I glared at Meredith before returning my gaze to Finn’s. “He knows my secret.”
I rarely ever saw Finn’s face pale. As far as he let anyone see, he always seemed to be confident, collected, and in control. But now, he looked scared. Really scared.
“How?” Again, his voice was a whisper.
"I don't know. Obscurus said that he knew ever since my mom died."
“That’s what he said?”
"He said ‘ever since her soul left her body.'"
Finn gave me a second look and then his skin crawled with golden Fae power punching up under his skin. The room suddenly became colder and crystals, not ice crystals, but genuine crystals, began to grow across the glass surface of the coffee table in the center of the room. His entire body was soon glowing with that inner golden light, making the edges of his tensed cheeks look sharper and increased the dark anger in his eyes. I was sure he was going to burst with Fae energy and take the room with him. I had never seen him so angry.
“Son of a bitch,” he growled. “He has her soul.”
"What?" My stomach dropped like lead, and I felt sick.
“It’s the only way that he would know about you.”
“I’ll get it back,” I vowed, instantly hearing “no’s” from around the room. The cold grew colder, and it started to feel like winter in the family room. And those beautiful clear crystals that were creeping across the coffee table began to crack, becoming sharper.
“He’s not getting you too,” Finn swore.
“That’s what he said he wanted.” Meredith’s voice was hushed and quivering from the cold.
"Over my dead body," Finn declared his jaw clenching.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Zane joined in, looking just as angry as Finn. Where Finn was pulsing with Fae power, Zane's fangs had elongated, and his predatory eyes glowed with cold fire, matching the ice in the room.
Finn turned toward Zane. “You will train her as if your life depends on it. Because from this point forward, it does.” Then he turned around and walked out of the room in a temper, taking the cold, the golden glow, and the crystals with him.
“You Fae really know to work a threat,” Anahita said under breath.
“Remind me not to piss him off…ever,” Nate replied, rubbing his arms to bring back some warmth to his limbs.
“Come on,” Zane grumbled and turned toward the basement.
“I need to change.” I stood and headed toward my room to change into appropriate gear. It was still morning; late morning, but morning nonetheless. I didn’t believe that I would be going out to fight any Scelesti anytime soon even if it was as dark as night out so I could do with some training.
✽✽✽
After changing clothes, and cleaning up my face and other parts of my body covered in dried blood, I headed down into the basement. I was shocked to see the group (minus Finn) sitting against the wall of mirrors in the gym. I thought for sure that at least Meredith would be sleeping somewhere on a couch. But she was there, worrying a bright yellow stone with her hands that seemed to send out sparks of energy every once in a while.
“What’s going on?” I questioned.
Meredith started twisting the stone around in her hands. “Zane said we could watch.”
I understood her nervous reaction. She was anticipating me making a scene and fighting her on it. I looked at Nate. He had his arms crossed with a stubborn expression set on his face.
“Fine,” I acknowledged resisting the urge to roll my eyes and got on the mat with Zane and Anahita.
“And you?” I nodded at Anahita. “I thought you’d be going back to sleep.”
A small smile tipped the corner of her mouth, exposing a dainty fang. “Finn said you needed more of a challenge, so I am joining in the training.”
"You guys are going to double-team me?" I raised my eyebrows.
“Just get warmed up,” Zane replied gruffly, turning away from us, apparently still upset from earlier.
After some stretching for a period of time, a quick cardio activity, and practice with a punching bag, it was time to spar with both Zane and Anahita. I had been so used to fighting just Zane that when Anahita joined, I felt like everything was brand new. I was getting to the point that I could anticipate much of Zane's movement. He fought like a bulky boxer, relying on his strength and dominance to seize control. Avoiding his moves were becoming more natural, but always blocking or taking a hit hurt like a bitch.
Anahita was very different. She fought like a dancer, graceful and fluid. Where I could evade Zane, Anahita dodged me and added an extra step in to trip me or get in an extra jab. If I could sit back and watch her fight, I would find it beautiful and mesmerizing.
Zane and Anahita were the perfect team, strength and agility, and fighting both of them was extremely difficult. I always had to try to remember who I was fighting and how they fought. Being the first time against them, I was often on the ground, which made Zane crazy with anger. Then he would bark "again," and we would do it all over again.
After two and a half hours, Anahita was the one to call it. She was getting as frustrated with Zane as I felt. And when she said so, he just growled and stormed off into his bedroom. She rolled her eyes and followed, while I wiped off the massive amount of sweat that had collected on my body with a towel, noticing Meredith and Nate for the first time since I had come down.
They were both looking at me in awe.
“What?” I asked, dabbing my forehead with the towel.
Nate cleared his throat. “Nothing… It’s just, I’m so used to the nerdy girl that had her nose in a book in the past year.”
“That was awesome!” Meredith shouted, clasping her hands together. “Please, you have to teach me some moves!”
Both Nate and I looked at her in shock. Neither one of us thought she would be that interested in fighting.
Meredith blushed a little and looked slightly embarrassed.
“I want to learn how to defend myself,” she said quietly. “I feel so helpless most of the time.”
“Mere, you are hardly helpless,” I snorted. “You have your magic, and that has been such a help.”
“Please, show me some moves,” she begged.
“I don’t see the harm in showing you a few things,” I shrugged a shoulder. “As a disclaimer, I wouldn’t go up against any Scelesti though. They are stronger than a human and faster.”
“I won’t,” she promised gleefully.
“How about weapons training?” Nate asked.
I snorted again. “Good luck with that. Zane wouldn’t give me anything but stakes to train.”
"You guys want to learn how to use weapons?" Zane snapped, making me jump. I hadn't heard him come back into the room.
Meredith and Nate didn’t say anything, but the looks on their faces said it all. They practically had the puppy dog begging face going on, minus the drool.
“Come on,” Zane relented and headed for the weapons’ training room with Meredith and Nate following him.
I had waited for Anahita who had entered the gym after Zane had reappeared but looked apprehensive.
“He’s still pretty mad with Finn, huh?” I asked her when they had passed through the doors and it was just her and I in the gym.
“Yes and no,” she responded slowly, pursing those full lips. "Zane's partially pissed with himself. Or feeling guilty. Or some shit like that."
“None of this is anyone’s fault,” I muttered.
"You know that means you too, right?" She questioned, giving me a stern glance.
Her statement bewildered me, and she chagrined. “What? I can’t have layers?”
Then she walked past me toward the weapon’s room as I followed behind her.
When we entered, Zane had given Meredith and Nate two paintball guns, and they lazily were weighing them in their hands.
“These are paintball guns,” Nate deadpanned, giving Zane an annoyed look.
Zane glared. “When loaded with
silver nitrate balls, they can be quite painful if shot at a vampire. And the right shot can incapacitate one enough to keep you alive.”
They still didn’t look convinced.
“Seriously, guys,” I sniped, drawing their attention. “At least you guys get to learn how to use an actual weapon. I’m stuck with chucking stakes.”
Zane strolled over to me and stopped less than a foot away from me. “You are faster than them. Stronger than them with better reflexes. They would not stand a chance against a Scelestus. Even if I gave them a real gun. Their chances are slim. If it makes them feel better about finding a way to defend themselves in the Mundus Noctis, why not?”
“Would you ever actually give us a gun?” Meredith questioned with disbelief.
Zane snorted. “Ask me when you’re older, and if you survive.”
“That’s real nice,” I snapped.
“If they keep insisting on standing toe-to-toe with you, it’s the actual truth.”
“Then give them something that could keep them alive.”
He stomped over to a cabinet and pulled two small canisters out, and stomped back to stand in front of Meredith and Nate.
"Hold out your hands," he growled. They followed his order, and he placed the small aerosol canisters in their hands. "Silver nitrate mace. Don't let them get that close. Practice with the paintball guns."
He walked back against the wall with a surly look on his face and crossed his arms. “All of you, stop your moping. Caden, grab your stakes, and start practicing.” His tone was acrid.
I wanted to stick my tongue out at him, but I turned in a huff, grabbing the stakes off the stand and practiced alongside Meredith and Nate, who practiced with the paintball guns.
Meredith had recoiled with the rapid thudding of the gun when she first shot it, and there was unease on her face as white paint splattered in an arch against the back wall. But the more she practiced, the more her face had turned deliberate and focused, and so did her aim. I didn’t know where her mind had gone, but I knew that she was mentally somewhere else.
Nate shot the gun like it was nothing new. My guess was that it was from the video games the guys played in their downtime after band practice. It was the only time Meredith and I were told to leave. Because they needed some "guy time." Or perhaps the guys had taken him paintballing before. He didn't share those types of things with Meredith and me. However, unlike those fun times, Nate had a no-nonsense approach with shooting that demonstrated how important this was for him.
Before my introduction into the Mundus Noctis, they had already known about what could lurk in the dark, but they had basically stayed away. Now that I had stepped into it, they had stepped over their safety line. They were prepared to take on the monsters that went bump in the night just to help me. A large part of me felt their unspoken love tug hardily on my heart, but there was still a small part that felt guilty for all that they had to do. The guilt would probably never go away, but I was starting to understand that all of us were family. It wasn’t just Sera and me anymore.
✽✽✽
Weapon training was over after an hour. My aim had improved from last time, but it was still off. Nate’s aim with the gun was practically perfect. And Meredith was happy just being able to hit a target.
Zane took their guns away, which made them pout. He told them he didn't mind teaching them how to shoot, but he wasn't their supplier, and they were underage anyway, which drew glares from both of them. I'm not sure how their parents would feel about them messing around with weapons anyway. Zane took the responsible route, which was predictable.
And we had just made it upstairs when Nate's phone went off. He looked at it, and a smile lightened his face. "Sera's awake."
Chapter Thirty-One
Everything stopped in my world, and I was ready to rush out at that very moment when I felt a hand on my arm.
Meredith gave me a pointed look. “You are not in this alone. We are going to go with you.”
A huge smile slowly started to fix itself on my face from her tenderness.
“But get a shower first,” she continued, and I scowled at her.
But I darted for the shower and cleaned up as fast as I could, meeting them back in the living room. Mere and Nate had changed too. I was surprised to see Zane standing with Meredith and Nate.
“I’m going to drive you guys,” he explained before I could ask, giving me a stern look.
✽✽✽
The drive to the hospital, even only being fifteen minutes away made me antsy. It had felt like I hadn't seen Sera in weeks when really it was just a day and a half. But regardless, the idea that I could have lost her weighed heavily on my chest.
When we got there, Meredith and Nate went to find their parents. It had been a while since they had seen them. Since neither would leave the hospital alone, they had decided to hunker down there. I was told that there would be an unconventional “family” dinner in the hospital cafeteria to catch up and bond. And although I hadn’t seen Ms. Weber, and Dr. and Dr. Spencer in a while, my mind was focused on Sera. So I told them not to wait for me.
Zane was following closely behind me as I walked the halls to Sera’s room. He had decided not to leave my side for any reason, probably still affected from Finn’s declaration. Or it also could have been that the last time we were both here, I had given him the slip on the way back, and nearly gotten myself killed. Either way, he was watching me like a hawk.
When I entered Sera’s room, which was close enough for the nurses to come running if something were to happen, but far enough for some privacy (most likely Ms. Weber’s doing), Sera looked at me in alarm for a second before her features schooled into a relieved expression. I was dying to hug her but held back as I looked at the couple of machines that were hooked to her. I did pull up a chair and grabbed her hand, squeezing it, as Zane stood behind me in a dark corner.
Sera looked me over from head to toe.
“You’re okay.” Relief was thick in her throat.
A few tears sprang to my eyes. “Forget about me. I almost lost you.”
She squeezed my hand back, and tears started to fall onto my cheeks.
“I was so worried,” she continued. “When Daniel attacked me, I thought he would go after you next.”
My mind and my body froze along with the tears that had previously fallen, and my heart leapt into my throat.
“Daniel Myles attacked you?” I croaked, still stunned.
She looked away for a second slightly embarrassed and sighed. "The jerk had been using me to get information about you. I didn't know it until he attacked me. But that night that we broke up, it was over you. He wanted to know why I wouldn’t answer any questions about you, and I didn’t understand why it mattered. Now I know why.”
The feeling came back into my body, and it was rage. Myles was an asshole, to begin with, but the fact that he had tried to use Sera to get information made me beyond livid. I was ready to go after him, of course, at that moment. Everything in me screamed to kill him that minute. The words "hunt," "torture," "kill" kept repeating in my head with every throb of my heated heartbeat.
I instantly felt Zane’s hand tighten on my shoulder, trying to reel me in or calm me down. I wasn’t sure which, but the applied pressure did stop the mantra in my head and the heavy beats of my pulse. It didn’t completely calm me though.
“He must have been a Scelesti pet for a while,” Zane explained. “He’s probably your challenger, Caden.” He scoffed in disgust. “Pansy ass is probably trying to become a Master in what he thinks is an easy way, targeting someone unclaimed.”
“I want to kill him.” Vehemence was loaded in my voice.
He squeezed my shoulder again, while Sera squeezed my hand.
"You and me both," she said. "Son of a bitch took my cell phone too."
Suddenly the pieces fell into place. It must have been Myles who had texted me, using Sera's contacts in her cell phone to get my number. And the fact that he hadn’t be
en in school for the past couple of days, he had been turned. And everything that had been done had been a personal attack on me or against me. My challenger had known me and everything that was important to me. He was no victim. He was my challenger.
“Sera, I will do everything I can to make sure we are safe,” I vowed before a nurse I didn’t recognize came into the room.
“I’m sorry to break this up, but Ms. Walker needs her rest,” she said.
I was going to just squeeze Sera’s hand and go, feeling uneasy about all the medical equipment she was hooked up to, but she pulled me in and gave me a crushing hug.
“I am fine here,” she started, whispering in my ear. “I will get better and be out. I am worried about you. Make the smart decisions that I can’t for you right now. Stay safe and stay alive. Do you hear me, Caden Skylar Walker?”
I grinned despite myself and the circumstance. “Yes, I hear you, Sera Rosaria Walker.”
I pulled away, and she did squeeze my hand one last time before letting me go.
Her gaze sharpened on Zane and zeroed in. “I know the events of our past have been murky and toxic, and I am not sure what good there is in you, but I know you feel a responsibility to my sister. Please find a way to keep her safe.”
Zane's voice was barely audible as he uttered, "I will."
I could feel him close the distance to me and his eyes on my back before I felt the nudge of his knuckles against my lower back, reminding me that we had to go. I looked at Sera one more time before leaving her room, with the nurse glaring impatiently at us.
Zane refused to give me much space as we walked through the hallway. I believed it was probably because he was afraid I would somehow try to find a way to escape his vigilance and go after Daniel. He wasn’t entirely wrong. I wanted to go after him with every pulse in my veins that burned with a rage that I was having trouble controlling.
“So, is your sister always that bossy and...?” Zane started, trying to distract me, but trailed off searching for the right non-insulting word to describe Sera’s protective, demanding nature. It was enough to pull my attention away from fantasizing the ways I would love to kill Daniel and into the now.
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