by G. K. DeRosa
From over her shoulder, the timer flashed: ten seconds remaining. I sucked in a breath and steeled my nerves to slow my racing heart. There was no way I was losing to some shifter. Channeling all the anger from earlier, I broke free from her hold and planted my palms on her chest. I shoved her with everything I had, arching my back to buck her off.
She lurched back, caught off balance by my thrust and I jumped up. As she staggered to regain her footing, I slammed into her, throwing all my weight into it. Before she could get away, I kicked my leg out and swept her foot out from under her. She hit the floor just as the buzzer rang out.
“Winner: Azara!” a robotic voice called out, echoing across the large chamber.
I curled my hands at my sides, trying to ignore the mad throbbing in my knuckles and took in a few deep breaths. I did it. I won.
“No!” The female glared up at me, her green eyes shooting daggers. She pushed herself up and charged.
A second before she reached me, a cloud of gray smoke enveloped her, and she disappeared into the mystical fog.
A click resounded in the suddenly quiet room, and the door swung open. Slowly, I crept toward the exit, half-expecting another surprise attack. As soon as I crossed the threshold, I met a pair of blazing silver irises. Talon’s face was a blank mask, but it didn’t matter because I could feel his fear surging through my blood. He was actually scared for me.
He cleared his throat and lowered his burning gaze. “Well done, Azara,” he muttered.
“Geez, thanks for the head’s up.” I seared my cousin with my own veiled glare. “Why didn’t anyone tell me I’d be facing other convicts for this little test?”
“It’s all part of the process,” Ella replied.
At least I knew what to expect for the next one.
I only had a few minutes to nurse my wounds before being thrown into the next test. No angel healing power or anything. If I’d been alone with Talon, I would’ve ripped into him for not warning me about those brutal SIA trials. He must have known what was coming.
“Ready?” Ella pointed at another door along the same hallway, and a bolt of anxiety bounced around my insides.
“Let’s get this over with.” I marched toward the unmarked door as my heart rammed against my ribs.
You can do this, Azara. Talon’s voice echoed through my mind, and I spun around. His face was a blank slate. Did he even know he’d broadcasted his thoughts to me? As if our relationship wasn’t complicated enough.
The door unlocked and creaked open, jerking my attention to the task at hand. I’d have to contemplate this new development later. The room was bathed in darkness like the last one. I took a few steps inside, holding my breath as I tiptoed. Since the last test was physical, I assumed this was the magic one. I searched my core for the demon within, and a swirl of energy flickered to life. Hello, my friend! With a quick glance at my upper arm, the swell of hope deflated. My tattoo was still dead.
Hopefully, my magical buddy would decide to make a cameo. Otherwise, I was stuck with only my demon powers. Again, the spotlight flicked on and focused on the dark wall.
Rules:
Defeat your opponent in seven minutes or less.
Supernatural abilities allowed.
Move on to the next challenge.
Okay, I could totally do this. Based on the last test, it seemed the winner was the last man standing—whether knocked out, unconscious, breathing or not, didn’t seem to matter so much.
A scuffle to my right sent my nerves on alert, and I scanned the dark room. With my supernatural senses active, I could make out a shadow coalescing in the corner. Who do I get to play with now?
The lights flashed on, and I blinked quickly to readjust from the darkness. A tall, lithe blonde stood in the corner in the same pale-yellow jumpsuit Flix wore. Fae. As if the perfect body and pointy ears weren’t a dead giveaway. Now, what sort of elemental powers would she wield?
The timer appeared overhead a second before the blare of the buzzer rang across the vacant space. And here we go.
The female splayed out her fingers, and shards of ice shot at me in rapid fire. Winter Fae. I dodged and ducked as the frosted missiles soared at me, a few nicking my arms. I hissed as the frozen daggers pierced my flesh. Son of a faery! I never expected them to burn so bad. I slid across the floor, avoiding her icy assault and sprang up in front of her. She threw her hands up and spat, and a thin block of ice materialized between us.
I punched at the frosty wall, but by the time I cracked the surface, the faery darted across the room. I grunted as I glanced at the clock and raced to catch her. She obviously knew what I was. My powers were pretty bad ass, but not if I couldn’t capture my opponent in my gaze. Once I trapped them, it was all over, but this girl was sprinting around the room like a freakin’ gazelle.
I called on my warlock magic, searching my core for the missing spark, but came up empty. My mystical tattoo stared back at me, the triangle and swirls practically laughing. The stupid thing was definitely busted.
I dashed toward the Fae and she splayed out her fingers once more, pointing at the floor. Ice coated the cement, and my feet slid out from under me. I hit the slippery surface with a crack, the pain shooting up my tailbone.
My head craned back, and I caught a glimpse at the ticking timer—only four minutes to go. My mind whirled to the last time my magic had made its appearance. That damn succubus henchwoman had tried to knife me in the gut. It was kill or be killed. This Fae girl was all defense, and if I didn’t feel personally attacked, my magic didn’t come out of its hiding spot.
How was I going to win this?
Come on, Azara, quit stalling. Talon’s voice rang out clear as day and I twirled around, sure he had somehow appeared in the room. There was no one there but the nimble-footed faery and me. You’re running out of time!
“I know that!” I shouted.
The faerie eyed me from across the room, her thin brows knitting. I didn’t blame her, I must’ve seemed like a total nutcase.
Two short buzzer blasts spun my attention to the floating timer. It stopped at three minutes and thirty-two seconds.
“What’s going on?” the girl called out. A swirl of thick smoke crawled up her legs until it blanketed her entire body, and she disappeared.
What the hell’s bells?
“There’s been a substitution. Same rules apply,” a robotic voice announced, only a moment before another figure appeared from a cloud of dense fog at the opposite side of the room.
My jaw dropped as the smoke lifted and revealed the two-headed duodo demon. The buzzer shrieked, and my heart leapt to my throat. I only had a second to notice the timer start ticking down before the demon attacked.
The bull-like creature galloped toward me on all fours, its two heads snapping razor sharp teeth. From my limited experience with the demon, it was more beast than man. With very basic intelligence and an insatiable blood lust, this monster only had one thing on its mind.
Eating me.
I lurched to the side as it charged, diving to the floor. It wasn’t able to stop and bashed its two heads right into the wall. It backed up and shook out its twin skulls, leaving a pair of huge gaping holes to adorn the SIA’s torture chamber.
It only took a minute to reorient itself toward me. With a growl, it stomped its front hoof on the cement. I took the momentary pause to come up with a plan. There was no way I could beat this thing with brute strength. I needed my magic. Glancing at my dead tattoo, I cursed it again. Not even a flicker.
One-minute remaining.
The creature snorted and lumbered forward for a few steps before picking up its pace. This was it. I only had one option, and it was a hell of a risky one. The duodo lunged, and I backed up against the wall. Calling on my inner demon, I summoned her to the surface. Dark tendrils of power filled my core, creeping into all the nooks and crannies.
A burst of energy flowed through my muscles, and my insides buzzed with power. I hazarded a quick glance a
t the charging demon but kept still. I fixed my gaze on the beast’s right head, the dominant one, and locked on its dark eyes.
My demon clawed its way to the surface and darkness seeped into my vision. Only a few yards away, the duodo slowed his gallop into a measured trot. Its eyelids began to droop, a hazy expression replacing the murderous one.
Just a little closer.
I took a step, meeting the creature, our gazes still locked. A swirl of energy crept up my throat, and the ravenous hunger took hold. My jaw unlocked as I grabbed hold of the right head and pulled it to my face. A whisper of blue vapor seeped through my lips and pried the beast’s maw open. I inhaled deeply, and a scarlet mist tore out of the demon’s mouth.
I greedily sucked it in, the intoxicating power rushing to my head. After a few more gulps, the duodo’s head lolled back, its eyes rolling inside its massive skull.
I barely made out the drone of the buzzer in the background, but it didn’t matter. I wanted more, more power, more of this beast’s soul. Grabbing the second head, I tilted it back and captured its cloudy eyes in my death stare.
My lips parted and its soul practically jumped out, crimson energy spewing from its slack jaw.
Enough, Azara! A familiar voice echoed through my hazy mind. I shoved it back, intent on the heady rush surging through my veins. A few more deep pulls, and it would be over.
“Enough!” Talon’s voice boomed across the room.
My eyes snapped open and my head spun around, searching for the source of that commanding voice. The door whipped open, smacking against the wall and I dropped the demon’s limp body. It crumpled to the floor in a heap with both sets of eyes closed.
Talon darted across the room with Ella attached to his arm, trying to hold him back. “You shouldn’t interfere, T,” she shouted as he dragged her toward me.
I blinked rapidly, and the darkness edging into my vision finally dissipated. My knees wobbled, and I sank to the floor. As I dropped, my foot brushed up against one of the demon’s heads, and a bout of nausea crept up my throat. What did I do?
“Get it out of here,” Talon called out to no one in particular as he pointed at the motionless demon. He loomed over me, his dark brows twisted. “Azara?”
I tipped my head up and settled my gaze on his forehead. I didn’t want to meet his eyes because I knew what I’d find. Disappointment. Anger. Regret. And I didn’t need that right now. I had enough with my own guilt.
“Azara, are you all right?” he repeated.
“Yes,” I muttered and lowered my gaze to my folded hands. Had I passed the test or not? That was all that mattered, right?
Two guards appeared, their heavy footfalls echoing through the eerily quiet space. They bent down and dragged the demon out without sparing me a glance. Once they were gone, Talon’s voice shattered the uneasy silence once more. “Ella, can you give me a second with her?”
I’d almost forgotten about my cousin. I still didn’t look up, but I had a feeling she had objected to his request based on the lingering silence. A few beats later, her dainty footsteps click-clacked across the floor before completely falling away.
Talon backed up, his heavier footfalls calling my attention. I glanced up to find him flicking a switch on the far wall. He spun back a moment later and caught me in his dark gaze. Dammit. There it was—the disappointment I didn’t want to see.
He trudged back and folded down on the floor next to me. To my surprise, he didn’t say anything at first, just sat there in silence. I took the pause to regain control of myself, tucking my she-demon back into the far recesses of my core. Inhaling deeply, I wished I could get in a yoga session with my old trainer Mezlor. I really needed that Zen right about now.
Talon huffed out a breath and tipped his head back against the wall. “It was my fault. It was a stupid idea to send that demon in.”
My eyes bulged out, and I whirled at him. “That was your idea?”
“I thought if you felt like you were in real danger, your magic would come out.”
I gritted my teeth and suppressed the slew of curses I wanted to spew at him. I’d lost control because of him, in front of the freakin’ SIA. “Well, it did,” I finally hissed. “It was just the wrong kind of magic.”
“I’m sorry. It was stupid. I wanted them to see what you could do.”
“Now they definitely saw.”
“I’ll talk to Maxim, Azara. This isn’t over. It was my fault, and I’ll fix this.”
I seared him with a fiery glare. “What do you care anyway? Just let me rot in Darkblood where I belong.”
“You don’t belong there. Stop saying that.”
“Don’t I? Whenever given the chance, I lose it. It’s no use, I’ll never get my demon under control.” My head dipped, and I let myself plummet down the endless spiral of guilt.
Rough fingers gripped my chin and forced it back up. Talon captured me in his gaze, and I was useless to break free. “Azara, you’re being too hard on yourself. You know I’m the first one to tell you when you’ve screwed up, but today wasn’t one of those times. You were attacked, and you did what you had to so you’d survive. This is nothing like what happened at the Fae club—which we still haven’t figured out anyway.”
I wrapped my fingers around his hand and jerked it away from my chin. “What. Do. You. Care?”
His lips screwed into a pout, and the tendon in his jaw fluttered. “You’re tied to me now. Don’t you see that? When I gave you my blood, everything changed. No matter how hard I try to fight it, I can’t. I care about what happens to you, okay?”
A stupid smile split my lips before I could suppress it. Then a thought flickered to mind. “Wait a second. Aren’t there cameras in here?”
“Of course, there are. I turned them off when Ella left.”
After his startling confession, I felt slightly guilty lying to him about my cousin. But not enough to spill the truth—not yet anyway. We sat in silence for a few minutes as I digested his words. I tried to ignore the swirl of delight his words had incited, but it was too late. My traitorous heart broke into a happy dance. I had to remind myself the only reason the surly dragon cared was his blood running through my veins. Once the side effects faded, whatever we had would be over.
I wanted to ask him about the psychic connection we had developed, but decided I’d put it off for another time. I doubted my dragon bodyguard would open up to me twice in one day. Let alone while in the trial room of SIA headquarters.
“So now what?” I finally asked.
“Now we meet with Maxim and go over the results.”
I gulped. I didn’t think the director of the SIA would take kindly to me soul-sucking a demon. But who knows?
Chapter Ten
Ella watched from her perch at the sink as I towel dried my hair and changed back into my clothes. Talon had given me a pair of jeans and a few tops before we left the prison, but I hadn’t asked where they’d come from. I hoped they weren’t my cousin’s. The shower had felt amazing. It was the first time I’d been allowed to soak in warm water for more than three minutes.
“You did good in there, Azara.”
My brow arched. “Seriously? My magic decided to take a vacation, and I soul-sucked a demon.”
“A super powerful one that could’ve killed you and probably would’ve given the majority of our field agents a run for their money.”
I finished lacing up my prison-issued boots and stood up. “Well, thanks. I don’t feel like I did.”
“Magic is tricky, and I know you didn’t grow up in Azar like the rest of us. You’ll get a hang of it eventually.”
“Speaking of magic, what’s going to happen to those three inmates that saw me? They didn’t win so they’re not getting released. What if they recognize me at Darkblood?”
“They’ll have their memory wiped and then returned to their cells. No one ever actually gets freed.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry Azara, we’re looking out for you.”
Again, I wondered why my cousin was being so nice. Prison had turned me into a paranoid freak. I chased the stray thoughts away and grabbed my coat from the cubby, throwing it over my arm.
“Anyway, the director might surprise you,” she continued. “We don’t have many demons at the agency and with your mixed blood, you could be quite an asset.”
“Right. If I could only get my magic to work reliably.”
“If anyone can successfully train you, it’s Talon.” Her lips puckered for a second before returning to normal. “He seems to care about you.”
I snorted on a laugh. “Right.”
“I’m serious. You know how that tendon in his jaw twitches when he’s angry or worried?”
I nodded. I knew it well. I may have even had inappropriate dreams about running my tongue over it.
“It was going crazy while he watched you in there.” She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “Just be careful. Whatever’s going on between you needs to stay on the downlow if you hope to join the squad.”
My head whipped back and forth. “There’s nothing going on between us. It’s not like that at all.”
She shrugged and turned toward the door. “Okay. I guess I misread him then.”
I followed her toward the exit, my insides churning. Could she smell him on me too, like Garrix? Heat surged across my cheeks. What if Maxim did? That would be completely inappropriate.
Outside in the foyer, we met Talon. He leaned against the wall, his muscled arms pressed against his massive chest. It was stupid, but knowing he actually cared made me look at the surly dragon in a different light.
“Ready to see Maxim?” Ella asked.
“Guess so.”
She motioned toward the door, and Talon and I fell into step behind her. The walk back to the director’s office was an anxiety-filled silent one. The monster butterflies flapping in my stomach weren’t only mine either. Half of them belonged to the husky dragon beside me.
As we walked, I decided to test our little mental connection to find out if it was two-sided. Hello, Talon? Can you hear me? I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, but he didn’t flinch.