Poison Throne: A Dark College Romance(38)

His next series of strikes were so fast that even in full light I would have had little chance of blocking them all. As it was, I managed to block two, deflect one, and the fourth whipped across my side, knocking me almost to the ground.

From that position, I swung out my leg and crashed it into Uriel's, throwing him way off balance. Swinging up with my fist, I glanced a hit off his balls, and when he cursed, I had to smile.

"You always told me to find the weakness in my opponent," I muttered as I got myself back into a fight position.

"Weak, Violet. You've always been weak and pathetic."

This time I attacked, following his little light. The darkness hid me, and right now that was a weakness for Uriel. Our hits were matched, each of us landing a few and blocking others. His strength gave him an advantage, but my fury masked my pain and adrenaline gave me strength to land more than one solid blow.

My roundhouse kick managed to hit his already injured ribs, and for the first time, he landed on the ground, a huff escaping him. Just as I was moving in for the kill, Jordan and Rafe burst into the tunnel, finally finding the right path to me.

Guess our fighting hadn’t been quiet.

Uriel's light vanished. As I dashed toward the last place I'd seen him, a much larger illumination lit up the area.

Jordan had a flashlight in his hands, lighting up Rafe's furious face as he strode right to my side. Huffing, I looked around for Uriel, but he'd disappeared into the shadows.

"He’s been here all along," I huffed, wiping at the blood trickling from a cut on my lip. "Learning these secret tunnels, existing in the shadows, biding his time."

Rafe turned all of his attention on me. Jordan too. The pair of them examined every inch of my skin, noting the bruises and marks littered across my body.

"I'm fine," I said, as their angry expressions grew darker and breathing heavier. "I got him just as good, don't you worry."

Uriel hadn't been at the top of his game, and that might have saved me.

"Broke his finger and a few ribs," I added, when they didn't immediately congratulate me for finally having the lady-balls to fucking throw a hundred and ten percent into killing my former master.

I'd feared Uriel for as long as I’d known him. This was a huge milestone for me.

"We need to get her out of here," Rafe said to Jordan, not quite ignoring me, since his hands were still all over my body, checking for injuries. "Who knows what traps he might have set in here. We're fighting blind."

My feeling was that he wouldn't be back tonight. Three against one when he was injured were odds not even Uriel would take—not if he knew how my boys fought, and something told me he had studied them closely.

Tomorrow we'd be on a plane, so he was too late.

Rafe lifted me into his arms and started sprinting through the tunnels, Jordan and the light right on our heels. I hadn't realized just how far I'd been taken by Uriel until I traversed the way back… with my eyes, of course, because this asshole of a prince wouldn't let me walk.

"I'm fine, Rafe," I said to him when a more familiar tunnel came into view. "Let me down."

All I got in reply was a rumble in his chest. Great, we were back to caveman talk.

When we exited the secret entrance, the hall was thankfully empty, so a ton of awkward stares and questions would be avoided. "We can't stay in any of our rooms tonight," Rafe said in a tumble of angry words. Lifting his palm reader, he quickly called Mattie. "I'm bringing the flight in early," he snapped as soon as she answered. "Pack your bags and meet us at the front in thirty minutes."

"Sure," she said quickly. "Is everything okay? Is Violet okay?"

"Fine," Rafe barked, then hung up before she could say another word.

"That was rude," I said, trying to keep my tone light.

The adrenaline was wearing off now, and my body ached as he continued along the hall until we reached his room. I'd be in a world of hurt tomorrow, that much was clear.

Once inside, the silent prince walked me into the bathroom, the third in our trio trailing behind. Rafe placed me on my feet, his movements gentle, despite the rigid fury in his face. "Strip," he said. My lips twitched as I thought about the last time he'd said that. This time, though, there was definitely nothing sexy about it.

I didn't argue. He needed this from me, and I personally needed to assess the damage as well. Not just to the gorgeous dress gifted from Jax, but to my body.

As the silver silk slid to the ground, Rafe's teeth clanked together as he glared. Looking down at the wisps of lace that my barely-there underwear set consisted of, I knew immediately his reaction had nothing to do with my thong and everything to do with the bruises already on my body.

"What the fuck, Violet!" he cursed. "How long were you fighting him before we found you?"

"How did you even get there so quickly?" I asked, suddenly remembering he hadn't been in the tunnel with us.

"Jordan activated his distress signal, and I found him in the halls." He glared down at me. "Why didn't you activate yours?"

Right… The distress button thing that I had completely forgotten about.

"No time," I said, crossing my arms to hide some of the damage. "Uriel wasn't really there for a tea and chat. Dude was trying to kick the fuck out of me and then drag me off to his secret lair so we could take over the world."

Rafe's stare was not amused. Luckily I wasn't trying to be funny. That had been his legit plan.

"How does he think he has any chance of success now?" Jordan asked, the reasonable one.

I shrugged. "No fucking idea. Maybe at this stage, he just plans on rebuilding. Maybe, hiding out, he hasn't heard about the vote yet." The vote that would really change everything.

Rafe left me abruptly, striding over to turn the shower on. Since that was the best fucking idea he'd ever had, I quickly removed my underwear. "I'll pack your clothes," Jordan said as I turned toward the shower. "Be back soon."

I grabbed his forearm. "Be careful. Uriel could be lurking around."

He lifted his palm reader. "Don't worry. I'll hit the alarm if I run into trouble."

Unease flickered through my chest, but Uriel was likely off planning his next attack. He'd recover first, surely. Unless he'd completely changed from the man I knew.

"There and back," Rafe barked from where he was testing the water. "You have ten minutes."

Jordan dropped a kiss on my cheek before shaking his head at Rafe. "You're not the boss of me, fucker. I'll be back in fifteen."

Then he took off before Rafe could murder his best friend.

Striding over, the steam of the shower caressed my skin, and I was dying to wash off the fight. I needed to feel normal, and hopefully the hot water would ease my aches.

"I'll get you some painkillers," Rafe said as I was about to step in. Just as he turned away, I reached out and wrapped my arms around him. Falling against him, I squeezed my eyes shut as I held on. There was a beat of hesitation, and then he wrapped me up in the tightest, firmest, best fucking hug I'd felt in a long time.

Rafe's hug game was strong.

His hold pressed against my bruises, but I welcomed the pain. It made me feel alive, and considering that I'd almost been killed a few times recently, being alive was something I would never take for granted.

"You scared the fuck out of me," Rafe huskily grumbled near my ear. "I'm not strong enough to handle the stress."

"I'm sorry," I whispered back, meaning it. Loving someone was stressful, so I totally understood what he was feeling now. The thought of either of my princes being in danger made me want to do something really bad.

He kissed me fast, his lips pressing to mine as our tongues met in a tangle of need.

"We don't have time for me to love you like I want," Rafe said against my mouth. "So get in the fucking shower, and if you touch yourself, I'll burn the academy to the ground."

I snorted out some laughter as I pulled away. "Little extreme, don't you think?"

Rafe shrugged. "Whatever it takes to murder that fucker so I can spend my time being the one who touches you."

Fuck. My legs trembled a little, and there was a new ache in my body, one right between my thighs.

"Violet," Rafe warned, and I swallowed my moan.

"I promise."

His eyes were dark as they stared me down, then with one more hard kiss, he turned and left the room, no doubt to pack his own clothing since we were leaving tonight.

Stepping under the hot spray, I swallowed down my moan. Bringing him back into the room might end in an orgasm. But it would also mean we'd miss the flight, and I wanted to get away from this place. Away from Uriel.

Seeing him tonight made me want to scrub my skin raw to remove the taint of his touch. I reached for the body wash, lathered it up, and washed every section of my body until my skin was rosy pink and any bruises, except my princes’, were hidden under the abuse of my own hands.

Fuck Uriel. Fuck him right to hell where he belonged.

At least I'd hurt him. I should have finished the job while I had the chance; the odds of ever again finding him injured and distracted like he'd been tonight were slim.





Chapter 31





Everyone was tense and silent as we boarded Rafe's jet, and given the late hour, it was no surprise when most of us spent the entire flight sleeping. I, for one, had a whole shitload of bruises to heal from, and the index finger of my left hand was in a damn splint, bandaged to the next one. So sexy.