I’ve been through worse.

I repeated it in my head. I’ve had my fingers snapped in sequence. Broken, so they could mend. Broken again, so they could mend stronger.

There was no proof of that, but my father didn’t care about things being scientifically backed. He cared about attestation. And to him, bones grew back stronger when broken.

I didn’t flinch when someone grabbed my finger and bent it backward.

They didn’t go all at once. Maybe it was some sick game to them, to pass me around. A slash to my forearm, a kick to my shin, a cuff to my chin.

It was child’s play. I was fine.

I was fine.

“Look at me, human.”

A punch to my gut. Bile rose to the back of my throat as I sunk to my knee and fought to breathe. I was fine.

Fingers threaded through my hair. I wished they’d leave it alone. How much had been ripped out already? How much time had gone by?

My mind screamed at me to fight back. I fought against it. Fighting back would give them even more of a reason to hurt me, would only result in me being reprimanded for violating the peace treaty. I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t fight back. It wasn’t worth the risk of war. The risk of breaking the peace treaty.

But aren’t they?

It wasn’t fair, but I would uphold it, even if they tried to break it. I could take this.

Eventually, Rehan had me again. His eyes were full-blown and gleaming. The sick smile never left his face, stretching almost impossibly wide. He trailed his fingers over my new bruises and cuts all the way to my neck. Then he curled his hand, restricting my airflow. “Shall we play a game?”

I glared at him.

“If you suffocate, you lose. If you don’t, you win.”

His digits pressed harder into my skin. I let out a strangled noise, now unable to take in any air. I grappled at his hands, opening my mouth to try and draw in any oxygen. He held my gaze, not blinking as I choked.

I could take everything else, but not this. Not this. I would die. He would kill me.

Spots clouded my vision. My nails dug into his wrists, drawing metallic blood but he didn’t even flinch. Tears burned in my eyes. I couldn’t breathe. My chest was on fire, frantically trying to take in air. My entire being felt alight in pain.

“I think I’m going to win this one,” Rehan teased.

No. I didn’t want to die. My limbs felt heavier by the second, begging me to give in. If I did, maybe the pain would stop.

Just as I thought I was going to pass out, a voice shouted from behind me. The pressure disappeared and I fell to the ground, coughing and gasping, my vision spinning. Was it Kaz? Had he finally made it?

“You’re late, Felix.”

My heart sunk.

“Yeah, yeah. What did you do to her? Were you not going to leave me anything?” Felix said, a hint of irritation in his voice.

“It’s not my fault you didn’t show up.”

“Well, I’m here now. Move.”

I didn’t have the strength to stand up. There wasn’t even a point. I couldn’t get away. But now dread coursed through me. I’d been hurt, but no one had tried to kill me. Nothing like Rehan had just done. Did he push the limit? Would it now be a contest to see who ended my life?

Kaz’s warning flitted in my head. Stay away from Felix.

But I couldn’t. I could barely hold myself up.

Felix came to a stop in front of me. He slid an arm behind my back and another under my legs, lifting me up. I kept my face blank. No matter what, I wouldn’t let them know they were getting to me.

Turning away from the group, Felix headed back to the forest.

“Where do you think you’re going?” one of the girls demanded.

“You guys had your fun. Now it’s my turn. I have other ideas for her, so I’m not staying here.”

“We’re not done here, Fel—”

He glanced over his shoulder and the voice fell silent. No one made any more attempts to stop him. Unable to help myself, I shivered. My uniform was in tatters and the bitter wind gnawed my skin. We were making our way back toward the library. I let Felix carry me. I doubted I could make it through the woods alone at this point. At least closer to the library I could get someone’s attention.

“You’re not going to struggle?” Felix asked.

I kept my gaze on the dim lights in the distance. “No.”

“Come on, I thought you were a fighter.”

I did, too. But no one could stay strong forever. No matter how much they were trained to.

“I tried to warn you.”

Now I looked at him. His scar gleamed in the moonlight. Up close, I could see just how smooth the skin there was, both pink and white at the same time. Wider than I thought. What kind of weapon had done that? “Warn me about what?”

“This.” He grimaced. “I should have tried harder.”

“Huh?”

“I thought I’d make it in time. I knew they were hanging around waiting for you to leave the library, but I didn’t see the group chat right away. They sent a text when you left.”

The fact there was a group chat to discuss assaulting me caused my stomach to turn. I closed my eyes, wishing Felix would stop walking. Using the rest of my strength, I squirmed in his grasp, trying to get him to release me.

“Woah, hang on a second. Cleo, stop. I’m not going to hurt you.”

A shocked laugh left my lips. “What? You’re the one with the most reason to.”

“Maybe so, but you’re not the one responsible. I’m not going to take out my hurt and anger on you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“The headmaster is waiting for us at the library.”

I stared at him, searching for any signs of deceit on his face. He watched me with careful features. Soft eyes, relaxed lips. Holding me as if I were made of glass, afraid to do more damage. He was telling the truth.

“Why?”

“I already told you, but I’m going to need you to stop struggling.” His eyes screwed shut and he exhaled through his nose. “You’re exacerbating the bleeding. It’s hard to resist.”

I slapped a hand over the wound on my neck. It came back sticky and wet. “Oh.” The wound was bleeding more than I thought. Maybe that was why I felt so exhausted.

Felix’s nose twitched. “What did I just tell you?”

“None of the others were bothered by it…”

“I’m not like them,” he ground out, readjusting me so he could take my hand into his. He brought it to his lips and I felt something warm press against my palm.

His tongue, I realized belatedly. I yanked my hand back, eyes flying open. “What’re you doing?”

“My reward for saving you,” he answered, sucking his bottom lip in as if to savor every taste of my blood. His breath stuttered and for a moment he stared at me, eyes half-lidded. “As I thought,” he said, voice husky.

Cold prickles shot down my spine. I covered the gash on my neck again and turned away from him. Vampires. These guys were vampires. I needed to remember that.

“Why didn’t you fight back?”

“There were too many of them.”

“Is that the only reason?”

I didn’t answer. The sight of Evander standing on the lit path brought a swell of relief. It was over. Kaz noticed us first and crossed the grass between us in the span of a second. “Cleo! Are you okay? I’m sorry. I was in the shower. I’m sorry—”

“I’m okay,” I said.

He touched my cheek. “You’re hurt.”

“I’ve been through worse,” I assured him.

His jaw tensed, but he didn’t say anything more to me. Instead, he turned to Felix. “Let her go.”

Felix raised an eyebrow. “No.”

Evander came over before Kaz could respond, his face falling at the sight of me. “Ms. Levant, I’m so sorry. I thought my students were better than this.”

Still in Felix’s arms, I felt a hot blush cross my face. What did I look like right now? Beaten up and pathetic? “Put me down,” I said to Felix.

He obeyed now and I gripped his arm to get my balance. Kaz stretched his hand out to me and I flinched. It fell immediately.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

Kaz’s face hardened. “Where are they?”

“Don’t, Kazem. They will be punished accordingly. Don’t involve yourself,” Evander said softly. “Please bring Cleo to the infirmary.”

“I want to go to my room,” I said.

“Your wounds need to be taken care of.”

“I can do it myself. I just need the supplies.”

Evander looked like he wanted to argue, but nodded. “Okay. Kaz will bring you to your room and then gather the supplies. I will round up the students who did this to you. Can you remember how many there were?”

Felix held up his phone. “I have everyone here.”

A mix of revulsion and shock crossed Evander’s broad features. “I suppose that makes things easier. Go and rest, Cleo. We can talk about what you want to do going forward tomorrow. You’ll be excused from classes.”

I’d take that. Kaz gently put my arm over his shoulder. He was so much taller than me I almost had to stand on my tiptoes to return the support. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah, I can walk.” It hurt, but I could. I turned back to Felix. “Thank you. I don’t know what would have…” I trailed off. I did know what would have happened.

He offered me a half-smile. “Get some rest.”

Kaz pursed his lips and didn’t say anything as we slowly went back to the dorms. I had no idea what time it was. I ached and just wanted to go to sleep, but I knew I had to disinfect all my cuts. Everything else could wait. I didn’t get a good look at the blade they were using. I had to protect myself from infection.

“Are you sure you don’t want the nurse to look at you?” Kaz asked gently.

“No. I’ll be fine with some antiseptic and gauze.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t see your text, Cleo. When I saw it, I came as fast as I could, but I bumped into Evander and he said he already knew.”

“Felix helped me.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

I shrugged.

“It doesn’t make me like him anymore, but I’m glad he helped. Who else was there?”

My head was beginning to hurt. Each step I took made it pound. I didn’t want to talk. “I only recognized Rehan.”

“That sick son of a bitch.”

I didn’t answer, concentrating on staying upright. Maybe dressing my injuries could wait until the morning. I wanted to sleep.

Kaz dropped me off in my room and promised to be back with supplies. I limped to my bed, wincing as dropped down. I was too afraid to look at myself in the mirror. I wanted to shower but was worried my legs would give up and I’d be stuck. Once my head hit the comforters though, I realized I wasn’t getting back up.

I dozed off instantly, but my door opening caused me to start not even twenty minutes later. The motion set soreness off in every possible place of my body. Tomorrow would be worse.

“Wake up. You’re not allowed to sleep yet.”

My heart leaped into my throat at the sound of a deep voice. That wasn’t Kaz.