Page 13 of The Revenge
“I can fight my own battles.” I snap.
Royal turns, brows furrowed. “Tori, it’s time to go.”
“I’m not go—”
My sentence is cut off by my own yelp as Royal just lowers his shoulder like he’s about to tackle me, but instead, hauls me over his shoulder.
“Put me down!”
Royal ignores me, walking out of the dining hall.
“Put me down, or this fork will be embedded in your ass,” I shriek at him, stabbing at the thick, wool coat he’s wearing.
Gemini swoops in, plucking the fork from my grip. “Sorry, little Vixen. It’s for your own good. But I promise, you can fork my ass later.”
Unluckily for Royal, the anger that’s still flowing through me is enough to numb any pain I’m still feeling, and I’m not letting them take me without a fight. His arms clamp around my legs as I try to kick and wriggle free, but he continues walking, ignoring each punch I make to his protected body.
“If you don’t release her, I’m calling the police.” Penny’s threat comes from behind, and I pause long enough to twist my body so I can see her standing there with her phone in her hands.
With a sigh, like we’re the ones causing the inconvenience, Syn speaks. “Put her down, Royal.”
Moments later, I’m upright, feet on the ground, trying to hide the wave of dizziness that’s hitting me. “You three can go to hell,” I mutter.
Before I can walk to Penny, Syn steps in front of me.
“You are not safe here. You need to come with us.”
“And you think I’m going to be safer with you?” I ask in disbelief.
Syn’s golden eyes are locked on me. “Yes.”
The burst of laughter that explodes from my mouth quickly turns into a cough.
“We need to talk. If you think you’ll feel safer bringing Bergmann with you, bring her,” he tells me. “But trust me when I say, you’ll be putting her in danger, too.”
“Tori?” Penny calls.
I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath, trying not to cough again as the icy air irritates my throat. I should have taken Penny up on her offer and left first thing this morning.
Opening my eyes, I step to the side so I can see Penny. “I’ll be fine.”
“Tori, I don’t think—”
“You have an exam, remember? Go take it, and if I’m not back when you’ve finished, call the police. I’ll be fine.”
Penny’s gaze darts between the four of us before returning to me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Probably not.
“They had the chance to let me die and didn’t.” I shrug.
“I’m not sure that’s the winning argument you think it is,” Penny says. When I give her another shrug, she glances at her phone with a frown. “Fine.” She quickly raises her phone. “But I have a photo, so the police know you were the last people seen with her.”
Muttering to herself, she walks off, frequently looking over her shoulder as she goes.
“Does she really think we’re going to kill you?” Royal asks, glancing at me. “Do you?”
An icy burst of wind rushes between the building, reminding me that I not only left my coat in the dining hall, but I’m half soaked in sticky blood. Whatever this is about, I want to get it over with as soon as possible. Instead of giving Royal an answer, I continue walking in the direction they’d been taking me.
