“Good,” he murmurs.
Abbie has to drag me into the hallway, and as if life hasn’t shat enough on me today, Misha and his friends are leaning against the wall.
Alek has a satisfied smile on his face as he looks at me. “Now’s your chance to taste her blood, Misha.”
I don’t have any strength to face them, and not wanting Abbie to start a fight with them, I say, “Let’s just go, Abbie.”
I try not to look at Misha, but, as always, I fail. When our eyes lock, and I see the intense rage burning in his gaze, I begin to feel irrationally scared of him.
If the guy in the class could hurt me so much, what would Misha be able to do to me?
Misha would probably end my life without much effort, seeing as he’s twice the size of the guy I just faced.
I’ve been stupid for trying to fight Misha. I should’ve gone with my first plan to ignore him.
Abbie tugs me past them, and I hold my breath until it’s clear Misha’s not going to take this chance to have another go at me.
Thank God.
When I realize Abbie is taking me to the infirmary, I say, “I want to go to my suite.”
“You need first aid,” she argues, guilt lacing her words.
“I just need an ice pack. I want to go to my room so I can figuratively lick my wounds where no one can see.”
“Okay.”
We change direction, and when I’m finally in the privacy of my suite, I pull away from Abbie and slowly make my way to the bathroom.
As I open the faucet, Abbie murmurs, “I’m sorry, Ra-Ra.”
I can only shake my head while clenching my aching jaw so I won’t burst into tears.
She grabs a facecloth and wets it beneath the water before gently wiping the blood off my face.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, her voice thick with tears.
Unable to keep it back, a sob escapes me, and I dart into her arms. Abbie holds me tightly as I cry, but none of the tears ease the embarrassment and pain I’ve been subjected to today.
And it’s only day one.
What else lies in store for us during our four years here?
“We’re in over our heads,” I say as I pull back. “We thought we were going to have four years of spa days and relaxation. We were wrong.” My eyes lift to lock with hers. “It’s going to be brutal.”
There’s no sign of my fun-loving friend as we stare at each other because, let's face the facts, neither of us is prepared for the training.
My face crumbles as Abbie says, “And our parents had to have known what the training would entail. They knew this would happen, and still, they had us come here.”
God, there’s no giving up and going home.
I nod, and knowing there’s no other way through the next four years but to head straight through it, I lift my chin. “We’ll make it. Together.”
Abbie nods, the guilt of what happened to me because she mouthed off to Instructor Nikolai still etched on her face.
“We’ll learn everything and train hard,” I say, my voice cracking over the words because now that I’ve had a taste of the pain, I’m so not looking forward to any of the classes.
Not actually believing the words, I whisper, “We’ll get through it.”