9

Eva
I scream in agony as she pulls it out, making blood fly into the air. My stomach churns at the sight of my blood spurting from the deep wound as I take a step backward, which only serves to make it bleed more.
The pain is terrible as I put weight on my leg, so I balance on one leg, knowing they might attack again and I won’t be able to fend them off. “What the hell?” I say, glaring at them as a foreign rage infects my blood. “As if it wasn’t unfair, three against one, you bring a knife, too?”
The same girl who stabbed me smirks and steps closer, twirling the knife in her hand. “Because you fought, you get special treatment.”
I hop backward on my one good leg, knowing that I’m only delaying another painful attack. My eyes flit to the doorway, which now has an audience gathered outside of it, but no one comes to my aid.
The tall girl comes for me again, and I dodge her but only just, falling over in the process and landing flat on my ass. The jolt sends a shot of excruciating pain through my leg, and I growl, irritated that I can fight these sickos off.
Would they kill me?
I wouldn’t put anything past the students of this nuthouse. This place should be illegal, but cops are as corrupt as the criminals like all authorities in this world. Money is the root of all evil, and if you have enough, it doesn’t matter what heinous crimes you commit. It will all disappear if you have money.
The girl grins down at me, moving the knife toward my other leg. She holds my gaze, enjoying the fear that radiates from me.
She moves to stab the knife into my other leg, but I disarm her, pulling the knife from her hand when she least expects it. I point the knife at her, waving it. “Get the fuck back.”
The girl smirks. “Or what? Are you going to stab us?”
I glare at her, a dark hatred simmering beneath my skin. “Yes, stay the fuck away from me.”
The same girl pulls something out of her pocket and flicks her wrist, opening a switchblade. As I try to formulate a plan, my heart pounds in my ears. I may be more of a liability if I stand as the blood pours from the stab wound, but I try to get to my feet. I topple back over onto my ass, to the amusement of my attackers.
“What a pathetic wuss,” Jeanie says, glancing at the other girls. “What shall we do with her?”
My head swims from the blood loss, making me dizzy. I’m not sure whether these girls would even think twice about murdering me. I tighten my grasp on the knife in my hand, remaining focused.
“Out of the way,” the principal booms. “All of you, back to your rooms.”
The girl drops the knife onto the floor next to me, her face paling as she jumps away as if someone slapped her. She’s worried about being caught by the principal. It wouldn’t have surprised me if this were part of the curriculum, as they nurture brutality and darkness.
The principal’s piercing aquamarine eyes find mine, and the anger in them is blazing. I can’t work out if it’s directed at them or me.
“You three will report to Professor Luigi.” He glares at them. “He’ll be in charge of your punishment.”
The three girls pale, and Jeanie scowls at me with a burning hatred. They turn and leave, so I’m left alone with Principal Byrne. Once they’re gone, he turns his attention to me.
“What did I tell you, Eva?” he asks.
I draw in a shaky breath, wincing as my ribs hurt from the beating I took. “Not to open the door.” I remain on the floor, feeling tiny as he towers over me.
His eyes are wild with rage as he moves toward me, closing the gap. “And what did you do?”
“I opened the door.” Shame coils through me as I keep my gaze down on the floor. “I’m sorry, sir.”
A soft growl escapes Principal Byrne’s lips as he crouches next to me. It’s a sound that scares me, but it also has a strange effect on me I can’t quite understand. His earthy, musky scent infiltrates my senses as he gets as close as he did before.
He chucks his jacket onto my bed and pulls his tie off before unbuttoning his shirt, making heat filter through my body.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
His eyes narrow, concentrating on the wound on my leg. “I need to create a tourniquet fast on this stab wound. You’re losing too much blood, and I fear they hit an artery.”
He pulls his shirt off, and it’s impossible not to admire his muscled body and dark tattoos that spread down his arms and to the left of his chest, even while I’m bleeding out, or perhaps it’s because I am bleeding out since it’s making me a little light-headed and dizzy.
He tears the arm off his shirt and retrieves a pen from his jacket pocket, making quick work to use the fabric and the pen to tourniquet the stab wound. It’s evident he’s done it before, as the tourniquet stops the blood flow instantly. Once done, he slips his shirt back on despite missing an arm and buttons it up before sliding the jacket on.
He meets my gaze, crouching in front of me. “Put your arms around my neck.”
My eyes widen. “S-Sir?”
He shuts his eyes and breathes a long, shuddering breath, scaring me. “I said, put your arms around my neck.” There’s a deadly edge to his voice.
I swallow hard, hesitating to touch this brute of a man at all. He’s so handsome it is intimidating, especially this close.
His jaw clenches, and eyes flicker open, finding mine. The intensity in those aquamarine depths sends a foreign sensation to my gut. “Don’t make me say it again.”
Slowly, I slide my arms around his neck as the warmth of his skin burns through me, making me realize how cold I am. I shiver, my body craving his warmth as my head swims. He’s right. I’ve lost a lot of blood as I shut my eyes, my body wanting to shut down.
Principal Byrne slides one hand under my knees and the other around my back, lifting me as if I weigh nothing. “Stay with me, Eva. Whatever you do, don’t shut your eyes.”
My stomach flutters. The hard press of principal Byrne’s muscles against my body as he holds me close is intoxicating. His warmth is safe and comforting, even though this man scares the living daylights out of me. He’s intense, brooding, and intimidating, but I sense that’s how he likes it, for the students to fear him.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask, breaking the silence between us.
His jaw clenches as his attention remains ahead of us. “I won’t tolerate dumb questions.”
I bite my bottom lip, focusing on anything but my new principal’s gorgeous face. Up this close and personal, it’s kind of impossible to ignore. He’s beautiful, and the way he’s carrying me is intimate and makes me heat from the inside out. Not to mention, he smells divine of musk and pine and something I can’t quite put my finger on. My thighs squeeze together as my desire for him elevates.
“I think I can walk on it, sir,” I suggest as I feel my entire body heating at the prolonged proximity to him, the heat between my thighs building as a sense of awareness prickles over my skin.
Principal Byrne shakes his head. “I’ve seen my fair share of stab wounds, and if you try to walk on it, you will do more damage than good and lose more blood.”
I swallow hard, wondering how often people get stabbed here at this academy. “I guess students often get stabbed here, then?” I ask, wishing my voice didn’t sound so pathetically terrified.
His jaw clenches, and he nods. “Yes.” That’s all he says as he carries me straight out the front entrance of the cold, stately school and opens the passenger’s side of a large SUV with one hand before gently placing me into the seat. “Belt on.” He slams the door, making my heart thud against my rib cage.
I do as he says, sliding the belt on and clicking it into place.
Principal Byrne walks stiffly around the car and slides into the driver’s side without looking at me, turning on the engine. The purr of the engine is all that falls between us as he drives through the wrought-iron gates.