by Linsey Hall
My mouth dropped open. “What about this?”
“Hedy has it under control. But you are still trainees. And today is the day that tutors are assigned.” Her gaze dropped to my shirt, which I only now realized was covered in glitter. “And you, Bree, clearly need your tutor.”
My cheeks burned at the same time a groan of frustration nearly escaped me. I choked it back.
When Ana and I had signed up for this gig, Caro had warned us that training would be a bitch.
And boy, had she been right.
I’d spent all morning fighting monsters in the forest, but that still left time for training in the afternoon. With a tutor.
Which I was so not going to like.
I was starting to think maybe I wasn’t made of the right stuff, after all. I was a badass out in the desert, but those conditions were perfect for me. This place made me question myself in ways I never had.
“We’ve brought in a specialist to help you with your specific powers,” Jude said, “since it’s the sonic boom that is giving you the most trouble, Bree. And Ana, there will be one for your power as well.”
She was right. My sonic boom—the magic I’d relied on for so long—was going totally haywire. A couple weeks ago, I’d developed a power over water that was much easier to control. Why I was having trouble with the sonic boom was anyone’s guess. But I needed to learn to control it if I was going to find a place here.
I nodded. “Will you tell me what you find here?”
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of Jude’s lips. “When you’re done training.” Her gaze fell on the rest of them. “Don’t you all have something to be doing? Cases to solve?”
Caro, Ali, and Haris all jumped, then turned and hightailed it through the woods.
Ana and I followed them, sticking close together on the forest path. She was training just as hard as I was, but her goal was to expand her protective shield magic and to learn long-range weapons.
We were settling in pretty nicely at the Protectorate, even though it was totally different than our old life back in Death Valley Junction. Our days were full of training and our nights full of hanging out with Caro, Ali, and Haris—sometimes at the Whisky and Warlock in Edinburgh and other nights in our apartments.
So far, we liked it. A lot.
But if we didn’t pass our tests—which were more of the fighting variety than the #2 pencil variety—we wouldn’t get to join. So we worked our butts off.
I hadn’t seen Cade, which was both a blessing and a curse, but all in all, everything had been going pretty smooth until now.
“Are you doing all right?” Ana asked.
“Yeah. Freaked out, but I’ll be fine.” I glanced at her. “You really didn’t see the black oil slick over the portal?”
“No. Just that it looked a little different.”
Damn. Worry nagged me as we walked in silence across the lawn.
We approached the main door of the castle, which loomed overhead, towers reaching for the sky. Mullioned windows glittered in the sunlight, and statues of gargoyles peered down at us. The massive wooden doors swung open, and we entered, hesitating once we reached the middle of the foyer.
“I think we’re supposed to meet in the training room on the second level,” Ana said. “Do you know who your new trainer is?”
“No. Schedule didn’t say.” At the beginning of each week, we received a list of training and tests we’d have to pass. This one had included a meeting on the second floor where we each hooked up with a trainer.
“Do you think they’ll be able to help with your sonic boom?” Her gaze dropped to my shirt, where the glitter of shame still sparkled.
“I sure hope so.” Because my magic was just as bonkers as ever, despite all the work I’d done here to improve. I could manipulate water when it was nearby, but controlling my sonic boom was nearly impossible. I lowered my voice so only she could hear. “If our magic is supposed to be from dragons, as Arach and our mother said, shouldn’t I have more control? Be better than this?”
A sad expression crossed Ana’s face, and she shrugged. “I have no idea.” She looked at her hands, as if inspecting them for the magic she usually threw out. “I sure as heck don’t feel like I have the magic of dragons. All I can do is create a protective shield.”
I squeezed her shoulder. Ana loathed the fact she had defensive magic in an offensive world. “At least you have control of it.”
“For now. But I’ll go through my change, too. And then I’ll be in your spot.”
“We’ll get through it. Together.” My gaze caught on a man who walked into the foyer behind Ana. He carried a massive stack of books. An idea flared. I met Ana’s gaze. “There’s got to be an enormous library here. What do you say we check it out after training? See if we can figure out anything about our magic.”
She grinned. “I like how you think.”
“We’re here, aren’t we? They’ve got more resources that we could never imagine. Let’s use them.”
She held up her fist for a bump. I bopped it with my own and grinned.
“Great idea, nerd,” she said.
“Love you, double-nerd. Now, let’s go.” I saluted, then turned and took the left sweeping staircase and ran up two at a time, Ana at my side.
We raced by an older man who tutted at us.
“Sorry,” I muttered, then turned left, making my way down the wide stone corridor.
Once again, I was struck by the history and grandeur of the place. A few people passed me, but only two shot me suspicious looks. Not bad. Two was an improvement.
We found the second story training room and stopped at the door. I glanced at Ana and winked, then pushed it open to reveal a large room with a vaulted ceiling and large windows at the end.
Three other trainees—two guys and one girl, turned to look at us—suspicion in their gazes. They’d entered the Academy shortly before us—it was a bit like a magical version of that FBI academy. But we hadn’t mixed with them much, given that my weird powers kept me away from most of the class.
“Hey, Ana,” the girl said, looking through me.
I scowled. Not like I was going to throw my sonic boom at her and blow her up.
“Hey, Lacey,” Ana said.
My gaze caught on a group of five figures at the far end of the room, silhouetted against the bright glass. They stood in a circle speaking, but one stood out from the others.
He looked familiar—at least his size. Then his power hit me. The scent of a storm at sea, the sound of clashing swords and the taste of fresh apples.
My stomach dropped as heat curled low inside me. My skin prickled with awareness, and a light sense of panic suffused my mind.
The five figures disbanded and approached. As they neared, I got a feel for each of their signatures, but it was Cade’s who stood out to me.
Cade. The sexy Celtic war god.
2
Shit, shit, shit. The last time I’d seen Cade, I’d kissed him smack on the mouth. It’d been amazing. Award-worthy.
And then excruciatingly embarrassing. Like any rational person would do, he’d told me it couldn’t happen again because we both worked for the Protectorate. A conflict of interest.
The worst thing was…he had a point. Workplaces and flirting were a recipe for awkwardness, at best, and lawsuits, at worst.
Heat burned my cheeks. As much as I still wanted him—and boy did I—all I could remember was the searing embarrassment.
But there was no way he was going to be my trainer. This had to be a mistake. My head buzzed as one of the other trainers stepped forward, a tall woman with long, blonde hair. She cleared her throat, then began to give a lecture about learning from a more advanced member of the Protectorate. I barely processed a word she said.
Then the trainers split up, each heading toward one of the trainees.
Of course, Cade stopped in front of me. We were a good fifteen feet from any of the other trainees, who’d gone off toward the side of the room
. It felt like they were miles away. All I could see was Cade—broad-shouldered, quick-witted, handsome as the devil Cade.
“You?” I demanded.
“Me.” His low voice, coated in that sexy Scottish accent, wrapped around me.
“I thought you only took the most dangerous jobs,” I said.
“Aye.” He pointed at me. “And you are the most dangerous job.”
I scoffed. “Hardly.”
“You can blow up a house with your magic only partially charged. And you haven’t gained any more control over that magic in the two weeks you’ve been here. You’re a walking time bomb.” He towered over me. His shoulders were broad enough to block out the light from the windows, and his jawline could cut glass.
My breath shortened as I leaned my head back to make sure my glare landed solidly on him and tried not to focus on his heady scent. It was so good that it distracted me, and I couldn’t afford that. But I’d forgotten how tall he was. At least six and a half feet if he was an inch.
My mind went straight toward our kiss. The feel of his lips, the scent of his skin. It made my head swim.
I shook it.
Get it together.
To get my mind out of the gutter, I went through the sneaky moves I’d use to take him out, a habit I’d gotten into early in life. Right now, it was better than thinking about kissing him. And a dude as big as Cade would require some serious sneakery to take down.
“You’re thinking about how you’d take me out, aren’t you?” He grinned.
“Uh, no.”
He just grinned wider, becoming even more devastatingly attractive.
“Fine. Yes, I was. But how’d you know?”
“Great minds think alike.”
“Oh, you’re thinking about how you’d take me out?” Crap! I slapped a hand over my mouth as heat blazed into my cheeks. “And by that, I meant like a wrestling move. To take me out out. Like in a fight. Not like, in the other way.”
Holy fates, I need to be put in an insane asylum. Somewhere I’d never see humans again and be able to open my mouth. He’d just called me a conflict of interest. Now I was talking about dates?
The corners of his full lips pulled up in a smile and he nodded. “Of course. A wrestling move. Absolutely nothing else.”
“Why you?” I asked. “Couldn’t someone else train me?”
“I’m the only one who can withstand your sonic boom. If it goes awry and hits me, I’ll be fine.”
Right. Shit. Of course.
Back in Death Valley, I’d hit him with a sonic boom meant to pulverize his insides. He hadn’t even wobbled on his feet.
I couldn’t fight that logic.
“Fine.” I cracked my knuckles. “Let’s get this party started. What do I do first, Teach?”
“Let’s take it outside.”
“Fair enough.” I didn’t want to blow up my new home. Especially not a castle this cool.
“This way.” He turned and strode toward the door.
I followed him out of the castle, my eyes constantly darting toward him.
“We’ll go over there.” He pointed to a spot near the enchanted forest. “The magic of the forest might help give you some control.”
“Really?” I’d never heard of anything like that before.
“That’s where the dragons’ magic is the strongest. It’s the place they originally enchanted with their magic.”
“Is that why the Fae built their portal there?” I asked, wondering if I should mention the issue with the portal. But Hedy and Jude had it under control. And if I didn’t like what they told me about it, maybe I’d mention it.
I hoped they’d believe that it was a big deal. Because if they didn’t….I’d have to take matters into my own hands. Something was clearly wrong, and I couldn’t just ignore it.
“It’s the reason they were able to build the portal there, aye,” Cade said. “Wait here a moment.” He jogged toward the forest and disappeared inside, returning after a few moments with an armful of large, dead branches.
His expression upon leaving the forest was slightly off—wrinkled brow, worried eyes.
“What is it?” I asked, wondering if he felt it too.
I couldn’t be crazy. I’d really seen that black oil slick and heard the monster that had tried to escape.
“Forest feels off,” he said.
I was about to open my mouth to explain, but he shook his head. “Could just be me. Years of war have made me wary. But you need to train.”
He turned away from me to set the sticks up in a semicircle, each about thirty meters from the other. He dusted off his hands and looked at me. “Targets.”
“All right.” I rubbed my sweating palms against my jeans. I’d focus on this for an hour, give Hedy and Jude long enough to figure out the problem in the forest, then I’d maybe mention it to Cade.
Everyone was right, anyway. I really needed to get a handle on my magic. The amulet Cade had given me before to help me control my magic had been a temporary stopgap. I needed to be the one driving this car.
“So, you just want me to blast one?” I asked.
“It’s a start.”
“Yep.” One that I wasn’t feeling super great about. But I tried, because what else was I going to do?
I sucked in a deep breath and called upon my magic. As usual, it zipped around my chest like a lightning bug on speed. Finally, I caught it, mentally gathering it up and hurling it outward.
The sonic boom plowed into the ground about ten meters to the left of the tree branch.
I winced.
I was bad.
“Again.” Cade crossed his arms over his chest.
“Okay.” I sucked in another deep breath and tried again.
Missed.
Frustration welled in my chest, a hard knot.
“Has it always been like this?” Cade asked.
“Getting worse lately.”
“All right. Try again. This time, clear your mind.”
I did as he said, but this time, the sonic boom that plowed out of me was so large it destroyed all the branches and created a crater in the lawn.
I gasped and stumbled backward. “Crap!”
Cade frowned. “Did you mean for it to be that big?”
“No!” I shook my hands as if I could force the frustration out of me. “It just does that sometimes.”
“Wild card.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t make a habit of getting down on myself, but damned if it wasn’t hard when I was faced with the reality of what my magic was becoming.
What I was becoming.
“But you’re not terrible with a sword, or you’d be dead.”
“I’m excellent with a sword.”
His face creased with doubt. “You’ve got skinny arms. You were good in Oregon and Venice, but you weren’t fighting a real warrior.”
“Like you?”
“Exactly.” He drew a sword from the ether, a long blade that looked wickedly sharp. “Try me.”
“Oh, so we’re doing this now, are we?” Excitement thrummed in my chest. I drew my own sword, which was so much lighter and smaller than his.
He approached, sword raised.
Holy shit, this was happening. I grinned. This was something I could do. We circled each other, probably looking ridiculous. Anybody my size with a lick of sense wouldn’t go up against a god of war who was six and a half feet tall.
Fortunately, I had more skill than sense.
He lunged first, and I darted left and blocked with my blade. The sheer strength of his blow bent my arm backward, and I barely slipped away in time.
The next strike was even harder, making my arm go almost numb. I dodged, then pretended to stumble.
He didn’t fall for it, backing up instead of pouncing as I’d hoped.
“Clever,” I said.
“Always.”
I went on the offensive, charging and swiping out with my blade. Before his could block it, I sliced down, toward his legs. He dan
ced back, sparing himself a slice by mere millimeters.
His appraising eyes met mine. “Nice.”
“Like I said…excellent. Even against a god of war.” I lunged again, this time trying a move that required more speed than strength.
Unfortunately, he was fast, too. He knocked my blade aside with his and reached out with his free arm, grabbing me around the waist and swinging me to the ground.
“Ooof!” Pain flared in my back as I scrambled upright, barely keeping a grip on my sword. I danced back from him. “Are you tempering your strength?”
“How could you tell?”
“My bones aren’t broken.”
He grinned. “Fair assessment.”
“Well, don’t pull any punches with your sword work. When I beat you, I want it to be real.”
“Beat me?” He laughed.
“What? God of war doesn’t mean god of swords.”
“We’ll see.”
“Hmmm, we will.” We went round and round like that, striking and defending, parrying and blocking. I landed a couple light blows, but he was too fast to ever take a real hit.
Same for me. Though there were a few moments that made me feel like I might lose a limb, I dodged them by a hair.
Sweat pearled at my temples and my mind was laser focused.
I did better this time, meeting him evenly, as long as he used his sword and not his strength.
Finally, he stepped back, hands raised. “A draw.”
Man, he looked good when he was fighting. I grinned, propping my sword blade on my shoulder. “You’re too scared to keep going. You think I’m going to beat you.”
“No. But I can see when I’m evenly matched. You’re good.”
“I know I’m good.” I tapped my chin. “Actually, I remember saying I was excellent.”
“I wouldn’t disagree.”
“Good.” I went to point my sword at him and crow a little more—had to take the victories where I could get them—then it dawned on me. I lowered my sword. “Heyyy.”
“Aye?”
“Did you do that to get my confidence up? Pick something I’m good at?”
“Are you accusing me of pulling my punches?”