Despite Twenty-six’s refusal to be healed by blood magic, his wounds sealed themselves and began mending more rapidly than they ever had before. Whatever Four had doo drive off his fever had obviously had a more widespread effect than intended.

  Twenty-six kept that information to himself, however. He trusted Four, for the most part. The prince had only attacked him so viciously to prove how far out of reach reveill y.

  What g Twenty-six was the way he kept sliding further into the blood drinker’s world. With every step, he sunk deeper into their filth. He knew he had to keep going, full sail, but every new corruption was another break from who he had been. He’d accepted that he would do whatever it took to redeem the blood debt for his people, but that didn’t make the disgust with himself any easier to swallow.

  The slide was made all the more fusing by the realization that two of those blood drinkers weren’t repulsive creatures of evil. Nine was a vicious, overactive child, but loyal to the death. Four had no self-trol, but he was haempted to appear.

  Four had asked him if they were friends.

  He thought back to Ueat. Strong, dependable, the embodiment of the raedr—a maelstrom to the dirters and a becalmed soul to his people. Araam had trusted Ueat with his life. Moreover, with his bride’s life.

  Twenty-six wouldn’t trust Four aloh anyone’s bride. But he might trust Four with her life.

  ***

  The first-year championship match pitted Fainst Nine, swordstaff against twin swords. Wagers iudent quarters were made solidly in Four’s favor. Nine was the only one who id money on himself, and there was some question as to whether the brat should even be allowed to bet si was an unprovable certainty that he’d stolen that money from one of them.

  Iaff quarters, gambling och wasn’t nearly as lopsided. Only two of the brat’s wins had beerange, one moment here, the unatably somewhere else sort that denoted blood magic. The majority of Nine’s matches had been won by skill. There was a wildo the little berserker most oppos didn’t know how to defend against. His attacks looked like mindless chopping, his parries like st-minute close shaves, but the masters and a few of the best third- and fourth-years spotted the dexterity iorm. Among the masters, the wagers were o on the close-rat for every three bets in favor of the prince.

  By that point, everybody who would stand still for five seds had heard that Nine’s extra lessons hung on winning this championship match. As far as the runt was ed, the lessons were over.

  Saint Daven’s money was on the prince.

  “You don’t want to back your sword student?” Malice asked, marking dow. In addition to being the advanced arithmetics lecturer, the Coffee Isnd master ehe side job of Thornfield’s unofficial staff bookmaker.

  Saint Daven shook his head. “Four knows his weaknesses, and he’s seen how Nine uses his strengths. If the priries at all, Nine ’t beat him.”

  Izak had e to the same clusion. With his hopes of dropping out of the bracket early already dashed, and now that he would be fag his smaller, dumber, less experienced roommate in front of the whole school, he was going to have to win this absurd fake tour all ain. Since he was already in the final match, there wasn’t ara leisure time to be gained by losing, anyway.

  The match wasn’t as one-sided as Izak guessed it would be. He won, but narrowly. Only a st-moment lockup of the runt’s blood energies saved him, and only because it came from Nine’s blind right side.

  Luckily for the prince, Master Fright was between them announg the victor when Nine broke free of the immobilization. The master caught the brunt of the brat’s fury before Nine could unleash it on the prince.

  Fright’s new doublet was ruined, and the twin swords were fiscated for the remainder of the spring tour.

  “Guess that means sword lessons is fiscated, too,” Nine said, fixing Saint Daven with a sullehat came mostly from the left eye.

  “Ever heard of weighted swords?” the ons master asked.

  Nine spat in the mud. “I know I don’t much like the sound of ’em, me.”

  “By the end of the day, you’re not going to like the feel of them either. They’re iron bars with swrips. Should help you put a little more strength behind those wild swings.”

  “Be better if you taught me how to keep outta those lockups Four does. They’re bad medie.”

  “I don’t know if that’s something that be taught. It es down to the resistor’s strength of will versus the caster’s power.”

  “Strength a’ will! I got so much strength a’ will it like to e!”

  “Like to choke us all,” Saint Daven muttered.

  “Show me how to do it.”

  “I don’t have anywhere he power someone wielding royal blood magic does.”

  “That don’t matter none. I’m a fair study, me. I’ll learn on your weak stuff and puff it up ime I’m fag Four. What’d’ya say?”

  “Put some effort into the weighted swords, and I’ll think about it.”

  ***

  “We are friends,” Twenty-six said when the prince of the dirters returo their room after the te meal.

  Four stopped halfway to his bunk and shot Twenty-six a bemused grin. “I’m gd to hear it.”

  “The blood drinker magic you used during our matuch effort did it cost you?”

  “Less than someone who wao kill me and avenge his people would hope.”

  “Will you teach me to overe that blood magic attack as well?”

  Four folded his tall form into his bunk and leaned cross-legged against the wall. “I don’t think there is any overing it. There’s just being torn to shreds.”

  “It was an illusion. It left corresponding wounds, but the on was not real. There must be a way to overe it.”

  “That’s debatable. I’ve used the full measure of that attaore people than even know it’s possible, and none of them have ever mao survive it, let alone fight it off.”

  “I don’t o fight it off, just—”

  “Just to keep moving long enough to kill the dirter king,” Four finished for him, rolling his dark eyes. “Yes, yes, I know, Nine knows, the spiders and the cockroaches know. We all listen to you talk in your sleep about how great death is.”

  If he let Fet off the subject, he would never get a straight answer.

  “Will you teach me or not?” Twenty-six demanded.

  The priared down his him. “You’ll be up to two favors. That’s a dangerous sum to owe royalty.”

  “Blood drinkers don’t assist their friends without pensation?”

  “Maybe the ooo stupid to i a valuable pirate asset to themselves.”

  Twenty-six chose his words carefully. “I will agree if the sed favor covers all types of blood magic you know now and may discover iure.”

  “I’d better make it a good ohen,” Four said.