House of Strife (Poisoned Houses Book 4) Read online

  “Close.” Felix reaches past me to tuck my thumbs in tighter. “Like this.” Then he circles my wrists and pulls my hands down to my hips, fists faced up. His foot nudges against mine. “Widen your stance. You’re unstable right now.”

  Face on fire, I shift my right foot out farther. “Like this?”

  Nikola steps forward, close enough that his light scent fills my senses. His hands settle on my waist. “You want your feet shoulder-width apart.” His shoe nudges against the inside of my right sneaker, pushing my leg out farther. “Like this.”

  “Right,” Felix growls, and he grips my hips once more, right below where my fists rest. “Most of the power in a punch comes from your hips.” His hold on me tightens, stopping me from moving. “Try to hit Nikola like this.”

  “What?” I try to look back at him, but between the two men, I’m firmly stuck in place. I stare at the hollow of Nikola’s throat. “I’m not going to punch Nikola.”

  “Don’t worry, you won’t hurt him like this.” Confidence fills Felix’s voice, which irritates me before he adds, “Don’t go full force, just a light tap is fine.”

  Nikola eyes him warily as he steps back, his fingers trailing over my waist as his arms drop back to his sides. “It’s fine, Caitlyn. It’s a simple lesson in form.”

  Reluctant, I eye the distance between us. He’s well within reach. “In the stomach?”

  His head dips. “If that’s where you’re most comfortable.”

  “I’d aim lower,” Felix mutters in my ear.

  I ignore him, my hands rising from my hips. “Just a light punch.”

  Nikola nods in agreement. “I’m ready.”

  He doesn’t look ready. He looks perfectly calm, as if prepared for my first punch to be underwhelming, which it will be. I don’t want to hit Nikola, but both he and Felix seem determined I do so.

  “Okay, here it comes.” Holding my fists in front of my chest, my right arm snaps out to thunk against Nikola’s stomach and bounce off.

  He doesn’t even have the grace to wince. “Good first effort.”

  Behind me, Felix snorts, and I elbow him hard in the gut. He grunts, as he should. I’m good with my elbows.

  With Felix distracted, Nikola reaches out and tugs me to stand in front of him so I now face Felix. He grips my waist, his shoes knocking against mine. “Resume the stance.”

  The command shivers down my spine, and I widen my feet to shoulder width, fists back at my hips.

  Nikola hums with approval. “This is your base stance, where you’re most stable.”

  When he tries to rock me back and forth, I stay in place with little effort and nod my understanding.

  “Now, as Felix just demonstrated, punching from this position is okay, but you lack power.” Amusement fills his voice. “Now, you’re going to punch Felix.”

  “Great,” I say without enthusiasm.

  Felix scowls but steps up, which is only fair since he put Nikola in the same position.

  My hands lift back to my chest, but Nikola catches them and moves them down to my sides. “Not that way. You’re going to punch from your hip this time. As you extend your arm, you roll it into an upright position.” His palm cups the back of my hand, his fingers enfolding my wrist, and he brings it forward slowly, straightening it out along the way. “Like this.”

  “Got it.” I drop my fists back into position.

  His hands move to my hips. “And while you do that, you’re going to step forward with your right foot.”

  His thigh bumps against mine from behind, and he walks me through the motion while Felix patiently waits.

  “Got it?” Nikola asks once we return to the beginning stance.

  “I think so.” I practice it a couple more times, my fist coming short of Felix’s stomach.

  Felix steps within range, his hands loose at his sides. “Go for it, Sprinkles.”

  I eye him. “You sure?”

  Already, I can feel how this method of punching will be more powerful.

  Felix smirks. “I think I can take it.”

  I don’t wait for him to say it again. My right foot steps forward, hip pivoting as my fist snaps out.

  Felix catches it against his palm before I can connect and waggles a finger under my nose. “You’re not supposed to try to hurt me, Sprinkles.”

  I glance up at him through my lashes. “But you seemed so eager for it.”

  Nikola laughs softly. “I think you’re ready for the machine.”

  Felix nods and uses my captured fist to pull me forward as he spins, his arm looping around me to create a trap of my own arm. “Which will it be?”

  I frown at the machines in front of us. “What’s the difference between the rectangles and the cylinders?”

  Nikola steps up on my other side. “The cylinders are for broader range of movement and allow you to use your legs, too.”

  “Rectangle it is.” I point to the one right in front of me. “That one looks like it’s asking for trouble.”

  “Very sinister,” Nikola agrees.

  Felix nods. “Totally looking for an ass-whooping.”

  I activate the foot panel, then step up to the machine, giving it my most intimidating stare. “Okay, you asked for this. Prepare for a beating.”

  And ignoring Felix and Nikola’s snickers, I let my first punch fly.

  Five Hours

  At the library after class on Thursday, Connor tugs me into one of the study cubicles and pulls our secret palm-port from his pants pocket. I returned it to him at breakfast this morning.

  My heart trips as soon as I see it. “Is there news?”

  Wordlessly, he passes over the device. On the screen, a group message displays.

  Skittles: Come tonight.

  Declan: I’ll be there.

  I curse quietly. We waited all week for something, but now that we’re so close to the weekend, meeting her tonight adds more stress. We already missed the last shift change, which means we can’t go until Lights-Out and we’ll have to return before Quarter-Light. Only two and a half hours to get there, find out what Skittles wants, then return.

  We’ll be cutting it close.

  “I can go alone,” Connor offers.

  I shake my head in instant refusal. “No, I’m going. I’m the one who made the agreement with Skittles. If I’m not present, she might try to renegotiate the cost of using her lift.”

  Connor takes the palm-port back and tucks it away. “Felix will want to go, too.”

  I nod in agreement. Even though Felix currently wants to punch Declan for planning to leave Leton without telling him, he’ll still want to help him. “That means asking Nikola to wear our wrist bands again.” Then I reconsider. “Maybe I can ask Myrrine to wear mine and Felix’s so it looks like we’re in my room. We’ve already established a pattern of him sleeping in there, so it will look less suspicious.”

  While Felix hasn’t been sleeping in my room this week, he’s stayed over often enough that it won’t look odd.

  Connor’s brows arch. “Will Myrrine be okay with that?”

  One side of my mouth kicks up. “As long as I ask her in front of Bastian. She wants to go with us, to see the rest of the city, but he’s restraining her so far.”

  He frowns. “She understands this isn’t a game, right?”

  “That’s what Bastian said when she asked.” I’m honestly not sure Myrrine understands the danger we’re in, or that her coming with us outside of the school will only add to that danger.

  She’s the first female halion allowed to attend school outside of the colony in generations, and the city of Leton is filled with full-blooded halion men who fled their existence in the lower-echelon of the colonies where it was unlikely they’d ever be lucky enough to be with a female of their race. From what I understand, the halion breeders in charge of maintaining their bloodlines don’t allow the men in the lower-echelon to procreate often.

  The lower-echelon is made up of laborers who lack the innate talent to rise to
even the first tier of their strict society. So, they leave the colonies to live in the stacked cities and create half-breeds with humans. The breeders ignore them unless something dire happens and they suddenly need more manual laborers. Then, they’re called back to the colonies, forced to leave their lovers and children behind.

  Myrrine, who comes from the highest echelon, probably doesn’t realize how many pure-blood halion men populate Leton. With our closer proximity to the Riellio and Rothven clans, we have a higher percentage than other stacked cities. She sees the few upper-class halion men who attend APA as a sample of the rest of the city, which just isn’t the case. Not to mention her looks.

  Even if people excused her pink hair as being a halfbreed, her opalescent skin would give her away. Something happens in the combination of human and halion DNA that allows for their odd hair color and eye color to pass to their children, as well as superior strength, speed, sight, and smell, but halion skin tone never appears in their halfbreed children. The Riellio’s opalescent, the Rothven’s luminous, diamond-dusted, the Kovhern’s gold, and the Troehan’s earthy green tones remain exclusive to purebloods.

  I shake my head. “It’s too dangerous to take her off level, even at Lights-Out.”

  “Agreed.” Connor takes his glasses off to rub his temples. “I feel like we’re spinning in place. I hope Skittles can give us a clue that will allow us to move forward.”

  I step closer to him. “It must be something important, right? For her to demand we come in person?”

  “Who knows with her.” He gives me a tired smile. “I’m going to aim for optimism.”

  With his glasses off, I notice the dark circles under his eyes for the first time. Concerned, I brush my fingers over his cheekbones. “Hey, you doing okay?”

  He catches one of my hands and turns his face into it, his lips against my palm. The deep breath he takes shakes a little. “I’m fine.”

  Despite the words, he doesn’t look fine. He looks worn down, tension in the way he holds himself. “Hey, didn’t we say we weren’t going to keep silent about things anymore? How late have you been staying up every night?”

  His grass-green eyes flicker to meet mine then away. “I can handle it.”

  Which isn’t an answer. Connor’s always in Nikola’s room when I head out to sleep for the night. I assumed he left after me to sleep, but now I question that.

  Worried, I pull my hand away. “I think you should sit tonight out. Leave Nikola with the folding-port. He can continue the research while you rest.”

  The muscles in his jaw jump as he clenches and unclenches his teeth. “I said I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re stretching yourself too thin. There’s four of us here. You’re taking on too much by yourself.” I narrow my eyes on him. “I’ll tell Nikola to lock you out of his room if I have to.”

  We keep the illegal folding-port there along with the rest of our contraband. If Connor can’t access the equipment, he’ll have no choice but to rest.

  His gaze hardens. “I’m not useless, and I’m not a child. I know my limits.”

  “You’re racing hot and about to blow your converter,” I snap. “You’re sitting this one out.”

  He flinches. “Don’t put me on the sidelines, Sparks. I can’t sit by and watch someone I care about get hurt when I’m capable of helping.”

  My heart instantly breaks for him. He sat by while Felix was kidnapped right in front of him. Despite the years that have passed since then, the failure obviously still burns.

  Nodding, I catch his hand and pull him out of the cubicle and back into the main study area. I grab both our satchels off our abandoned table, stuff our tablets inside, and head for the door.

  “Where are we going now?” Connor asks as he follows.

  “If you’re determined to come, then you’re going to nap now.” My pocket vibrates, and I release his hand to pull out my palm-port.

  Felix: Where are you going?

  It buzzes again with a new message before I can respond.

  Myrrine: Are you well?

  Myrrine: You barely worked on your paper.

  Myrrine: Should I return to the dorm?

  The palm-port practically jumps out of my hand as it vibrates again.

  Nikola: Has something come up?

  I message Myrrine back first since she’s the one most likely to come flying back to our room.

  Caitlyn: I’m fine. Connor and I are going to take a nap.

  Her response comes back instantly.

  Myrrine: I will knock loudly before entering.

  Caitlyn: That kind of defeats the purpose of a nap.

  Myrrine: I will not return until Quarter-Light

  I check the time. Quarter-Light is five hours away.

  Caitlyn: Thank you, but I don’t think we’ll sleep that long.

  Then I open a new group message, adding Connor, Felix, and Nikola.

  Caitlyn: Connor and I are napping for a few hours.

  Caitlyn: Meet in Nikola’s room at end of Star-Light.

  Not wanting to go into more detail on the school-issued device, I leave it at that. Asking to meet at almost two o’clock in the morning will tell them something has come up without needing to get specific right now, and anyone checking in on our messages will just assume we’re being young and carefree with our time.

  Everyone sends an affirmative, including Connor.

  When I give him an exasperated look, he shrugs. “Everyone else was replying. I didn’t want to be left out.”

  I give him another look. “But you’re right next to me.”

  He tilts his head. “Since you said we’re napping, does that mean I’m sleeping in your room? Have I finally won the prize of a sleepover with Sparks?”

  A blush instantly heats my cheeks. I hadn’t thought past the point of making sure Connor rested, which meant watching over him to ensure he didn’t get up to any mischief while he was supposed to be asleep.

  I turn to face forward once more. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s just sleeping.”

  He jogs forward a step to catch my hand in his. “I look forward to it.”

  My blush deepens, and I stare straight ahead as we walk outside and cover the distance to the dorms.

  Once inside my room, I feel even more flustered and spend too much time messing with the holo-window over Myrrine’s and my desks. The damn thing is set to Day-Light, with a view of the courtyard, but I know there’s a way to switch it to sleep mode. I’ve seen Felix and Nikola do that to theirs in the middle of the day.

  “Here, let me.” Connor steps up behind me, his body pressing to my back as he reaches over my shoulder. “The switch is behind the air controls.”

  A second later, the panel flickers and dims to a low, blue glow meant to encourage restfulness. As shadows cover the room, I realize we should have gotten ready to sleep before turning out the lights, then realize something even more important.

  I turn as he steps back. “We didn’t grab you any sleepwear. I don’t think Bastian’s will fit you.”

  “Oh.” In the darkness, he glances from me to the bed. “I didn’t think of that. I don’t wear pajamas when I’m in my room.”

  “You don’t?” I frown at that. He’s always worn a set of Nikola’s the few times we all camp out in his room. “What do you usually sleep in?”

  “Ah.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Just my boxers. Actually, that’s how most of us sleep when you’re not there.”

  “Really?” I try to picture sleeping in just my underwear and shake my head. “If I did that, then Myrrine would, too, and she already walks around naked every morning.”

  He chuckles softly. “I can go get my pajamas. I’m sure I have a pair in my dresser.”

  “No, it’s okay. I want you to sleep well, and if you’re not comfortable in pajamas, I don’t want you wearing them.” I step past him to feel my way to the dresser at the foot of my bed. “Go ahead and climb in. I’m just going to change real fast.”
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  He steps toward my bed. “Are you sure?”

  I frown as I pull open the drawer with my sleepwear. “It’s not like you’ll be naked.”

  “Right. Okay.” The rustle of cloth fills the room, and I glance up once more.

  Connor stands in front of the holo-window, his body silhouetted by the dim light as he shrugs out of his button-up shirt. My mouth dries as he twists to set his shirt on my desktop and the blue glow paints across his muscular torso. The black brand of House Williams that covers his entire back undulates as he moves, the dim lights adding to the effect, making the trio of dragons writhe together.

  When he reaches for his belt, I turn swiftly away. Connor didn’t invite me to watch him undress, and I’m not a voyeur. Of course, he didn’t tell me to look away, either. I peek back over my shoulder at the sound of his zipper lowering and my pulse quickens, warmth suffusing my body.

  Does he want me to watch? Felix would, but Connor isn’t Felix. Connor is more reserved, quieter about his desires, though always open to talk about them if I ask.

  “Do you—” Shocked by my husky tone, I stop to clear my throat. “Do you go to the gym? I had fun with Felix and Nikola yesterday.”

  He steps out of his pants and folds them. “I do. I prefer the outside track over the boxing room, though.”

  I turn back around. “When do you go?”

  “Before breakfast.”

  My fingers tremble on the buttons on my shirt. “So early.”

  “Fewer people. And I never know what the day will bring. You can join me some time.”

  “Is it better than the exercise spheres?” I shrug out of my shirt. “I hate those.”

  “Infinitely better. They have a nice setup, and nothing beats the feel of the wind in your face as you run. It’s one of the things I loved about the disc-bike. Racing forward, the world flying past. It was freeing. You can come once. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to come again.”

  I laugh as I undo my belt. “That’s what Felix said about boxing.”

  Warm hands slip over my bare shoulders. “I’m not Felix.”

  My breath catches, and I freeze. “I know that.”