Clentine:
The dinner ended with everyone leaving the dining table. We were told to stay in our rooms, and that food would be brought to us there.
Everyone ate, but I couldn’t. Sebastian finished mine. He said he was always hungry.
They tried to make laugh and distract , but there was a sadness inside that I couldn’t shake off.
The way Troy responded to Oriana, and the way she behaved, didn’t seem normal.
No matter how many tis we tried to convince ourselves it was, it simply wasn’t.
The weather had grown warr now, better for us and our movents, but the atmosphere had beco darker.
I noticed that many of the squad mbers were restless after dinner.
My squad didn’t bother with questions.
They made sure I was comfortable before going to bed. But I had to check on sothing.
I needed to stay alert, watch my surroundings, and most importantly, follow Zian if I could.
Night was the only ti he could sneak out now that everyone had returned.
I wasn’t sure what I was thinking, maybe I truly believed I’d discover sothing, or at least see Zian. But I was wrong.
A strong hand suddenly grabbed my wrist, yanked behind a tree, and slamd against the bark.
I knew right then it wasn’t Zian.
"You know I can easily get out of your grasp, right?" I told Joshua calmly, even though my heart was beating fast.
"I know, I know you can and the fact that you’re not trying makes wonder why," he stated, releasing my hands the mont I moved as if I were about to pounce on him.
He stepped back slightly, then started laughing at himself.
"You are one naughty girl," he uttered, his eyes lingering on my face as he studied my features.
He placed one hand on the tree bark behind and leaned closer while I folded my arms across my chest, trying to appear at ease.
"I want to know what your problem is. Is this how you plan to move on from Suki? By blaming soone else for her death instead of her own actions, her jealousy?" I asked, keeping my voice low, trying to show him that I was unshaken despite everything happening around us.
He puckered his lips and nodded slowly, watching as if questioning my nerve.
"I just know that you’re the reason she died," he repeated, making roll my eyes.
"No, she was the reason I was going to die," I replied firmly. "I was badly injured. Ian had two options, either to save her or to save . The rest was her fault. If you don’t want to believe it, I can’t convince you otherwise."
I kept calm, hoping he’d understand.
"I didn’t plan her death. She attacked , and the outco was her own doing. I had no reason to save her after she tried to kill . It would’ve been like saving your killer so they could finish the job later." I kept my tone confident, not lying for the sake of his ego.
"Well, you still had enough ti to fight for her," he muttered. "And as for you to say, ’Why would you save soone who tried to kill you?’ —maybe she was scared. Maybe she acted out of emotion."
As he began to make excuses for her, I rolled my eyes again, already sensing his irritation.
"You know what? Go ahead. Try to live your life the best you can. Because soon, I’ll have my chance to take back what was stolen from ," he leaned in and whispered those words against my face.
"You know, I didn’t deserve to have my maid stolen from . I’ll make sure everyone knows what it feels like to lose the one person they love most," Joshua claid, making frown. It hinted that he had truly lost his mind.
I guessed he either wasn’t at dinner or hadn’t been paying attention, so I reminded him.
If he was hinting at my squadmates, he was so wrong. They didn’t love the most.
"The one person they left in the north to die, do you really think you’re doing sothing, huh?" I asked, watching him furrow his eyebrows at my words. "Oh, right, you don’t know. We were in the north, and they left there to die, to be crushed by the ogres. Now go ahead, make your plans and convince yourself you’re doing sothing vengeful, when all you’re really doing is cleaning up others’ sses."
I hissed, watching him tilt his head. His eyes focused on my face, and he began to chuckle.
"You’re really a fascinating one, Clentine and even more confusing, since you didn’t notice the way Troy behaved," he said.
The next thing he did caught completely off guard. He leaned in and suddenly brushed his lips against mine.
My eyes widened, and it took three full seconds to push him away. I had been too stunned to react at first.
The mont I did, I lunged to slap him, but he dodged, making fall to the ground.
That unwanted kiss left furious.
"Oh," I grunted, pushing myself up, my fists clenched.
"I deserve at least a kiss for the loss you’ve caused ," he replied, smacking his lips. "And you taste so damn good."
His so-called complint made my skin crawl. He chuckled and walked away, disappearing from my sight.
Right behind him stood Zian, his mouth slightly open and a venomous smile on his face.
"Wow, Ian would be so happy to find out his lover has moved on, after he took poison for her," Zian stated, making my jaw tighten.
"Bold of you to assu Ian would think negatively of ," I stated confidently. "Ian knows . We’re much stronger than you think we are."
I wasn’t even worried and that surprised for a mont.
Was this what it felt like to be in a secure relationship?
Sohow, I just knew Ian would never hurt . He would never believe anything bad about .
"Now tell , when are you letting Ian walk back into the academy? Because, Zian, my patience is wearing thin and you know . Once I feel cornered, I go above and beyond for my mission. And Ian isn’t just my mission; he’s my reason to live," I declared, glaring him in the eye.
He stood there, staring back at with almost no intrigue in his eyes.
It was clear he wasn’t happy, and that was confird once he started speaking.
"I wonder what Ian has done to deserve so much respect and love," he grunted, rolling his eyes at .
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