“I’m glad we merged without problems,” he said, squeezing me a little.
“Me too. It was…relaxing.” Aside from the headache. “We should—”
Right then, a scorching wave of anger flared up in my chest, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth and kicking out all the air from my lungs. It was like a punch in the stomach. I gasped. But the wrath didn’t belong to me. It was Roy’s.
He was standing on the other side of the hall in his dark training gear. Tight black shirt and trousers that enhanced his lean, taut body. Sturdy black boots set in a wide stance. His gaze could cut glass into shards, and his fists were so clenched, the tendons on the back of his hands stood out in sharp relief. A snarl of sheer fury curled up his upper lip, showing a particularly vicious set of sharp teeth. For all intents and purposes, he looked like a demon escaped from hell.
Everyone in the training hall paused, and every gaze focused on him. A charged silence dropped, so thick it choked me. I guessed I wasn’t the only one sensing his fury. Staring at Roy, Nathan held me harder against his chest before I could step out of his embrace. Maybe it was a casual gesture, but his hand slipped down my waist to my hip. And that did it.
In the blink of an eye, Roy’s panther cast his long shadow over the polished floor. His roar caused the mirror to shake, and it was the only warning we had before he pounced on us. Or rather on Nathan. I was shoved aside by a surprisingly gentle paw while the panther lunged at my partner. Nathan turned into his half beast, fangs and claws growing out. But he didn’t stand a chance against the enraged condottiero. He sank his claws into Roy’s furry shoulders, but if he was expecting Roy to cry out in pain or recoil, he was mistaken. The panther didn’t flinch. He picked up Nathan, as if he were a rag doll, and tossed him against the wall. A hard glint flashed in Nathan’s eyes; the pupils were turning into narrow slits. It was a miracle he hadn’t broken his spine or neck.
When the panther stalked closer to him, I stepped between them and spread my arms. “Roy, enough.”
He growled, paws thumping on the floor.
“This is ridiculous.” I mirrored his moves in case he sidestepped me. “Besides, if you hurt Nathan, I’ll have to heal him.”
He froze. Aside from his chest expanding and contracting quickly, he remained still. Every cadet was watching. Someone was whispering into someone else’s ear. There was a mix of excitement and reproach thickening the air.
“Roy,” I whispered through clenched teeth. “You’re making a scene.”
The panther lifted on his rear legs, but before he could stand up completely, he transformed into Roy. A panting, nostrils-flaring, tousle-haired Roy with taut muscles and a murderous attitude to match.
Our eyes locked for one scorching moment. The hurt and sense of betrayal echoing in his stare were a stab to my heart. Guilt tied a knot in my throat, as ifIwere doing something I wasn’t supposed to do.
I opened my mouth, but he spun on his heels and marched out of the hall, his beast howling in pain inside my head. The cadets recoiled at his passage, opening a path for him. Heat burning my whole body, I turned towards Nathan. He was standing next to me, fully human again.
“What the bloody hell was that?” he hissed.
“Are you all right?” My voice shook like my legs.
“Fine.” He rubbed his neck. “He seemed about to rip my throat out. Thank you for stopping him, although the hell if I know what I did to deserve that. Bad blood between you and your mentor?”
Ha! Not that simple. “Sort of.”
“Would you like me to talk to him?” He put a hand on my shoulder.
“No, I’ll talk to him. Thank you.” I took a deep breath, waiting for my body to stop shaking.
I hadn’t done anything wrong. If Roy was jealous—it sounded ridiculous that I could trigger his jealousy like that, but what else could that fury be?—then he had some explanations to give, and a few complaints to listen to. As I strode towards the exit, Clare stared at me, arms folded over her chest and her mouth hanging open. Surprise and shock, more than rage, displayed on her pale face. Well, she wasn’t the only one to be shocked and surprised.