a Thor

ke it was burning a hole

, the High Council will e

l as the other students went to evening assembly without me. I didn't sleep at all. Every shadow o

brass bell screamed thr

arship trousers and laced my worn boots tight. I shoved the black letter deep inside the lining of my mattre

freshman com

rne Peak. The air was bitter. My breath turned into thick white clouds before it left my lips. A thin layer of fros

elite pack scouts sat wrapped in thick furs. Th

Vance stood in the

vy at his hip. He looked like the cold, hard Alpha Commander the world feared. His steel-blue eyes swept over our ro

r first combat evaluation. In the packs, you were taught that your title, your bloodline and you

orn heirs shifted,

ring. "You fight until your opponent yields, or until they can't stand.

belt. It was the morning roster. He scanned the nam

lue eyes lo

His voice was smooth and cold, wit

and gave a small shake of his head. It was a warning. Up on the lower balcony, Mae

walked into the frosted mud of the center ring. My h

said. He didn't look away fr

od ran

dark hair, and small, mean brown eyes. He was Maeve's cousin, an enforcer heir who had trained with elite combat masters since he co

s an execution dresse

oldly. He stepped back to th

heavy boots tore up the frosted mud.

gutters of the outer territories, you didn't fight with honor. You fought to stay alive.

rise flashed in his small eyes. But m

n," he spat. His fa

Before I could fix my footing on the slick frost,

fted my feet off the ground and threw me onto the frozen mud. My he

student cheered

ter rat!" someo

. Every part of me said to stay down. Play dead. L

yes, I looked toward

stone mask. He wasn't going to stop it. He watched me bl

ed through the pain. I'm not

ul of red onto the frost. I dragged my legs under me and pushed

e rushed me, grabbed my shoulders, and slammed me back-first into the stone wall around the ring.

cracked. But I didn't cry out. I clamped my teeth together, grabbed hi

RACK rang thr

bled back. Blood dripp

went dea

how to hurt someone who was trying to kill me. I wiped the blood off my chin with the back

ace went dark and wild, almost like an anima

atural red. He started to partly shift. His fingernails grew

nt with no armor was strictly agains

rom the sidelines. He stepped fo

aight for my bare neck. I braced myself and raised my arms

adow fell

hand shot out of nowhere. It gripped Gideon

oved so fast

dropped to his knees with a sickening pop. Gideon screamed. Stryker stood over him, and h

p and dark that it shook the granite floor. He shoved Gi

ned slowly

e was covered in blood and mud. I looked up at him. I waite

n't read as he looked at my bloody face. He reached out. His gloved fi

e leather of his glove, a shar

melted away at once, as if my blood wer

. And the cut on my cheek began to glow with a faint, frighte