Free Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

said,” she interrupted. “I’ve changed my mind. Geniuses are entitled. This is the right thing to do. This is the new Merit.” She hugged me quickly, then stepped back. “Kick his ass, dead girl.”
    Ethan joined us, and made a gallant bow. When he straightened again, he clucked me beneath the chin. “Don’t lose that courage now, Initiate.”
    “It wasn’t my courage—the vampire challenged you.”
    “You are the vampire, Merit, now and forever. But sometimes the mind needs a chance to catch up with the genetics,” he allowed.
    I cast a worried glance to the balcony. “I hope that happens soon.”
    He chuckled. “I’m not going to hurt you, and despite the fact that you’ve broken virtually every rule in the Canon , I’ll make you a deal.”
    I faced him again, forced myself to meet his green eyes, despite the trembling of my hands. “What?”
    “If you manage to land a blow, I’ll relieve you of your obligations to me.”
    It was the opposite of what I’d have predicted—which was something of the “If you survive this, I’ll let you heal before punishing you for challenging me” variety. By those standards, it was a good deal, if improbable-sounding. I searched his face, not sure if he was serious. “How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
    Ethan lifted his gaze to the balcony of vampires above us. “They know.”
    When our gazes met again, I nodded. I handed the crumpled death threat, which I’d been too busy being stupid to bring up, to Mallory, tugged at the bottom of my T-shirt, and followed Ethan into the middle of the room. He turned and bowed slightly. “One hit. That’s all you need to do.”
    With no further ado, he kicked, an elegant roundhouse that would have brought his bare foot across my face had I not fallen back. I hit the mat on my back, my breath rushing out with the impact.
    As I lay there, the gallery tittering above me, I wasn’t sure which scared me more: the fact that he’d nearly kicked me in the face, or the fact that I’d been fast enough to avoid it.
    I had changed.
    “Nice reflexes.”
    I looked up to find Ethan a few feet away, peering down at me curiously. He wasn’t the only one with questions. I wondered how much more I could do, so I pushed my palms flat behind me, brought up my legs, rolled back, and popped onto my feet in a quick bounce.
    “Very nice.”
    I shrugged off the compliment, but I was thrilled by the motion. I hadn’t danced classically in years, but I’d always relished the few seconds of being airborne in a grand jeté —the brief sensation of fighting gravity . . . and winning. This was similar, but infinitely more satisfying. My body felt even lighter, sprightlier than when I was in top dancing form. Maybe there were advantages to being a vampire.
    I grinned back at Ethan. “Just taking her for a test spin.” Then I circled, looking for a weakness. Ethan bounced on the balls of his feet and crooked his hand at me in invitation. “Then let’s see what you can do.”
    Someone started music, and Nine Inch Nails’ “The Hand That Feeds” spilled into the room.
    “Apropos,” he muttered, and crooked his hand again.
    NIN was an interesting choice for a nearly four-hundred-year-old vampire. Whatever his issues, I couldn’t fault his taste in music.
    Back to the challenge at hand, I tried a punch. I swung forward, rotating my wrist as I tried to catch him in a jab, but he avoided it, followed the motion of my hand, and swung his leg into a low sweep that nearly brought my feet out from under me. But I jumped just in time and arched my back into a handspring, which put me a few feet away and out of his range.
    Or so I thought, until he rushed forward so quickly, the motion was blurred. I flipped back again, then again, the motion nearly effortless, but he kept coming. When I popped up the last time, I instinctively crouched, which put the cross he’d directed at my jaw out of range. He struck air, and I reached out arms to grab