The Ritual of Blood and Bone

Chapter Forty-Six

Lightning dances across Seraphina's clenched fist as she smashes it into Slade's stomach in a vicious uppercut. The breath leaves his body in a heavy whoosh and he is thrown backwards against the wall. For a few seconds, he struggles to breathe from being winded.

Seraphina doesn't give him a moment to recover. She storms over to him and buries her fingers into his hair and drags him to his feet.

"Nysa, look after Dreven and get him to the healers," she orders as she hauls Slade down the corridor. He trips over his feet and cries out in pain. Seraphina doesn't ease. Her pace gets quicker.

Slade scratches at her wrist, trying to get her to let go. It does nothing.

A haze washes over Seraphina. She doesn't notice everyone staring at them as she passes, or the way other students follow her.

"You can't do this," Slade hisses as he continues to trip and drag his knees as he tries to free himself. Still winded and weakened from the punch, his resistance isn't very strong. 

Seraphina doesn't even bother to respond to him. All she can see in her head is Dreven, beaten and bloody, lying on the floor. Broken. Just thinking about it has a fresh wave of searing heat pulsing through Seraphina.

Yet, despite her anger, her mind has never been clearer.

They burst into the kitchens. At once, all the Stain staff working in there stop what they're doing, staring at Seraphina and Slade in shock. Seraphina ignores them and drags Slade over to the large sinks that are full of dirty water from where the Stain worker was still cleaning the dishes from lunch service.

He jumps out of the way with a panicked yelp as Seraphina approaches. Before Slade has a chance to do anything, Seraphina plunges his head into the brown water. He thrashes beneath her, but she remains still, and calm. Holding him there as her anger continues to pulse through her in hot waves.

Finally, she lets him up.

He drops onto the floor, desperately gasping for breath between heaving up water. Seraphina stares at him, her gaze like ice.

"You vile bitch," Slade says between breaths. 

"What's going on here!" a woman shouts, pushing through the Stain chefs and potwashers to get to Seraphina.

"Slade here is going to be working with you for the next month," Seraphina says, her voice terrifyingly calm. The woman raises her eyebrows and Slade stands.

"How fucking dare you," he hisses in her face. "I am an Ethereal. Do you know who my father is? I will not lower myself to work-"

Before he can get another word in, Seraphina sends another wicked punch his way, again hitting his stomach. It isn't as hard this time, but he doubles over in pain. Seraphina grabs his hair once more and shoves his face back in the water.

"Seraphina!" someone shouts. She looks up and spots Fay walking bursting into the kitchen, pushing past the other Ethereal onlookers who stand there in shock. "Enough," she growls.

"Nope," the general says. "Continue, Seraphina. He is your charge. Discipline him as you see fit."

Seraphina can tell by the general's smile that he is enjoying the show. If Seraphina weren't so clouded in her haze of strange, icy anger, she would roll her eyes at him enjoying witnessing such violence.

Fay gasps in shock as Seraphina pulls Slade's head back out of the water once more.

"I am her commander," she hisses.