CHAPTER 56 - BLAKE

Pendragon suddenly seemed so small as she walked alongside me.

Her long red curls hung around her face, frizzy and tangled. She wore a long black dress over the same pair of lace-up leather boots she'd worn in the Games. The dress hung on her frame. Even in just two days she seemed as if she'd lost weight.

I hated seeing her like this. I knew she was grieving. Her pale freckled skin was red and blotchy. I could tell she'd been crying.

Any other girl would have looked like a wreck. But not her.

It unnerved me how beautiful she still was. I'd missed the sight of her face.

I jammed my hands deeper in my pockets, resisting the urge to say that very thing out loud.

She looked frail. But I knew she wasn't. No matter what she might believe about herself right now, I knew she was strong.

I wished I could figure out the right thing to say. I wanted to tell her how every second of watching the Games had torn me up inside. It'd been the worst feeling in the world.

And then, seeing her have to fight her friend. My heart had ached for her.

But the words wouldn't come. I wasn't sure she'd even want to hear them. Not from me.

Or maybe I was worried I'd sound weak. Expose too much of this feeling crawling around inside of my chest.

So I stole glances. The distance between us feeling too close and too far all at the same time.

Then she shocked me by breaking the silence.

"I wanted to thank you."

I blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I owe you a debt. What you did, making me drink your blood–it probably saved my life." She stopped, turned to look up at me. "If you hadn't given it to me..."

Regan and the others would have killed her. She wouldn't be standing here by my side now.

I'd almost lost her.

I felt my breath catch. The whole time I'd been watching her, I'd wondered if she hated me for making her drink it. Yet now here she was, thanking me for making her do something she still didn't fully understand the consequences of. Something inside me twisted and stabbed. Claws of shame. Claws of guilt.

"You don't owe me anything," I said stiffly. "I'm just glad you survived."

Her green eyes searched mine. "Is that why we're in trouble? Because of your blood?"

She didn't know the half of it.

I ran a hand through my hair. "No. At least, I don't think so. There's more to it than that. Though I did break the rules by giving it to you."

I wanted to shield her from the confrontation that was coming up. I wished I could ask her what she wanted me to do if things went in a certain direction.

My thoughts kept circling back to Regan and each time they did, my fury threatened to overflow. She'd defied me. Gone after Pendragon when they were supposed to work together. I'd known it was coming, but even so, when those three girls had cornered her, it could have turned into a bloodbath.

I wondered if Regan had known how close she'd come to dying that day.

Or how close she still was.

Pendragon had only survived the games because of the precautions I'd taken. Giving her my blood. Asking Visha to watch her back.

That, and her own strength and presence of mind. She hadn't panicked. Once the drugs had cleared from her system, she'd pulled herself together and done everything she'd had to do to survive. Even when it meant killing one of her best friends. She'd passed every test they'd thrown at her and I was proud of her. So fucking proud.

I thought of Coregon. Pendragon and I had that in common now. We'd both killed a friend.

I doubted it would be something we'd fondly reminisce about together.

Visha. Panic struck me. I wondered if she'd told Pendragon the truth about that first day in the training yard. Visha had taken things further than she was supposed to, so I'd had to get Sankara to intervene. Even so, I'd initiated the set-up. If Pendragon ever found out, she'd be furious.

The fact that she was walking here so calmly beside me now, thanking me, must have meant Visha had kept quiet.

I stayed close to her as we approached the headmaster's office.

We stepped inside, and the atmosphere hit me like a wall of ice.

Kim sat behind his desk, his dark robes draped around him. His sharp eyes flicked upwards as we entered and it was as if the weight of all Bloodwing's expectations bore down on me. There was and never had been anything comforting about Headmaster Kim. He was the cold, uncompromising face of highblood authority at Bloodwing.

On the far right stood my uncle. Viktor Drakharrow, the living embodiment of highblood privilege and familial intimidation. He was the oldest highblood in the room. He glanced my way, his eyes glowing deep and unsettling red. His eyes moved to Pendragon and I felt my skin crawl. I wanted to grab his chin and force his head in the other direction. Nothing about that dirty, disgusting old man should be near her.

I made myself look in the other direction and my eyes fell on Regan. She was seated in a wooden chair to the left of Kim's desk. She looked every bit the spoiled highblood princess, with her pointed chin held high and her mouth fixed in a smug pout. Behind her stood her father, Lord Pansera, a tall man with many of his daughter's features but even less of her charm. His gaze swept over Pendragon as if she were something stuck to the bottom of his boot.

My stomach tightened. I stayed close to Pendragon's side as the door clicked shut behind us.

Headmaster Kim cleared his throat. "I don't believe introductions are required. We are gathered here today to discuss the conduct of Blake Drakharrow's triad during the Consort Games. There are questions regarding the actions of his consorts, specifically the lack of cooperation between them, as well as several broken rules. Consequences must be determined."

My heart was already pounding. Clearly Regan's father was here to act as her representative to Kim. And ours? Good old Uncle Viktor.

There was no way I wanted Viktor defending Pendragon. I was here for her. I'd speak for her. If there were penalties to be paid, I'd take them upon myself. No one would harm a hair on her head.

Headmaster Kim was turning towards Regan. "Miss Pansera, a great deal of this centers around your conduct so let's begin with you. Would you care to explain your actions during the Games?"

Regan lifted her chin defiantly. "Explain? What's to explain? I did what I had to do," she said, her voice edged with prideful anger. "I wasn't going to sit back and watch while she–" She narrowed her eyes at Pendragon. "–made a mockery of our traditions. She doesn't belong in Blake's triad and she doesn't belong at Bloodwing." She looked over at Viktor. "With all respect, Lord Drakharrow, she never has and I hope the Games have proven this once and for all. She only survived because of me." She shot a glance at Pendragon, her eyes full of poison. "Did I want to cooperate with her? No, of course not! I wasn't about to trust my life to her incompetence."

Pendragon's hands were curled into fists by her side. I could see her shoulders shaking.

Everything Regan said had been lies.

Was Pendragon going to point that out? If she didn't, I would, I decided.

I took a step forward. "With all due respect to Miss Pansera," I said–in other words, none whatsoever. I turned to look at Regan, my eyes holding hers. "I'd be fully sympathetic to her dilemma if I didn't happen to know for a fact that every word out of her mouth was a lie. We all know that. We were as good as there. We saw exactly what happened. Miss Pansera–" I saw Regan stiffen a little more each time I used her title and not her first name. "Abandoned my consort and went off without her, leaving her to navigate the first challenge alone. It was only thanks to the selfless actions of Visha Vaidya and Evander Sylvain that my consort made it across at all." Giving Evander any credit was a little rich, but I figured mentioning his name wouldn't hurt. After all, the Sylvains were another powerful highblood family. "And what did Miss Pansera do next? Did she go to Miss Pendragon, apologize, and offer her assistance for the rest of the Games? No. She underhandedly and cowardly enlisted the help of two other consorts to try to murder Miss Pendragon."

Lord Pansera cut me off. "My daughter acted with the strength and resolve of a true highblood," he said, his voice firm. He refused to look at me. "She was placed in a completely untenable situation, paired with an unworthy blightborn girl who should never have been allowed to participate in those Games, let alone serve as a consort to an archon of one of our noblest families. If you ask me, that error is where the real problem lies."

He swept his gaze across the room, from Headmaster Kim to my uncle. "Lord Drakharrow, I understand the dilemma you faced that day in the Keep, with the heads of the other four houses all watching to see how you would react to this strange girl's arrival. But Medra Pendragon, this supposed dragon rider –" He fairly spat the words. "–is the reason things went wrong in the first place. She's the reason my daughter almost died. She lured us all in with blightborn trickery. There is nothing noble about her. And as even she admitted that first day, she is useless–for despite what we all may wish, there are no dragons and there never will be again. My daughter's triad has been doomed to failure from the moment it was formed, from the moment you allowed the blightborn girl to take up a place here where she does not belong. If you want to ensure the future success of your nephew and my daughter, I insist you cut her loose now. Expunge her from Sangratha." He turned to rest his eyes on Pendragon. "Execution is too good for her, as far as the Pansera family is concerned."

I growled low in my throat. "Watch yourself. If anyone deserves to be cut loose, it's your treacherous daughter."

I scanned the room. "Who requested the Crown of Bones be used on Pendragon?" I looked over at Regan. "It was you, wasn't it? I want you to admit it. You purposely tried to sabotage your fellow consort. You did so repeatedly, over and over. Every act of disloyalty you committed towards Pendragon was an act of disloyalty towards me and my house."

I could only hope Viktor would see it that way, too.

I could hardly stand to look at Regan. We'd grown up together. Our parents had been friends. Now the sight of her filled me with nothing but loathing. Had I really ever let that snake into my bed?

There was a tense, uncomfortable silence as Regan stared back at me, refusing to confess.

"It doesn't matter," Headmaster Kim finally interjected. "It doesn't matter who requested its use. The Crown of Bone was used fairly. We were within our rights to allow it. And your consort survived. That's all that matters."

I felt Pendragon tremble at my side. Yes, she'd survived. But what about her friend, Naveen? I knew she had to be thinking about him.

At least now she knew that the Crown of Bone had nothing to do with me. Its use had been cruel and monstrous. Even for fucking highbloods.

Regan's face twisted in frustration. "You think you're better than me, don't you Blake? Why, you're the biggest cheat of all. You used your own blood on her. Do you want to tell everyone about that ?"

I'd known this was coming.

The air in the room took on a greater chill.

I felt my uncle's gaze hone in on me, razor sharp, even though I knew Marcus must have already told him what I'd done. Still, he stayed silent. I wondered what he was hoping the outcome of this hearing would be exactly. It was evident he had his own objectives in mind as usual.

I glanced down at the flame-haired woman by my side. I longed to wrap my arm around Pendragon's waist and hold her against me, giving her my strength, steadying her.

But I settled for going on the offense. "What of it? It was my right to protect my consort. Even if it was from her co-consort. I did what I had to do and I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"If there's to be a punishment for what Blake did," Pendragon said, stepping forward, her voice cutting through the tension in the room. "Let it be mine to accept. I only did what was necessary to survive. I was desperate. I didn't want to go up against Regan. I didn't want to hurt anyone. I met with Regan before the Games and asked her to work with me. I truly tried. When she and Gretchen and Quinn came after me, I defended myself. But I tried to show restraint."

I couldn't help it. I chuckled. "You certainly did. Far more than most would have."

And now her restraint might actually pay off. If she'd dared to kill a highblood consort back on that island...

Headmaster Kim glared at me. But I knew he was thinking the same thing. She'd shown more self-control than any highblood in the room would have.

"It wasn't until Regan had no other choice that she agreed to work together," Pendragon continued. "And even then I had a choice. I could have left her alone in that dome to die when she was overwhelmed by the...creature. But I didn't. I helped her fight that monster. I didn't abandon her when I had the chance. Even though I know she'd have abandoned me."

I felt a rush of pride. What she spoke of was mercy. Not a trait typically valued at Bloodwing. Still, I wondered if Lord Pansera understood how close he'd come to losing his daughter because of her own petty selfishness.

I didn't see a thank you forming on his lips though. He wasn't about to stoop to thank a blightborn, no matter what she'd done for his family.

Kim was watching us carefully, his fingers steepled over his desk. "Typically, an archon strengthening a blightborn consort with his blood would not be condoned in the games. But nor would it have been necessary in the first place, for consorts are encouraged to help one another. In this case, many other rules had been broken first. Perhaps the first and foremost, the one which governs consort behavior. I've interviewed a number of Miss Pansera's friends. They've all testified that she was absolutely determined to refuse to assist Miss Pendragon in any way." He glanced at me. "I presume you learned of your consort's defiance beforehand?"

"I did. I learned of it and acted to thwart it," I said.

Kim's eyes flared with something like approval, which surprised me. "Very well. I see no reason to punish Medra Pendragon or Blake Drakharrow for what happened in the Games. Miss Pendragon acted primarily in self-defense. She drank her archon's blood at his command. Unlike Miss Pansera, she deferred to his instructions. She did not seek out an advantage intentionally."

I could feel Pendragon exhale beside me.

But Regan's fate still hung in the air. I wasn't about to let her off the hook so easily.

"Thank you, Headmaster Kim. Your judgment is fair as always," I said calmly. "However, that leaves Miss Pansera's punishment to still be determined. Before you discuss that matter, let me state now, before all of you, that I refuse to accept Miss Pansera as my consort any longer. She betrayed me and my triad. I invoke the Right of Dissolution. I hereby end our betrothal."

Regan's face paled. Her father's eyes darkened with fury.

"Tread carefully, boy," Lord Pansera growled.

"Silence, Pansera." My uncle spoke for the first time. "The boy is within his rights."

Part of me was shocked that Viktor wasn't contradicting me, that he wasn't going to try to persuade me not to cut Regan loose.

I leaned forward. "Your daughter betrayed me, Lord Pansera. She defied me."

Lord Pansera slammed his hands down onto the back of Regan's chair. I watched her jump. "You can't just throw my daughter away like she's nothing! My daughter has been loyal to you and to your family..."

"No," I cut him off. "I beg you to say no more about loyalty. Your daughter has no loyalty to anyone but herself and I think you know that. Good luck finding her a new archon."

Regan shot out of her chair, her face contorted with fury. "You can't do this. You don't understand, Blake. Everything I did, I was doing it for you. For us ! I wanted things to be like before. Don't throw it all away. Not for that blightborn bitch!"

"I'm not," I snapped. "I'm not throwing anything away that's worth having. Nothing but you, Regan."

Her lips quivered in anger.

"Miss Pansera." Headmaster Kim's voice was icy. "Sit back down." He turned his head towards me. "Very well. Blake, if your uncle makes no complaint, I will accept your request." He looked over at Viktor. My uncle gave a slight nod. "Let the betrothal between Blake Drakharrow and Regan Pansera be dissolved. My secretary will notify the Sanctum and have the records adjusted accordingly."

Kim's eyes shifted to Pendragon. "But we are not through with Miss Pansera's hearing. By highblood law, the death penalty may be invoked for her actions in the Games. Miss Pendragon, as the injured party, you may invoke the Right of Retribution. Do you wish to do so?"

Every eye in the room was suddenly on Pendragon.

"I..." she started to say.

But Lord Pansera cut her off. "Absolutely not, Headmaster. Go no further with this, I warn you. What you propose is an outrage. A blightborn cannot decide the fate of a highblood. If you are determined to continue this farce, I will have to demand the establishment of a tribunal."

We all knew what would happen then.

"No tribunal is required for a disciplinary hearing having to do with a triad when all parties attend this academy," Headmaster Kim said coldly. "But on the chance that you later wish to question these proceedings at the highest level, allow me to alter my original question to one that I believe no tribunal would take issue with." He looked over at me. "Blake Drakharrow, as archon of this triad until a few moments ago, the final decision will be left with you. Do you wish to invoke the Right of Retribution for Miss Pansera's actions against both you and your other consort in the Games?"

I stared back at him. If I said yes, Regan would be executed.

I looked down at the woman by my side. Without having to ask, I already knew what she'd want me to say.