from Gemma. Then again . . . it was just so Gemma, wasn’t it?
Sprenger sat forward in his big chair, hands gripping the arms, his rage barely contained.
“What did you say to me?” Did he really want her to repeat it? Because . . . that seemed a mistake. Quinn knew Gemma. She would definitely say it all again. Happily.
“I said fuck you!” See? “Want me to say it a few more times?”
By the unholiest of gods, this was going to get nasty. And to be honest, Quinn couldn’t wait.
“I was going to give you a chance—” Sprenger began.
“Give me a chance for what? I did nothing wrong. It was a grand master—a true grand master, by the way—who sent me out. I was following orders as I’ve always been trained to do. So there’s nothing to punish me for. And if you think Beatrix is really an ally, you’re a fool. She will take from you everything she can, and then she will destroy you.”
“You know nothing about her.”
“Very true. She’s just my sister,” Gemma said with great sarcasm, then tilted her head to the side and opened her eyes wide to illustrate how stupid Sprenger was being. A move he didn’t appreciate at all.
“This discussion is over,” Sprenger announced. “I have made my decision.”
“You can’t just remove me from the order without due cause.”
“I can do anything I want.”
“Really? Is that written down somewhere? Brothers?” she called out to a group of well-armed monks clustered around a desk filled with parchments, scrolls, and ancient tomes. “Is it written down somewhere that the grand master can do just anything he wants?”
“That is it!” Sprenger launched himself from his chair and marched down the steps until he was standing in front of Gemma, towering over her. “You are out!”
“You can’t throw me out without justification. Trust me, that was one of the first things I checked when I committed my heart and soul to Morthwyl.”
“Except that’s just what I did! I’ve thrown you out! For gross insubordination.”
“This isn’t the Order of Silent Prayer and Sacrifice, Grand Master. You need more than that to toss me out on my ass.”
“I’ll think of something.”
“You want something, you arrogant fuck—”
Thomassin buried his head in his hands and moaned, “Oh, Gemma.”
“—then . . . Challenge.”
There were shocked gasps around the room and more elders dropped their heads in their hands or rolled their eyes or simply closed their eyes and shook their heads.
Sprenger gawked down at Gemma. “What did you say?”
“Challenge.”
“You can’t challenge me. You’re not of high enough rank.”
“So? You can’t just throw me out. And yet here we are!”
With no answer, the grand master just stared at her.
That’s when Gemma asked, “What’s the matter? Afraid I’ll finish taking off that jaw?”
The backhand took them all by surprise. Blood from Gemma’s mouth and nose splattered Quinn and Laila, but they still managed to catch Keran before she could get her hands on Sprenger.
Slowly, ignoring the blood pouring down her lips and chin, Gemma looked up at the grand master and spat out, “Challenge.”
“I will not accept a challenge from some low-born, low-rank nobody!”
“Hey!” Gemma was quick to remind him. “I’m a princess now, bitch!”
“Brother Gemma!” Thomassin barked again.
“There’s another option,” Master General Ragna said as she made her slow, methodical way across the room, inserting herself between Gemma and Sprenger to prevent any more unnecessary hitting. “Brother Gemma’s rank doesn’t matter if she’s someone else’s champion.”
The anger that now flashed across Sprenger’s face was white hot and dangerous and, Quinn was guessing, much deeper than what he’d felt toward Gemma. He was so angry that he grabbed Ragna’s upper arm and yanked her close.
He snarled between his teeth, “What do you think you’re doing? We discussed this.”
A few of Ragna’s soldiers were in the chamber with her and the ends of their spears hit the ground. It was a simple gesture but most of the monks backed away. Sprenger didn’t seem to notice; his gaze was locked on Ragna’s face. She, however, was too busy staring at where his fingers gripped her arm.
“I would strongly suggest,” Ragna said, “that you think about where you put your hands . . . Grand Master.”
It was a simple statement, quietly made in her effortless, calm way. But that was where the threat came from. In that calm way that told Sprenger she would destroy him in ways that the rest of them could only dream about. Sprenger wisely released her and turned his back. A risky