“You’re actually serious, aren’t you?” Fallon asked, a bit dazed. “You’re gonna take a day off.”
“Yep,” I said and went over to the counter so I could start making coffee.
Fallon let out a soft, strange laugh. “Dammit, Xander Bane, I don’t know whether to smack you or hug you.”
“Fallon!” Kal barked, and she jumped.
“Bye,” she said and gave me a swift kiss on the cheek before rushing out the door.
Tiani appeared a few moments later. “Did I hear voices?”
“Did you?” I asked and handed her a mug.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Aw, is this what you’re like when you get enough sleep?” I blew air through my nose and didn’t reply, pouring myself my own cup. “Wait, why are you here?”
“Day off.”
Tiani choked and stared at me over the rim of her mug. Swallowing deliberately, she reached out a tentative hand and then gave my arm a hard pinch.
I flinched and gave her a dark look. “That hurt. And aren’t you supposed to pinch yourself?”
“Not in this case.” Tiani patted my arm and stepped back. “Are you playing hooky?”
“Sure.”
She grinned. “Now you’re talking. What should we do?”
“Funny you should ask,” I said. “I’ve got an idea.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Xander
“This was your idea?” Tiani asked and gave me a sideways glance. “Hmph. How long?”
“Mm, since about a month after Iris asked us to start looking for you. It made me wonder why she was so worried, but she doesn’t know, does she?”
We were standing in the middle of a cavern that was under the mountains at the far eastern end of the bay. Dome-like and high-ceilinged, with stalactites cresting in the middle like a spine, it had been repurposed into a training ground for stasis and shifters alike.
Only here, there was no shifting allowed, and it was purely focused on human fighting skill sets. This particular area was designated for swordplay and other weaponry, as that had become a popular method of defense over the last few years. There were other areas for one-on-one fighting, as well as a boxing ring and even an archery area.
Right now, other than a small knot of students attending an archery lesson, the cavern was deserted. I’d told Tiani to put on comfortable clothes she didn’t mind working up a sweat in, and she was currently wearing a pair of black leggings and a tank top with a loose hoodie over it. Her hair was swept up into a neat bun, and she somehow looked utterly mischievous.
And sexy as hell.
“Iris can’t know,” Tiani said and bit the inside of her lip. “I’m guessing you didn’t tell her.”
“No, Hiroki said you wanted to keep your fighting abilities a secret,” I said.
Tiani gazed at me, and something in her eyes flickered. “You’ve met Hiroki?”
Hiroki was a master swordsman and shifter who called no territory his own but traveled around, staying for a while and teaching, then moving on, and coming back. An older gentleman, he was lanky and tall, with a slight stoop to his shoulders, and wielded a sword like an extension of his arm. I’d been surprised that he of all people knew Tiani, but it was clear the old fellow had a soft spot for her. I’d honestly forgotten about it until the other day, having been so wrapped up in other things.
“As luck would have it,” I explained. “He was here, training our teachers in various kenjutsu styles. When he heard that people were looking for you, he pulled me aside. Said I shouldn’t worry too much, that you were a strong and resourceful woman. A hell of a fighter.”
Tiani pinked with pleasure and kicked at the ground. “I’m not bad.”
“How come you didn’t want Iris to know?” I asked.
“She would worry.” Tiani’s shoulders slouched, and she wandered over to the row of practice swords hanging on the wall. “And she’d feel guilty. A lot of Riftborn do.”
I nodded. “Hiroki said you loved it.”
“I did.” A fierce look of longing came over Tiani’s face as she stared around, and she murmured, “This place really is perfect.”
“You know,” I said and reached back for one of the wooden shinai, which was a simple, long piece of sturdy wood with a rounded handle and faded rubber grip. Spinning it in my hand, I caught Tiani’s attention, and she flicked her eyes to me. “Hiroki trained me, too.”
A small grin curled into her cheeks. “You want to fight me?” At first, Tiani’s eyes sparkled, and I saw her sizing me up, eager to figure out a way to knock me on my ass. But then she sighed and shook her head. “I’m so rusty. I haven’t picked one up in almost six months.”
“You’re in luck—I’m also rusty. We’ll just practice, get a good workout in.”
“How is this a day off?” Tiani half-grumbled, but I could tell she was intrigued.
“All right, how about a wager?”
Tiani laughed outright. “You do not strike me as a gambling man.”
“Whoever wins has to cook dinner.”
“Oh, that’s a poor bid to get me to agree to your game, Bane,” Tiani said in mock outrage and turned to the wall. Skimming her hand across the handles, she picked up a sword at random and weighed it, then put it back. “It has to have some meat to it.”
“How about the loser owes the winner something, anything?” Tiani said.
“Like a favor?” I asked.
Tiani hefted a black shinai from the wall and gave me a quick grin. “Sure. Or a question.”
“Or a promise.”
I wasn’t sure what had made me say that, but Tiani blinked and nodded. “Sure.”
“Bit nebulous terms, don’t you think?”
“Fine.” Tiani rolled her eyes and hefted the sword onto her shoulder. “And the loser has to cook and serve dinner.”
“Agreed,” I said and stuck out my hand.
Tiani took it, and we shook solemnly. We walked over to a sandy area that was outlined in a white circle that was hidden in spots. She pulled off her hoodie and tossed it on the ground, then began to warm up. At first, I watched her, and then dragged my eyes away from her bare shoulders, shucking off my own sweatshirt and warming up.
After a few minutes, though neither of us had said anything, we stepped into the ring.
“Sure this isn’t a way to work off some pent-up aggression toward me, Xander?”
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t be alone in that, would I?” I asked, and Tiani laughed.
We circled each other, and Tiani’s eyes darted up and down my body. I was enjoying myself, feeling a bit like we were two cats regarding the other as a combination of partner, prey, and play.
Of course, I wouldn’t go too hard or too easy on her. Just work her hard enough to get our blood warmed and clear the air. Honestly, I wished I’d thought of it sooner.
The world narrowed down to the circle we were in, Tiani’s eyes dancing with green sparks, and her face settling into a graceful seriousness, except for the small curve at the corner of her lips. Even though we still had secrets and tension between us, I felt like I could read her reasonably well.
“Gonna go easy on me?” Tiani asked.
I didn’t get the chance to answer, as I had to whip my sword around to protect my side. She’d lunged out of nowhere, almost too quickly to see. Then she whirled away just as fast, the wood vibrating in my hands, and I shook my head, almost feeling like I’d imagined her strike.
“Don’t,” Tiani said with a grin, and she struck again.
This time, I was expecting it, and I still almost got hit across the face. Gritting my teeth, I tried to use my height to some kind of advantage, but the angle was awkward, my elbows almost at my shoulders. Tiani used it against me, suddenly letting go and springing back. I tottered forward, and she aimed a light kick at the side of my knee.
Sprawling on the ground, I huffed and glared as a sword point tapped my chin.
“Rematch?”
“I thought you said you were rusty.”
Tiani swung the sword up and rested it on her shoulder. “Oh, I am.”
Back on my feet, I was far warier this time around and a lot looser. I'd been secretly worried about hurting Tiani or making her feel bad. Now I could forget all of that and focus on the fight.
As with debating, I had the sense of finding in Tiani something I hadn’t realized I’d wanted or had been missing. She was adroit, fast, and more than a match for me. So much so, that I lost track of everything except the circle that enclosed us, the weight of the sword, and Tiani.
Occasionally, I focused a little too much on her and wound up on the ground again. But as time went on, and I memorized what few tells I could gather, I had her on her back a few times.
“Want to go again, or do you have to get somewhere?” Tiani asked as we stood panting at either end of the circle. We’d agreed to a short break to catch our breaths, and now I could feel the soreness settling in as I gulped at the water. Both of us were soaked with sweat. “Xander?”
“Huh? Oh, I…” I glanced around the practice area.
We were the only two left. My eyes went toward the entrance, but it was dark and gloomy, and there was no telling what time it was. I blinked. For the first time in a long time, I had no idea what time it was, what meetings I might have missed, or if I needed to be somewhere.
An odd sense of lightness coupled with recklessness went through me. The weight of Winfyre had receded for the moment. Everything was fine.
“We can stay a bit longer.”
“Getting tired?” Tiani asked in mock sympathy and dumped the water bottle over her head. I swallowed as I watched the droplets trace across her brown skin. “You know it’s still 15-3, right?”
“15-3, what?” I asked, frowning.
“I won 15 bouts.” Tiani’s eyes were dancing with mischief. “You won 3.”
“Ha!” A loud laugh escaped me and echoed around the chamber. “You did not win 15,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “I’d say about ten of those were draws.”
“Draws in my favor.”
“Eighteen bouts,” I murmured. “Should we go for an even twenty?”
“You are getting tired.”
Tossing aside my bottle of water, I stepped forward. “Let’s find out.”
Hours later, only after we agreed to a final draw because we were both starving, Tiani and I called it quits. Both of us were a bit giddy from it, discussing the more memorable moments of our fights over a late lunch and offering suggestions to help the other person.
“You’re probably one of the best I’ve ever gone up against,” Tiani said. “Except Hiroki.”
“You can’t count him—he’s a master swordsman,” I argued and took an enormous bite of my sandwich. “And you’ll have to go up against Tristan or Luke sometime. They’re excellent.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Tiani said vaguely. “Prefer to stick with you.”
I grinned over the table at her, and Tiani blinked, realizing what she’d said. A blush rose in her cheeks, and I couldn’t resist adding, “Aw, shucks.”
“Only so I can kick your ass, Bane,” Tiani growled.
“You did kick my ass,” I said cheerfully. “Probably will again tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I want to see what you’re like when you’re not rusty.”
Sparring practice with Tiani seemed to unlock more than the stiffness in my spine and the sluggish muscle memory. It acted like a key that brought a bewildering array of good things.
The first was the news—Lind had been spotted on the far end of the Tiselk. While we all knew she could hop across the country with that fiendish augris squiring her around, it did at least imply that she was nervous about Winfyre’s retribution.
The second was that now that we knew she was involved, along with the Excris she was using to carry out those murders on my borders, we could strengthen the wards against her. Mainly, that meant me, but I’d also agreed to accept the help of Finch, the mad genius of the Riftborn, Tristan, simply a mad genius, and Beylore. While we were cautiously optimistic, it did seem that so far we’d been successful in stopping any more bloodshed.
Third, after that first day spending nearly five hours sparring, something between Tiani and me had changed. Or maybe Tiani had, but I thought something in me had relaxed, too. The previous tension of weighty secrets had evaporated, and we both seemed to be focused on the present. Willing to let the past keep its own counsel and the future arrive in its own damn time.
Worry and guilt no longer wracked me, and I felt like I could breathe properly again. Hell, even better, sometimes. Although there were the odd moments when Tiani would cast me a look or a smile, and I’d forget how to breathe.
All in all, things were far better than I’d expected. I allowed myself a cautious bit of optimism a week out from the attack by Lind.
Tiani and I had fallen into a new routine. We were up by dawn, went to the cavern to work out for two hours, had breakfast, changed, and went to Cobalt. One day, I’d had to go to Veda, and I’d taken her along. Another, we’d spent out in the woods. She was excellent, percipient company, that was all. It was handy to have someone around with sharp eyes like hers.
Better, last night had been Cobalt’s evacuation drill, and things had been a little bumpy, but overall smooth. For the first time since the breach of the Unseen and Lind’s subsequent dramatics, I felt like things were getting back to an appropriate level of safety for Winfyre Ridge.
At that exact moment, a crash came from the other room as I was lifting my mug of coffee to my lips. Almost dropping it, I hastily placed it down and rushed into the office. Tiani was sitting on the floor, rubbing her butt and grimacing, surrounded by a long slide of spilled papers and a tipped-over shoebox, full of what looked like photographs. A small prickle ran up my spine.
“Dammit, I’m sorry,” she said and winced in my peripheral vision. “I didn’t want to admit I wasn’t tall enough.” I caught a glimpse of a grin and the movement of her lifting her hands toward her ears. There was a ringing in my own as I saw the tell-tale glossy edge. They were photos. “I know, I know, where’s this clumsiness in the ring where you can exploit it?”
“No,” I said and was crouching at her side, pushing her hand away from the box. “Please.”
“Oh, Xander, I’m sorry.” Tiani’s voice was soft. “There was a book up there, but I shouldn’t have assumed—I should have asked.”
“It’s-it’s not you, it’s…” My hands were shaking, and I shoved the spilled photos in the box. “I just, I didn’t know this is where she hid them.”
“Who?”
“My sister.”
I heard an intake of breath to my right, and Tiani's hand slid over my shoulder, the hollow of her palm pressing into the muscle. At that moment, her hand was the only thing holding me up, stronger than I was. I sat heavily on the floor, a photo dangling from my fingertips.
Her eyes were on me, and I couldn’t meet them. “The Rift?”
“In a way,” I said and swallowed. “She’s not…she didn’t die.” A crack of agony went through my chest. “Her husband—my friend, our friend.” My hand found my face and pressed over my eyes. A severed line, a snap of the cord of fate, unfair or not, and he was gone. Yet it was still as raw and painful as the day it happened. “It was my fault.”
Tiani said nothing, only moving closer and sliding her hand higher to make room for her cheek, which she pressed to my shoulder now, her unruly hair tickling the edges of my shirt. Her other hand rested in the crook of my elbow, and the fingers were cool on my skin. It should have been awkward or uncomfortable, the two of us facing opposite directions and curled up on a heap of papers. But it wasn’t in the least. Instead, it seemed like we had each other’s backs, trusting the other to guard our blind spot.
“You’ve become a good friend,” I said after a few moments, my voice thick and gruff. Then I cleared my throat and added, a bit more dryly, “Who would have thought?”
A huff of air escaped Tiani's nose and warmed my skin, sending a ripple of electric sparks up my spine. "You can talk about it if you want." She pressed her face into my shoulder, and the next words were muffled. “And I’m sorry that you lost your friend. I-I understand about blaming yourself. The guilt of choices that hurt the people we care about.”
Giving in to an impulse, I ruffled the silky strands of her hair and let my hand rest there for a moment. I wondered whom she meant. Iris seemed fine, if a little concerned about Tiani working too hard. Maybe someone from her past, an old friend or a love. My stomach clenched a little at the thought, and Tiani squeaked as I pulled on her hair.
“Sorry,” I said and drew back. “Clumsy at comforting.”
“Or out of practice,” Tiani said and looked up.
Her lips parted a little as I realized how close we were sitting. The photograph slipped from my fingers as I traced my gaze across her lips, which she bit and rolled between her teeth. I jerked my gaze up to see her glance away and back. A heated pulse went through me.
I was so close I could see the starburst of green in her gray eyes and almost count every individual long black lash. But I could also see the nervous trepidation before her gaze dropped, hidden behind those dark lashes. A sigh exuded out of me, and I leaned forward, tangling my fingers in her hair and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Her fingers dug into me, and I heard her release a shaky breath. I pulled back and away, turning to collect the scattered items. The silence was fizzing, but I ignored it.
When my fingers reached the photograph, lying face down on the floor, I hesitated and then flipped it over. It was a punch to the heart but a softer blow than usual. Maybe one I needed.
“This is Brody,” I said and handed it to her. It was a photo of the six of us in our early twenties, hamming it up for the camera in camo. “The reason me and the Alphas are even friends.”
“What a bunch of heartbreakers,” Tiani said lightly as she looked at it. I noticed her cheeks were flushed, and her smile was a little crooked. “You look so different. Smiley.”
“You saying I don’t smile enough?”
Dragon's Oath (Northbane Shifters Book 5) Page 18