ragged croak.I ignored her terrifying question and tried to crawl toward her across the ruined ground.Saskia didn't answer me, and she just kicked her boots against the dirt to scramble further backward until her shoulders hit a jagged rock.She threw her hands up over her face like I was going to explode again."Stay away from me," she sobbed, burying her head betw







