#Chapter 17: Bloodstains

Raven I must be crazy, I thought as I ran those laps. Outwardly, I complained nonstop about the punishment. I made sure to throw Eric and Neil and even occasionally Castor whatever insults would come to mind as I passed them on the track. But on the inside… I couldn’t stop thinking about the way his lips had twitched up at the corners. Or the way his wrists had felt so warm beneath my fingertips as I’d pressed them to the ground. Or the feeling of him pulling my body across his. He had taken it easy on me, even though he said he wouldn’t. Even when he had flipped us so that I was below him, he had moved me gently. I knew better, of course. Maybe he just didn’t want to go against the rules of our pact. Maybe he couldn’t go against our pact, and had been physically unable to go as hard as he’d said he would. Still, it was difficult not to smile every time I turned my back to him. I began to wonder if that dream I’d had had impacted my brain more