Venus Eaton is desperate to escape the abuse of her previous faction although she is unaware and unprepared of the ordeals of Dauntless initiation. She is a stranger to her own brother until he accuses her of murdering their mother, and finds out th...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
VENUS
I WAKE with a jolt, sitting up immediately. My cheeks feel stiff with dried tears and I wipe my eyes but there is nothing there.
I slowly remember where I am, but there is no one else around.
"Eric?" I call, and hear something faint in the distance. He appears, walking from a hallway. When he sees that I'm awake, he approaches me.
I quickly stand up. "I... I should get back to the dormitories."
"You don't want to spend the night with me?" He says, and I raise an eyebrow at him. Is it night already? "Plus, I might as well treat your arm whilst you're here."
"You know how to?"
"It'll surprise you how much I know, stiff." He grumbles, grabbing my wrist and dragging me down the hallway. I let out a frustrated hiss. What's up with all the names?
We reach the bathroom and I'm about to pull myself onto the counter, although Eric stops me, instead placing his hands on my hips and hauling me up.
He begins to soak a washcloth under the faucet and I place my hands on my thighs, watching, waiting.
When he turns to me, he scans my jacket. "Take it off."
"Why? Just pull up the sleeve-"
"Take it off, stiff!" Eric snaps, and I lower my head as I carefully slip the jacket off my shoulders. It lands in a heap on the granite surface behind me. Eric grabs my wrist and pulls me toward him to inspect the cut. I nearly fall off the counter although hold myself steady as Eric'sharsh grip continues.
"You have... a big apartment," I begin, taking in a sharp intake of breath as the wound stings.
"The perks of being a Dauntless leader," He says, opening the cabinet above my head. He has a tube of antibiotic cream in his hands. Probably manufactured by the Erudite or something.
"Did you rank first?" I press curiously. "You were in the same initiation as... Four, weren't you?"
Eric scowls, and doesn't reply as he takes some bandage and begins to wind it around my arm. It is tight, so I pull it a little to loosen it. "That isn't for an initiate to know."
"Yeah, I know, but he's my brother." I continue, looking down in shame and disdain. "You probably would've beaten him, anyway."
He looks up, his eyebrows raised, his eyes glinting. I shrug a little and lean back against the cabinet as Eric finishes wrapped the bandage.
"So... Did you beat him?"
"I think it's time for you to go," He growls, placing his hand on my lower back to help me from the counter but instead he shoves me a little too hard. I grab my jacket and carefully slip it up my arms, over the wound and over my shoulders before scrambling out the bathroom.
