Free Wisteria (Wisteria Series) by Bisi Leyton Page B

started shutting the door behind him, but Piper swung it back open.
    “Cow, you get out of my house,” Piper warned.
    Wisteria looked into Piper’s dead gray eyes. They looked as fearful as Wisteria felt.
    “I don’t know what you’re doing to Enric, but you’ve got to stop. He has changed since you arrived. He’s going to send me away, now that you’re here.”
    “You’re not making any sense! Piper, please go. I promise I will go the first chance I get. Trust me. Bach, I mean, Enric, is the last thing on my mind right now.”
    “You’re trying to change everything.” Piper brushed her long, wild hair out of her eyes. “Enric told me, Bach’s never going to let you leave. They’re going to keep you here and I’ll be cast out. Please go now!”
    Wisteria’s heart broke a bit for the girl’s plea, and if she could, she would be gone in a second, but there were tens of thousands of biters on their doorstep.
    “You’ve come from somewhere nice. I don’t have anywhere to go. I’ll die out there if Enric sends me away.” Piper’s body shook as tears ran down her cheeks. “He’s everything to me and he doesn’t even care.”
    “Did he do this?” Wisteria pointed at Piper’s black eye, letting the now docile girl into her room.
    “It was an accident.”
    “Oh.” Wisteria doubted that. “If we survive the swarm, I’ll be gone. You can come with me.”
    “I hate the way he treats me, but I can’t leave him.” Scratching nervously at her arms, she moved to the window.
    “You’re in love with him?”
    “I don’t think so, but the idea of leaving him terrifies me in a way I can’t describe. When I’m not with him I fell like my mind is on fire. He saved my life.”
    “How?”
    “My convoy was being attacked by biters. He came and asked me what I wanted more than anything in the world. I said I needed to live. He showed me what my life would be like with him and after that I’ve always needed him.”
    “So you do love him?” Wisteria inched toward the sword that was far too close to the wild girl’s grasp.
    “I need him and he made it clear: it’s either you or me.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
    “He was joking.” Wisteria inched closer to her weapon.
    “No, he wasn’t.” Piper suddenly wielded what looked like a bowie knife.
    As Piper lunged at her, Wisteria dove to the sword. Taking her weapon, she scrambled behind the bed.
    Piper jumped on the bed and lunged toward her.
    Pulling the bed sheets hard, Wisteria knocked the redhead over.
    “I’m going to kill you,” Piper screamed as she tumbled to the floor. “Terran rat!”
    “Stop this!” Running to the fallen girl, she struck Piper with her holstered sword, knocking her and the knife back to floor.
    Piper recovered quickly and scrambled to her feet. “I’ll kill you.”
    The only way Wisteria could respond was by hitting the irate girl harder with the covered sword.
    Toppling to the ground, she wiped blood from her forehead and scurried to reclaim her knife.
    Wisteria kicked it under the bed.
    This made Piper snarl and jump at Wisteria.
    Wisteria swung at her with both hands on the sword while quickly dropping low and jabbing her attacker’s left knee with the steel handle of her sword.
    The taller girl wailed and fell back down, squirming in pain. “Terran rat, I’ll kill you!”
    “Are you insane?” Wisteria yelled and decided that she’d had enough. She was going to beat this girl.
    Bach appeared in the doorway. “Stop. What the hell happened?” Looking around, his gaze fell to her sword. “Wisteria, what did you do?”
    “Me? Piper was the one who attacked me because of Enric or something.”
    “Where did you get this?” He took the sword away from her.
    “It’s mine.” She yanked it back.
    Gripping her sword, he pulled it. “You cannot carry weapons in here.”
    “I didn’t know you had rules here.”
    “Bach, don’t tell Enric we fought. He’ll be so angry. Please, Eminent?” Piper