My stomach turned to ice as I realized maybe Master Dagursson might just get a chance at his midnight snack after all. Because surely I was in for some disciplining now.
How to begin to explain? My mind raced, trying to formulate my answer.
But Ronan spoke up before I had a chance to. “Sparring accident,” he said, his voice flatter and colder than I’d ever heard it. “I took Acari Drew to do some extra credit work. We were practicing our throws, and she landed on a rock, hurting her back and slicing her arm. ”
I shut my mouth not to gape. Ronan had lied. For me.
Which meant we shared a secret. Two secrets, if you counted knowledge of his hidden stakes. Which meant he trusted me.
It was a shift that implied other, more dire and complicated things. But what those things might be, I couldn’t fathom.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I’d chosen the lawn in front of the gymnasium for shuriken practice. My run-in with the Draug had been a wake-up call—I needed to be as good and as prepared as I could be at all times. My rib had a hairline crack just to the right of my sternum, but this island was life or death, and injury was nothing more than an excuse. I had enemies, and apparently I had predators, too, and neither would be sympathetic, so despite the screaming pain, I kept at my workout.
The small, outdoor target area was best suited for my twofold purpose. Twofold because, yeah, I wanted to practice throwing my stars, but I also wanted to show off, just a little. I was known as the nerdy girl, and it never hurt to remind the Guidons I was as strong as I was smart.
Ronan emerged from the gym, toweling off his face and neck as he bounded down the stairs. Seeing me, he stopped short. He was still panting from his workout, his cheeks red and clothes sweaty.
Something about this overt display of male vigor set me off kilter, and I babbled in lieu of a greeting. “I don’t know how you can bear wearing just a T-shirt in this weather. I mean, I know it’s summer and all, and I guess if you were born here—”
“You seem to be healing,” he said, cutting me off.
My babbling had sent a fresh spike of pain shooting through my chest, and I cradled my ribs, curling into my right side. “Actually, I feel like I’m dying. But thanks for asking. ”
He looked around, then stepped closer. “You’ve recovered well enough to hear what I have to say. Tell me, Acari Drew, what part of Don’t leave the path is unclear?”
Here it came—my lecture. I’d thought I’d dodged that bullet. Silly me had expected the same tender, wound-binding, lie-telling Ronan, but I seemed to be about to enjoy furious-teacher Ronan, instead.
It put up my hackles. “I know the rules. ”
“You’re forbidden from leaving the path. ”
I was sick of being treated like a naive schoolgirl. I’d won last semester’s challenge—check that—I’d kicked ass in last semester’s challenge. I was cool, I was smart, I kept my friends’ secrets. Hadn’t I earned his respect?
I couldn’t help it. I looked around and said innocently, “I am on the path. ”
He looked as if his head might explode. “You know what I mean. ”
“Hey, I was just following you. ” I wasn’t about to mention I’d spied him with the cloaked man—something told me I should keep that little nugget to myself. “You left the path. Surely the vampires wouldn’t appreciate you wandering all over the place. ”
The muscles in his jaw clenched tight. I’d hit on something. When Ronan had lied to Master Dagursson about my whereabouts, I’d thought it was because he trusted and wanted to protect me. But now I realized, maybe he’d been protecting himself, too.
“You’re a fool. ” He spoke through gritted teeth, seething with disdain. “I don’t know why I expect more. You think you’re a maverick, Annelise. That you’re above it all. But it was just this sort of recklessness that killed my sister. ” At the mention of his sister, the fury leached from his voice. “Impetuous, juvenile behavior killed Charlotte, and it’ll kill you, too. ”
“I’m not your sister. ” My voice was tight with exhaustion—physical and emotional. I was angry with him, and now I was sad, too, but it was the anger that won out. I limped to the target, retrieving my throwing stars. “I am not juvenile. I’ve taken care of myself my whole life. At least you had a family—I didn’t. You have no idea. ”
“Is it that you have a death wish?” he asked at my back.
“Don’t be ridiculous. ” I bent to stow my shuriken in my boot, and the movement stole my breath.
“Then you need to stop acting like such a child. ”
I stood straight at that, forgetting the stabbing pain and meeting his eyes with a glare. “Then stop treating me like one. ”
Ronan’s face went suddenly, utterly blank. His posture stiffened as he looked over my shoulder.
A chill rippled my skin, and I felt a change in the atmospheric energy, as with a coming storm. In the air thickening around me, I felt the vampire’s presence.