Mark of the Dagger (The Marked Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

disappoints me. I don't give a shit what those other kids say Dani and neither should you. So what if you’re a half blood? You are still good blood. You think this happens a lot? It doesn't. You are the first mixed blood marked. That has to mean something."
    "They think I'll fail," she said quietly. "And I know this sounds childish, but none of them like me. I haven't made any friends and it's hard. I hate it, but I know I'm supposed to be focusing on work, so I try. Still, a part of me thinks they are right. What if I'm not good enough for this? I mean obviously I don’t want them to be right, and I've been busting myself on weights and on the track but I just don't know what else to do. All these kids grew up knowing what they were. They had a chance to prepare and I guaranty you that they have been unofficially training for this their entire lives."
    "You are right. They have had time to prepare and you haven't and that puts you at a disadvantage. That's another reason I took this job. I know your mom and I made a mistake in not telling you what we are and I'm sorry for that. But I want to help you Dani. If you still want to be here and you still want to learn I will help you." He reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder.
    "And you won’t fail unless you let yourself. You need to get out of that mentality. Just forget about what they are saying and what they think. If you work hard enough you can do anything." He felt ridiculous giving a sixteen year old this kind of speech but it was necessary. "And I'm sorry that they are giving you a hard time. I know it can be hard, feeling alone, not having any friends here. I know it isn't the same, but you'll always have me kid."
    He pulled her to him for a hug and held on tight while Dani finally let herself go. She cried into his chest like she did when she was three. He knew better than to try to soothe her with meaningless words and just let her cry. She would be all the better for it when she was finished. When she finally pulled back she gave him a watery smile. "I don't want to give up. I'm not a quitter."
    He pushed her bangs out of her face and checked his watch. "Come on, let’s go to the gym and we can go over the basic fighting stances I taught last week."
     
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    Weeks went by and nothing had changed. Dani still heard the whispers and taunts. Some of the kids growing more outspoken than others. Only now, the rumors running through campus about her escalated, all different and varying. Some about how she had to pay to get them to let her in the school, there were talks of bribery and seductions, one even reported an affair with Headmaster Charleston. The stories circulating were appalling. Again, she ignored them as best she could and the more ridiculous they were the easier to shake off.
    She kept training, her extra practices with Joe were paying off. Although, more times than not, she would leave his private sessions bruised and sore. He once kicked her so hard that he broke one of her ribs and she had to go see Adele in the infirmary. Though it was a quick fix, it still hurt like the dickens.
    Even though the training lessons with Joe were private, they almost always had an audience.  It bothered her at first because she didn’t want her classmates to see her fumble, but she couldn’t expect the gym to always be empty.  So she sucked it up and ignored them as best as she could, focusing only on what Joe was teaching her.  Now that she was getting more confidant in her abilities it was easier to tune out the excess noise and ignore their taunts.  Most of them waited in anticipation of her failure but there was a certain pair of blue eyes always focused intently on her every move that was harder to ignore.  Joe had offered to reprimand the hecklers once, though he listened to Dani when she told him it would only make things worse and left it alone.
    Joe and Dani were in the gym now, circling around and waiting for the other to strike