I scoffed. “Hardly. He’s still a jerk. The biggest one.”
Justin wiggled his brows. “Could’ve fooled the entire academy.”
I stood up, brushing my hands on my pants. “Don’t believe everything you see, Justin. And definitely not everything you hear.”
As I walked away, I glanced over at Kross across the field.
He was drinking water, his hair damp with sweat, jaw set like stone.
I had to admit it.
He was keeping his part of the deal. He was training me—Vaughn—harder than anyone had ever trained me. Brutally, mercilessly.
And that made it harder. Because every time I found myself admiring him, being drawn in by him, reminded of how he kissed me—he did something sharp and cold to snap me back to reality.
And maybe that’s what I needed.
Because I was still Vanya. And he still didn’t know.
