Page 150 of Glutton for Punishment

I move beside him and try to focus on the target instead of the fact that he smells so delicious.

“Controlled,” he says quietly. “Not emotional.”

I glare at him before reaching for the power again. This time I let it rise slower. I don’t grab it forcefully like a Wrath would, but I guide it. The energy slips through my arm in a controlled pulse and appears over the dummy’s head, where the apple balances. When it disappears, the apple is gone.

Maddox nods once. “Better.”

Satisfaction blooms fast in my chest at his meager approval. What am I becoming? Some lovesick fool?

I wipe sweat from my forehead. “Such glowing praise. You know, if I really were your favorite student… you think you’d be giving me more motivation. Like a prize.”

“You don’t need praise,” he says. “I’m pretty sure you’re already well aware of how special you are.”

“That was almost a compliment! First a joke, and now a compliment. Where is Maddox West and who is inhabiting his body?”

“Don’t ruin it,” he says, rolling his eyes.

A phone vibrates against the bench behind us. Maddox’s expression hardens when he checks the screen.

“Problem?” I ask.

“Almost always.” He answers the phone without leaving the mat. “What.”

A muffled voice filters through the speaker. Maddox listens for almost a full minute, his jaw tightening further with every passing second. Finally, he says, “No. Don’t retaliate yet. I know what she’s doing.”

Another pause. Then his eyes narrow. “Tell Luca to bring supplies up the southern route. Val will help us for the time being. If Amaya pushes the tariffs higher, we’ll infiltrate one of her warehouses with a task force. Let’s get a plan in place and assume the worst. And we need another set of eyes on Vex. I want a list of everyone he might even be mildly associated with at the academy.”

He hangs up looking murderous.

I lean against the wall. “Sibling issues?”

“Amaya’s pressuring trade routes again, just towards my territories.” He tosses the phone onto the bench harder than necessary. “She’s using her power and political influence to increase tariffs through the neutral territories that connect us. Half my people can barely afford the supplies at these new prices.”

“That seems shortsighted even for a power play. Her people will lose as well when they can’t sell their supplies anymore.”

Maddox drags a hand through his hair. “She’s trying to force my smaller territories into putting pressure on the local leaders. Who then will pass the message to me? She knows they depend on these shipments before winter.”

“So, she’s creating a panic,” I continue, already thinking through it. “She’s using her political connections in her territory to control the routes even though they are supposed to be neutral and basically free markets.”

“Exactly.”

“It’s actually kind of genius.”

He side eyes me. “You heard me say ‘Amaya’ right?”

“I mean, she’s playing strategically and not just going in with brute force. You’ll need to think of a way to combat that in a strategic way. If you try to break into one of her supply warehouses, gun blazing, the odds are the supplies will get destroyed. Then you’ll have actual product scarcity on your hands. Do you have a map in your room?”

He nods, and I grab my bag and pull a long sleeve shirt over my tank. I try to think of my options as we walk back in silence to his room. Once we get inside, he points to a table near a fireplace that’s covered with a large map. His room is probably three times the size of mine.

Perks of being a Councilor’s son, I guess…

I walk towards the map, studying its surface. Colored pins dot different cities, roads, and borders. He points out the territory and passage in question.

I study it for a moment. “Okay, like I said, if she’s squeezing transportation taxes this aggressively, she’s going to upset her merchant families too.”

“She already is.”

“Then don’t fight her directly.”