Evaline:
I watched as his smile vanished at my words.
"You think this is punishment?" he asked while stepping closer, and it took some effort on my part to stay still and not take a step back. "Punishment would be dragging your name through the mud and getting you expelled. Punishment would be telling everyone at the Academy exactly who you are. But I haven't done that. Not yet."
I swallowed hard.
"I'm here to learn," I said quietly. "Not to fight with you."
"You are here to serve," he corrected. "You'll fetch reports, attend meetings, write summaries, and stay where I want you to. That's all I require."
"And if I say no?" I challenged before I could stop myself.
He shrugged to my surprise. "You won't. Because this internship matters to you. Because you are trying to build something, aren't you? A future. A new life. And you are smart enough to know that making me any further mad at you, than I already am, won't get you there."
He was right.
Damn him, but he was right.
