Chapter 7
Clementine:
“Ugh!” Yorick burst open the door ahead of everyone, storming inside and throwing his jacket against the wall. Troy brushed past me, clearly aggressive. I almost tripped because of him.
Next in line was Haiden, who gave me a deadly glare as he stepped in and stood by the door. His body language was hostile, a clear sign of the threat in his presence.
While I hesitated and stayed by the door, Ian stepped into the room.
I was afraid of what would happen to me once I got in there. They will lash out like crazy. Looking around the hallway, watching other troupes hug each other to celebrate their survival and admission, I sighed and finally stepped into the room.
As expected, Haiden slammed the door shut behind me, and my body jumped from the noise. I pulled my arms close to my chest, shaken by the sudden sound.
All eyes were now on me. Haiden stepped in front of me, cursing under his breath. The fury in his eyes was unmistakable. If he could, he would’ve devoured me alive right then and there. Even swallowing my saliva down my dry throat hurt.
“You pushed me to the red line. What did you expect to happen? That I’d just leave the squad?” Ian started coming at me. He was so tall, I looked like an ant next to him. “Fuicking botch,” he grunted, his hands tight in a fist, making the others scoff as they realized I had messed up even worse on the ground.
“It was an accident,” I said hesitantly, noticing how they all stared at me.
“Her voice gives me a headache,” Troy muttered, the same Troy who used to ask me to sing for him when we were kids.
“Oh, it was an accident?” Ian asked, putting his hand on me as he pushed me back. “I wonder if I’m good at such accidents too. Be careful what’s coming your way now,” Ian added, and it suddenly made sense to me. This was exactly why I wanted him out of the room. But now, standing among these men, each of them hating me for one reason or another, I couldn’t help but wonder why my stupid brain didn’t work in time. I should have stood under another flag because getting Ian out wouldn’t have saved me from trouble anyway. There were three more who hated me the most.
Yorick, who had been grunting with his hair clutched in his fists, finally turned around and grabbed my shirt by the neckline, slamming my back against the wall without warning.
“Argh!” A groan escaped my lips from the pain, but he shook my body by the grip on my shirt, forcing me to focus on him.
“You killed one of us. Give us one good reason to trust you when we’re up north fighting monsters?” he hissed in my face. I noticed the color of his eyes.
There was once a time when I used to stare into those eyes and be madly in love. He was so kind back then, but everything changed. And he blamed me for it.
Now, there was nothing but hatred in his gaze. They weren’t even treating me like a woman. They didn’t see me as one.
“He’s right. What’s going to stop her from betraying us at such a sensitive time?” Ian, with his own grudge against me, added fuel to the fire. Yorick’s grip on my neckline tightened.
“She fucking killed an innocent girl,” Haiden kept shaking his head, looking disgusted as he pointed at me.
“I didn’t. I offered her help. She didn’t want my help, but instead, she wanted all my flags,” I tried to explain, but Yorick gave my shirt another harsh jerk, and I fell silent.
“What makes you think we’ll believe anything that comes out of your nasty mouth?” he hissed in my face, making me swallow my tears.
“I know her—and I know she would never offer help to anyone. She definitely stole her flags and left her to die in that ditch,” Troy yelled, stepping up like he was ready to punch me.
“I say we get rid of her,” came Haiden’s voice, and I wasn’t surprised.
My eyes moved to Troy, who was now under everyone’s watch, waiting for his reaction.
“Or we could just get her killed the first day up north,” he finally spoke. His hatred for me had crossed all the lines the others had already crossed.
“Say something. Beg us to let you go,” Haiden screamed from the side while I stayed silent, my body tense. Every now and then, I blinked the tears away, but not once did I beg them to let me go.
“She thinks she’s too strong. She’s the man,” Yorick chuckled in my face, tossing me so hard I landed on one of their beds.
They all rushed over, standing around the bed, not letting me get off.
“Hmm, she likes being a man?” Ian joked, looking me over from head to toe.
“She does. She hates it when someone points out she’s a woman, even though she identifies as one. She doesn’t like being feminine, or the idea of being in love and loyal. Somehow, she thinks it’s insulting,” Yorick said. I had no idea what he was going on about.
This was the kind of bullying they did to me. I never got upset about being called a woman. But it was true, I didn’t want to serve any man or mate.
“Ah! Then how about this—” Haiden smirked, “She’s our slave in the room and a fellow crusader outside p>
I watched them smirk and share secret glances, as if there was a deeper meaning to what he’d just said.
“You wish,” I hissed under my breath.
“Oh, you will too. Look, it’s not easy to have any fun once you’re a Crusader. We won’t have women around. We had Riv—she was down to get dirty with us, but thanks to you, she’s gone now,” Yorick hissed, making it very clear why he was so angry that Riv had died.
“But you’re here. And we don’t care how ugly or filthy you are, we just want pleasure. So, make up your mind. If you want better treatment, you know what to rub—like a genie lamp—and your wishes will be granted p>
He smirked, his hand brushing over his groin as he finished his sentence.
I started hyperventilating. The thought of serving men for pleasure, something I had always been against, was now being pushed on me as a means of survival?
All their faces showed they agreed with Yorick.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to voice my disgust right then, because a loud sound from the speaker pulled everyone’s attention.
“Crusaders, you will now be transferred to the Ravecrest Academy Dorm rooms, from where you will begin your missions up north. You have five minutes to gather your belongings p>
With that, the door burst open and in came the Lurkers, making sure everyone was getting ready.