If she was afraid of Evangeline, she wasn’t showing it. He doubted Evangeline would do anything to Tessa in his presence, but that didn’t mean she was harmless. If Tessa was worried, it would be understandable. Evangeline had a rather intimidating personality.
But considering how he’d had to prod Tessa to get her to attack him, he wondered if there was something more that made her hesitant to be the provocateur. Based on their conversation in his office, he’d say it was something from her past.
Something to do with that scar she was always running her fingers across.
He’d never been well acquainted with a valkyrie before but she was nothing like what he’d expected. Certainly nothing like what he knew of her sister, the deputy. Tessa wasn’t eager to fight, not quick to anger, and certainly not a fan of confrontation.
Suddenly, Tessa seemed very much like a woman who chose control as a method of self-preservation rather than because she was just naturally a pacifist. What had happened to her that she deemed it necessary to rein in her life this way?
Greaves finished helping Evangeline into a jacket and gloves and was handing her a mask.
Sebastian got his attention with a nod. “Greaves, we’ll both referee this one.”
Greaves nodded back, clearly understanding this wasn’t just an ordinary bout. There was no chance he wasn’t keenly aware this was another of Evangeline’s games, but Sebastian wasn’t about to tell Tessa what to do and he certainly wasn’t about to forbid her to do anything.
She was a grown woman. If she wanted to do this, that was her decision. And one he would unquestionably respect.
He would, however, do whatever he could to make sure she wasn’t hurt in any way. He mapped out the rules as Greaves equipped Evangeline with a foil, speaking very distinctly in her direction. “The torso is the only viable target. Any other touches or hits will not result in points. Blatant hits to other parts of the body will result in disqualification. First to three legal touches wins. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Evangeline rolled her eyes, then pulled her mask on and faced Tessa. “This will be over quickly if we’re only going to three.”
Sebastian wasn’t aware of Evangeline ever having any training in this particular discipline, but she seemed awfully confident. Of course, that was her standard approach to life. He’d never known her to assume she was going to lose at anything.
But this sort of assumption when she had a weapon in her hand? He didn’t like that at all. “This is a game of skill and turns, Evangeline. Not brute force and damage.”
She looked over at him as she stepped onto the piste, the strip that defined the boundaries of the action. She splayed a hand over her heart. “Brute force? Damage? What on earth do you think I’m about?”
He knew exactly what Evangeline was about. That was the problem. “Tessa, a moment please.”
She walked to him and lifted her mask. “Yes?”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I know. I want to.”
“She can’t be trusted.”
The right corner of Tessa’s mouth lifted. “I know that too. Don’t worry. I can handle anything she dishes out. Anything.” There was a dark fire in her eyes that made him suddenly wonder if Evangeline was the one he should be worried about.
Desire coiled through him at the thought of Tessa as the dangerous one. He smiled and shook his head. “All right.”
He backed away as Tessa returned to the mat to face Evangeline. The woman he’d spent his life taking care of and the woman who could take care of herself. The contrast wasn’t lost on him.
Evangeline waved her foil at Tessa. “How nice that Sebby’s worried about you, but we’re just going to have a fun little match, aren’t we, Theresa?”
“Tessa,” the valkyrie corrected brusquely.
Greaves snuck a look at Sebastian. He shook his head in response. It wasn’t a tone either of them had heard her use before, but Sebastian couldn’t blame her. Evangeline knew very well what Tessa’s rightful name was. The game play had begun.
“How silly of me to forget. Sorry, Tess.” Evangeline tested the tip of her foil against her glove, bending the whip-thin metal into a curve.
Tessa took her position perfectly, proof that she was not only an able student but a fast learner with a slant toward perfection. “Tess-AH.”
“Tess-ah,” Evangeline mimicked. “My apologies. Small details like that don’t always stick in my head.”
She was attempting to rile Tessa, but Sebastian couldn’t tell if it was working, because the masks hid the women’s eyes, making it impossible to read either of them. But Evangeline was certainly riling him with her little jabs.
Perhaps Evangeline had some natural proclivity toward fencing. She certainly knew how to cut a person with words. He’d been on the receiving end of her verbal sparring for years.
Evangeline took her spot, approximating an opening stance with as much precision as a chain saw being used to trim topiary. Tessa, on the other hand, looked like she’d been fencing all her life.
Pride spiked in Sebastian. The valkyrie had style and grace. Two of the many things Evangeline lacked.
Greaves stood at the center of the piste. He glanced at both of the women. “Since you are already en-garde, we will proceed. Are you ready?”
Both of them nodded.
He nodded back and stepped off the strip. “Fence!”
Tessa inched forward, cautious and definitely anticipating whatever Evangeline might do. It was a good call, since Evangeline came out with a thrust.
Tessa defended with the circular parry Sebastian had last demonstrated. He smiled and nodded, his pride in her growing.
Evangeline retreated, swatting wildly with her sword.
Tessa feinted left, then quickly jabbed Evangeline in the ribs on the right side.
“Halt,” Greaves called. “Point to Tessa. Back to your starting positions.”
“Point? What? How?” Evangeline pulled off her mask. “I can’t see in this thing.” She tossed it away. “I’m not wearing that. It’s messing up my hair anyway.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “You must wear it. It’s for your own protection.”
She fluttered her lids as she rolled her eyes. “We’re playing a game. Neither one of us needs protection. Especially when the only spot we’re trying to hit is below the neck and above the belly button. Right, Tessa?”
Tessa eased her mask off. “I suppose.”
“See?” Evangeline said. “Tessa doesn’t want to wear a mask either.”
“She didn’t say that.” Sebastian looked at his lovely pretender. Her face was aglow with exertion and perhaps a little frustration. “Do you want to wear the mask?”
She shrugged half-heartedly. “I’m okay either way.”
“Good,” Evangeline interjected. “No masks.”
“Then this bout is over.” Sebastian put his hands on his hips. “This is my gym. My house. What I say goes.”
Tessa lifted her eyes to him. “I’m fine with it and I’d like to continue.”
He shook his head. “It’s not your call to make. Either one of you could accidentally injure the other. I won’t be responsible for that.”
Evangeline heaved out a sigh. “You’re such a spoil sport, Sebby.”
“Really,” Tessa said. “It’s okay. We’ll be careful, won’t we, Evangeline?”
Evangeline nodded. “Oh, yes, absolutely.”
Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t like this.”
Greaves raised his brows. “Should we continue? This is highly irregular.”
“In many ways,” Sebastian growled. “Yes, continue.”
At least this way he could watch Evangeline’s eyes and expression.
Greaves got them into place again, and a second later, proclaimed, “Fence.”
Evangeline advanced slowly this time, her tongue protruding slightly from between her lips. It was a look he knew, one she adopted when she was conce
ntrating. He’d found it adorable at one time. Now it just reminded him of days gone by, wasted at the altar of duty.
Tessa’s face, however, was pure warrior. Her thousand-yard stare and the steely set of her jaw surprised him for a moment, but then he realized he was seeing her in her truest form. She was a valkyrie, trained for battle. Even if her weapon was a foil and the battle was merely defeating an overconfident vampiress with a penchant for manipulation.
It was a rather stirring sight.
Evangeline poked at Tessa, who easily side-stepped and took the opening to plant the point of her foil in the center of Evangeline’s chest.
“Halt,” Greaves called. “Second point to Tessa.”
Evangeline let out a loud, exasperated sigh. “That’s not fair. I didn’t have a chance to defend myself.”
Sebastian crossed his arms. “That’s fencing, Evangeline. You must be diligent about every move.”
She made a face, but got back into position.
Tessa did the same and Greaves called “Fence” once again.
This time, Tessa attacked first with a tentative lunge. Not much of an effort. Maybe testing Evangeline or trying to prod her to strike back and leave herself open. Evangeline swatted the foil away with an easy parry.
Then she snapped the foil through the air and caught Tessa squarely on the side of the head.
Tessa grabbed her ear and went down on her knees, cringing in pain. She hissed out a breath as she dropped her foil.
“Halt,” Greaves cried. “Halt!”
“Bloody hell, Evangeline. You did that on purpose.” Sebastian charged forward, his hands on Tessa the instant he was beside her. “Are you all right? Let me see.” He looked over his shoulder at Evangeline, anger boiling in his gut. This was exactly what he’d been afraid Evangeline would do. “No apology? Nothing to say for yourself? You’ll never change, will you? Get out. I’m done with you.”
She dropped her foil to the piste and yanked her gloves off. “You throw me out and I’ll never sign those dissolution papers.”
“Out of my sight now. I’ll deal with you and your foolish demands later. Greaves, remove her if she doesn’t start toward the door immediately.”
Greaves headed for Evangeline without waiting, and took her by the arm.
Sebastian turned back to Tessa as Evangeline’s protests faded with Greaves efforts. “I’m so sorry. Let me see your ear.”
The door closed behind them and the gym grew quiet.
She moved her hand. A welt marred her fair cheek and her ear was red, but there was no blood that he could see or smell. For that much he was grateful. He had no doubt the scent and sight of Tessa’s blood would enflame desires that had no place here.
He sat on the piste beside her and moved a strand of her hair out of the way, her cheek like satin beneath his fingers. “How badly does it hurt?”
She shrugged one shoulder, her breathing as steady as her pulse. Both of which surprised him. “I’ll live.”
He leaned in and feathered a gentle kiss over the mark, then tipped his head against hers trying to quell the anger still roiling in his gut. “I’ll throw her out. She hit you on purpose. I don’t care what she says about signing the papers.”
“Yes, you do.” She leaned away from him. “And you should.” She smiled, a small, understanding expression that made him feel undeserving. “But I’m glad you stood up to her. You need to do that more often, I think. Show her you mean business. And what you’re capable of.”
He studied her, amazed that the bright red mark cutting her cheek did nothing to diminish her beauty. “You could have taken her, couldn’t you?”
Tessa glanced away and shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I’m out of practice.”
He picked up the foil she’d dropped. “And this isn’t your kind of weapon, I know.” He pushed the blade away, the desire to see her valkyrie sword strong in him, but now wasn’t the time to ask her about that.
“No, it’s not. I’m not much on any kind of weapon, really.”
He pulled her gloves off and then held her hands in his, rubbing his thumb over the scar. “How did you get this? Please tell me.”
She swallowed and a deep shuddering sigh passed through her. A few long moments later, she spoke. “I was sixteen. My third year at battle camp. All valkyrie and berserkers spend their summers there as soon as they turn fourteen.”
She shook her head. “I was…full of myself. And I guess with reason. I’d won every tourney in my age group the last two years and that summer seemed to be shaping up to be more of the same. I lived to spar. I took on every comer. I even bested one of the visiting instructors. Fighting was my life.”
That was the last thing he’d expected to hear. “Really?”
She laughed bitterly. “Yes. There was talk of my becoming an instructor. And more talk of moving me into the Ragnarok Guard, the contingent of valkyries and berserkers who go into battle all over the world wherever assistance is needed, with intentions of grooming me for a commander position.”
He looked at her with this very impressive new information and saw her very clearly as the warrior she was. “So what happened?”
“One of the berserker commanders sent their best to meet me in a match. He was good. My equal, it was whispered to me. But Varren was a year older and immense. A mountain of a man even at seventeen.”
“I knew who he was, had seen him fight. I was thrilled to get a shot at him.” She flattened her hand on the mat and stared at the scar. “For several minutes, we tested each other. Then I went at him, ready to do some damage and make him know my name. We fought hard. I knocked him down. He was on his feet instantly and retaliated. That’s when he drew first blood, slicing me across the knuckles.”
She balled her hand into a fist. “It was like something broke inside me. My rage took over. The idea that someone had dared to draw my blood…”
She took a slow inhale. “They had to pull me off him. I almost killed him. Would have, I guess. The berserkers, they say they experience something like what I felt when they’re in battle. Blind fury. They welcome it. It’s what makes them invincible. But it made me feel like I’d lost myself.”
She sniffed and bent her head. “Like I was a monster.”
A small, dark spot appeared on the knee of her jeans and he realized she was crying. He took her hand. “Oh, Tessa. I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine—”
“You shouldn’t have to. No one should. It was awful. I lost control and it almost cost Varren his life.” She looked up at him, eyes wet. “I never want to feel that way again.”
“Which is why you work so hard to control yourself.”
She nodded. “I might have been born a valkyrie and that’s not something I can change, but I don’t want that to define who I am.” She pulled her hand out of his. “Not with this…thing inside me.”
“But you didn’t lose control today.”
She got to her feet. “Because I work at it. I’m always working at it.”
He stood beside her. “I’m sorry I made you fence. That must have been uncomfortable for you.”
She shrugged. “You didn’t make me. I chose to participate.”
“Did you also choose to test Evangeline?”
She made a face. “You figured that out, did you?”
He nodded. “It was clear how much more skilled you are than she. Like watching a…kitten and a tiger. You scored twice against her so easily. Why didn’t you just take the third point and end it?”
She tipped her head back. “Because Evangeline wouldn’t have been satisfied with that. Would she?”
“No. Losing to you would have pushed her to do worse.”
“And I wanted to see what she’d do. And how you’d react.”
“You were testing me.” His brows lifted. “Did I pass?”
“I was hoping you’d stand up to her, and you did. And it was a better alternative to her losing to me, because then we’d be wondering what she’d try next.”
�
�She’ll still try something.” He grunted, “Which is why I’m calling this charade over.”
“Before it’s finished?”
“She hurt you.”
Tessa’s fingers coasted over the welt on her cheek. “In an hour or two, this will be gone. Don’t let this be the reason you don’t get closure. Evangeline needs to sign those papers so you can be free.”
“You really want me to let her stay? To keep up this game?”
“Until it’s truly done, yes.”
He let out a long sigh. “All right. But you tell me differently and I will personally escort her to the town limits.”
Tessa smiled. “I appreciate that.”
He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Why don’t you rest for a bit? I would still very much like to take you out for the dinner I’ve promised you.”
She nodded. “Don’t worry. That’s still happening. It’ll be good for Evangeline to see us together. And a rest sounds nice. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
He watched her go, thinking about all she’d told him and just how formidable an opponent Tessa could be. He’d never been so glad to have someone on his side. Nor had he ever underestimated anyone quite so much.
Tessa had only entered Sebastian’s bedroom when she realized she was no longer alone. She turned to find Evangeline in the doorway. A tiny ripple of fear passed through her. Was the woman going to try something now that Sebastian and Greaves were downstairs? Tessa decided if that’s what Evangeline had come for, she wasn’t going to find the same Tessa she’d just faced. “Can I help you? I came up here to rest, not continue sparring with you.”
Evangeline’s brows arched in surprise. “I’m not here to spar. I wanted to congratulate you.”
Hah. Tessa crossed her arms. “On what?”
“On thoroughly captivating Sebastian.” She leaned against the door jamb. “I know you love him, but I wasn’t sure how he really felt about you until today. I honestly thought he’d be in love with me for the rest of my life. I was sort of counting on it when I came back here, but clearly I was wrong.”
Tessa didn’t know what to make of that. “Thank you. I suppose. Why were you counting on it?”
The Vampire's Fake Fiancée (Nocturne Falls Book 5) Page 16