by Averi Hope
“Friends?” William squeaked.
Caleb tried his best to smile as the little man’s face crumpled. I remember what it was like to be afraid. Even though William bothered Caleb in a way that was hard to understand, befriending him would be a good first step to remembering his human side again. And he had a feeling it would please Erin, too.
As the three of them made their way toward the elevator, he glanced back at the beautiful woman who haunted his thoughts. Did she look paler? Were there slight circles beneath those remarkable eyes?
Admittedly, he’d been worried about her since the night she’d been drugged. He’d spoken to the bartender, who, although not exactly a personable human, remembered her ordering no more than a couple of drinks. He also searched through Erin’s file, which was the cleanest and most ordinary one he’d ever seen. She and her family were wealthy and powerful, but they had no obvious enemies.
So if someone drugged her simply to take advantage of her, who could it have been?
“Did you sleep well last night?” he asked, hitting the elevator button.
Her head jerked up, meeting his gaze. Her signs of exhaustion seemed to disappear as she squared her shoulders. “Very well, thanks. I hope you’re ready for one hell of a fight.”
He winked at her. “I am. And just so you know, I’m ready and willing anytime you wish to practice hand-to-hand combat.”
The elevator doors opened and she strode in, leaning against the back wall with a challenging air. “I think you’re the one who needs practice, big boy.”
He followed her in, closing the distance between them and looking down at her. “Are you saying you think you could take me?”
“Geez,” William muttered behind them, hitting the elevator button with too much force.
Caleb ignored him, his full attention focused on the woman in front of him.
She leaned in, her mouth dangerously close to his. “Well, we’re about to find out. You and I are the best in the class, so you know we’ll be the last two fighting.”
He hardened as need rushed over him. “Want to make a bet?”
Doubt shadowed her eyes for half a second. Then it cleared. “What’s my prize?”
He hadn’t known what he’d say until she asked. There was something he definitely wanted, but he wouldn’t make a bet out of it. “If I win, we go on a date.”
Her smirk faltered for a second, then it reappeared, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “And if I win, I get to fly your ship.”
Leaning back, he stared at her in shock. Zenon wasn’t an ordinary ship, and living ships were bonded only to their pilot. He’d received her when he was eleven, and she’d fit snugly into the palm of his hand. She’d grown as he’d grown, thriving on his attention, sunlight, and nutrition. But after all that time together, she wouldn’t want to fly for another pilot. Unless it was my mate. He pushed the thought out of his mind.
He had worshipped Zenon over the years, focusing all the gentleness he couldn’t display with his people onto his ship. She had grown to the point she could comfortably support two humans for long periods of time, and four humans for short periods of time. He was proud of her. He cared for her. Could he really use her for a bet?
“No.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off. “But I will allow you to fly in her, with me at the controls. It would not be safe for her to allow someone she is not familiar with to fly her.”
“She?”
He nodded. Now, I need to get her to accept. “Do we have a bet or not, little human?” For a second, his heart froze. Would she say no?
“You have a deal.”
The elevator doors opened.
“This is my stop.” She sauntered out, casting a slight smile back at him. “I hope you’re ready for the fight of your life.”
“I am,” he replied. The doors closed, leaving him alone with the little green man for the first time.
Chapter Fourteen
Erin stared at the remains of her massive breakfast, leaning back in her chair with complete satisfaction. Dream Jumping burned a ridiculous number of calories. Most of the time, she loaded up on food before she did it so she would have available calories to burn. Burning fat reserves was nice in theory, but not so nice in reality.
After half a dozen pancakes, eight thick slices of bacon, and a mountain of eggs, she was finally feeling better. It wasn’t until she reached for another sip of her drink that she thought back on the conversation with Caleb and froze.
In the elevator, whether it was the closeness of Caleb or her empty stomach, she’d started to feel light-headed. So, why she couldn’t just keep her mouth shut was beyond her understanding.
Because now I’ve agreed to a bet I can’t possibly win. Either way, I’ll be spending time with the man I’d promised myself I would avoid.
She rose. Nothing she could do about it now, a bet was a bet. But what she could do was take the next step to prove she was the best. Her scores, along with her background, should be enough to ensure her future.
She just had to beat one six-foot-something man with muscles as big as her head. Which I’ve done before. But this time, the man was also the best fighter she’d seen in a long time.
Beating Caleb for the top score is going to be hard.
So far, in their sparing, she’d consistently taken down her other opponents. But with Caleb, sometimes he won and sometimes she won. The worst part of it all though was that she wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t let her win those times.
Walking to the conveyor belt, she put down her tray and hit the button. Her plate and food disappeared into the opening to the right. Leaving the cafeteria, she walked down the hall, nodding at a few cadets as they passed. Even the thought of it pissed her off. She wanted to win by her own means or not at all. And today would prove to him, and herself, which of them was better. Both with their sparring, and their other classes.
The elevator ride passed quickly, and soon she was stepping out onto the third floor combat rooms. The Hawks’ room was located at the end of the hall—the largest and nicest of them all. She strode to it, only pausing for half a second for the automatic doors to open. Inside, most of the other trainees were already standing around the large mat, clearly uncomfortable.
William, in particular, looked an even paler shade of green. She had to admit he looked closer to a child with his small stature and his stick-thin arms and legs completely bare in his sparring uniform. But maybe it was simply that he was standing next to Caleb, whose powerful arms and legs made her jaw hang ever so slightly.
Focus, girl!
“Out of the way, Assassin!” Peter shouted, giving her a wink as he sprinted past her.
Peter. The guy who’d gone from hating being humiliated by her day after day to embracing the fact that he found her scary as hell. At first he’d been the only one calling her Assassin, but now, half the class did. Luckily, her own little nickname for him had already spread around campus.
And his name certainly wouldn’t help with the ladies.
“Better hurry, Minute Man, we both know you could use every second you can get.”
He didn’t turn back as he rushed into the guys’ changing area in the back, but Brody hissed, “Nice,” and gave her a high five as she strode past.
Walking past all of them with a few hellos she went to the women’s changing rooms in the back. It was a small room, with lockers around the back wall and a wall of mirrors. Two girls chattered nervously behind her, while a third stretched on the dark wood floors, her gaze faraway.
Erin put on her Starfire Academy sparring uniform. The dark blue tank top had a large academy logo on the back, teamed with short shorts. She looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She still looked thinner than she should after her Dream Jumping, but her ass and breasts hadn’t suffered.
For an instant, she imagined Caleb’s dream. The curves of his body had fit her own so well. She was certain his muscular thighs and p
erfect ass would be imprinted in her mind forever.
Her entire body felt tight. She sucked in a deep breath. Thinking about him was the wrong way to get herself ready for the test. She needed to think of him as the enemy. But instead, her mind kept going to the familiar expression that came over his face every time she walked out in her sparring clothes.
He wants me as much as I want him. She grinned.
“Nervous?” Sanders, a short girl with strawberry red hair, asked, rising from the floor of the changing room.
Erin shrugged. “Not really.”
The other girl went a shade paler. “That’s because you’re good. That Professor Irtun has been wanting to fail me from the moment I walked in.”
A wave of sympathy washed over Erin. She looked toward the two chatting girls in the back and leaned in conspiratorially. “The good thing about having the old Keltair as a teacher is that he doesn’t see much point in training students, other than those on a Commanding track or Security track. The rest of you, he challenges as little as possible and passes off. At least that’s what I heard.”
Relief rushed over her face. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
They walked out together, past the walls mounted with deadly looking weapons, and made their way to the mat. Erin stopped just before it to stretch, while Sanders went to stand awkwardly beside a few guys who were chatting.
“It looks like we’ll be facing off today.”
She rotated her hips forward to allow herself to come down into a perfect split, then glanced up. Greg was grinning down at her. Decently tall and handsome, with above-average intelligence, he was the perfect resource for all her pent-up frustrations. She should’ve been riding him in bed each night, and forgetting him each morning.
Then why haven’t you been? her thoughts taunted. Because you’ve got someone else in mind, even if you don’t want to admit it.
“I’ll go easy on you, okay?” she said, reaching forward until her breasts brushed the floor.
It took him a second to answer. “Do you want to celebrate a little, either way, later on?”
Normally, she would’ve said yes, but she wasn’t sure on the timeframe of her bet with Caleb. And I have to Dream Jump tonight. Her stomach flipped, the air struggling in and out of her lungs.
Clearing her throat, she forced her words to come out casual. “Probably not tonight, but maybe tomorrow. I’ll let you know.”
She sat up and drew her legs in front of her, curling them up to her stomach. Rotating her neck, she felt some of her tension easing. Then, her gaze met Caleb’s and her breath caught. He was staring straight at her, eyes blazing. She’d never seen him look so angry and, as his gaze slid to Greg, she could guess as to his sudden shift in mood.
The doors to their room slid open.
“Cadets, line up!” Professor Irtun strode toward them.
She sprang up to stand in line with the others at the edge of the mat. The Keltair’s deep brown skin, dark hair with gray twining through it, and two ivory horns never ceased to draw an instinctive negative reaction from her. His people are not our enemies anymore, she reminded herself.
But it was hard to be in the presence of a people who thrived on war and death. Who had killed more humans than every other species combined. Like the saying went, Peace with the Keltairs changes like the weather on Turonga. Her gaze went to Caleb with his smoldering gaze. It was hard to believe he had their blood running through his veins.
When the professor stopped in front of them, he radiated authority. “Warriors to the right, everyone else to the left.”
By warriors, the professor meant those students who had proved themselves to be apt at fighting. He’d focused the majority of his time pitting them against each other over the weeks, while he ruthlessly pushed them harder.
She and five large men went to the right. The rest of the class went to the left.
Standing a little straighter, she tried to radiate absolute confidence. Being smaller or physically weaker meant nothing to her. Over the course of her lifetime, her father had given her the finest instructors in both common and unique forms of fighting.
She stared at the six students across from them, three women and three men. All were slight of build, but then, Communications and Engineering specialists hardly needed to be expert fighters.
“You!” Professor Irtun drew out the word as he circled to the other side of the room and stared down the row of small, pale students. “Chances are if you ever see any real combat, it will end in your deaths. You will show the basic understanding of the techniques I’ve instructed you on, because it is required of you.”
“And all of you…” He turned to face us, his gaze sliding down our line, hesitating as our eyes connected. “The academy does not allow fights to the death. Apparently, your precious parents would complain. But you will learn to fight, and you will learn to do it well. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!” She and the men answered as one.
“Good.” He nodded. “Let’s get the less exciting fights over with first.”
The students circled the outside of the mats. William and Sanders were up first. Both the redhead and her friend look toward Erin. She smiled her most reassuring smile.
“Go!” the professor said, clicking his timer.
The entire fight was so cringe-worthy that Erin wished she could look away. They danced around each other for a painfully long time before Sanders hopped on William and pinned him to the ground.
Professor Irtun clicked the timer and rubbed at a spot between his brows, his expression pained. “Next.”
After three rounds, the winners fought each other. In the end, Sanders was the champion of her group of students. The professor didn’t congratulate her. Instead, he scowled and asked her and the rest of her group to sit to one side of the room.
William hadn’t made eye contact with Erin since his fight, even though she shot him a sympathetic glance as he crossed the room.
“Now…” Excitement finally crept into the old Keltair’s voice, “the interesting stuff.”
He crossed to a dark cabinet in one corner and pulled out a dagger that glittered in the bright light from the large windows. “The champion of these matches will receive this symbol of their superiority. This is a Keltairian dagger.” He spun it in his hand. “Perfectly balanced. Diamond-tipped blade. And a laser that can cut through six inches of solid steel.”
“Damn right!” Greg shouted, elbowing Erin slightly.
Brody and Peter bumped chests.
Erin rolled her eyes. She’d heard of daggers like this one, but never held one. It was exciting, but the guys didn’t have to go all bro on her. Constantly having to prove what cool guys they are must be exhausting.
“The winner will carry this weapon on them until the end of the next session’s fights, when a new champion may be named. At the end of the year, the student who kept the dagger the longest will get to carve their name here.” He opened the cabinet to reveal a long list of scribbled names. “Does everyone understand?”
“Yes, sir!” they shouted.
“Good,” the professor said, putting the dagger away. “Now, here are our initial matches. Greg and Erin will be up first. Brody and Caleb second. And Peter and Gurlock third.”
There was a lot of bumping and grunting as the excitement built between the macho bro brothers, but she had to admit that she was excited, too. Stepping onto the mat, she grinned at Greg. He returned her smile with just the slightest bit of worry on his face.
“Don’t look the Assassin in the eye!” Peter shouted.
“Come one, man,” Brody taunted. “You’re zero for fifty with this girl. Don’t let it be fifty-one!”
“Go!” the old Keltair shouted.
She tossed her grin aside and came at him. His arms rose to block her, but at the last second, she swept his feet out from behind him. Climbing on top of him, she forced her forearm against his throat and wrapped the other one behind his head.
He bucked beneath her, trying to throw her off. She increased the pressure on his throat.
Rolling, he was suddenly on top of her. She didn’t release her grip on him. He put his full weight on her, twisting to thump her against the ground over and over again. But she gritted her teeth, holding on for dear life. He started to sag forward, but she couldn’t let go. Not in this position, or she was done for.
“Enough!” the professor shouted.
She released him, panting.
Greg turned slightly, then fell on top of her. His head rested against her chest for a moment before he slowly looked up. “Geez. You always mean business, don’t you?”
She smiled and fluttered her eyes. “What can I say? I have a lot of experience rolling around with men.”
The frustration drained from his face and he frowned, although playfully. “I’m sure you’ll make it up to me sometime.”
“Are they finished?” Caleb asked impatiently.
Erin pushed Greg away, climbing to her feet and meeting Caleb’s gaze. His neck was red, his pupils dilated. His fists were clenched at his side. She could sense every muscle in his body tensed and ready to attack.
Greg climbed to his feet, putting his hand lightly on the small of her back. “Man, you Keltairs really can’t wait for a fight, can you?”
The look on Caleb’s face made her breath catch. She shifted away from Greg and off the mat, feeling strangely guilty. Caleb and I only kissed. We’re not lovers or a couple—he can’t be that jealous. He doesn’t own me.
But the unfamiliar feeling persisted.
Caleb stomped onto the mat. Brody followed him a little more slowly, and she swore the look he shot the professor was you’re kidding me, right?
“You got this, man,” Peter said, “show Irish your new moves.”
She swore Caleb looked only angrier at the nickname they’d given him due to his slight Irish accent. Which wasn’t good for Brody. Not one bit.
“Go!”
She barely took a breath before Caleb was attacking the other man. His fists flew, knocking Brody to the ground. And even though both men were big and muscular, Caleb moved as if he was half the size. Striking. Blocking. Rolling.