I darted between them just as her hand reached me. There wasn’t any time to deflect or dodge it without Tatiana getting hurt, so I didn’t bother.
Her hand crashed into my cheek, and heat and pain shot through me.
I grabbed her hand when it finished its arc.
“Enough. Get a hold of yourself,” I growled into her face.
Her mouth dropped open with shock while she processed that I’d stepped between them.
“Move out of the way, Katarina. You will not let that child escape her punishment.”
“She’s being punished for accidentally dropping her tray? Where’s your mercy, Sister? Or is that just reserved for the priests you suck up to?”
Outrage filled the woman’s eyes, and she drew her other hand back to hit me again, but this time I caught it before it could inflict damage.
“Hit me again, and I’ll hit you back,” I promised.
Silence fell. Every single eye in the lunchroom was fixed on us.
“Shouldn’t you be more careful than this, Katarina, considering your situation?” Sister Vera said.
I’d always wondered how much the head nun knew about my presence at Hallow Hall. Was she like the orderlies and nurses who just thought I was mentally unwell and here for my own good? Or did she know that the holy trinity in charge was keeping me here forcefully by threatening my mother?
The question finally answered, I dropped her hand and laughed.
“So, for all your pristine habits and rosaries, you’re one of them, too? How disappointing. How hypocritical.” Then I leaned in; I couldn’t help myself. “I hope your conscience never gets the better of you, Sister Vera, like Father Vargas. Such a shame to be denied entry to heaven after a life of service... but then, that ship has already sailed for you and your brethren, hasn’t it?”
She jerked back, her gaze moving furiously over me.
“How do you know what happened to Father Vargas?” she asked, staring at me with a note of real fear in her eyes.
Suddenly, I got it. The heady taste of power.
It was beautiful.
“Everyone’s talking about it. You didn’t think you could really have secrets in a place like this, did you? There are eyes everywhere in Hallow Hall,” I whispered menacingly.
She jerked away from me, clearly trying to compose herself.
“Sister Vera, is there a problem here?” Dr. Blackwood had appeared in the doorway, clearly stressed out and harried. His dark hair was tousled, and he had a five o’clock shadow on his normally clean-shaven face.
Massimo stood at his shoulder. He gazed attentively over the scene.
“Yes, there’s a problem,” Sister Vera announcedloudly.
Great. She was going to try and make a fuss to Dr. Blackwood.
I couldn’t listen to her lie, so I turned around and went down on my haunches in front of Tatiana. The girl cried silently, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She raised her eyes to mine, and I stroked her hair.
“Hey, it’s okay. You can have my lunch,” I told her.
She shook her head. “I’m not hungry. You got hit because of me.”
“No, I got hit because of her, and it’s not right,” I said back.
I sensed a presence at my side. Blackwood and Sister Vera were still talking behind me, but their annoying voices fell away. Massimo crouched beside me.
Tatiana looked at Massimo, her eyes widening and her lip trembling even more.