“Wow, you didn’t pass out. I guess that’s progress,” Ash quipped. “Especially considering how much wine you two drank last night. Expensive wine, might I add.”
I glared at him, but smiled sourly, “Well, good thing you’ve got a job, a trust fund, and an inheritance. You can afford it.” I shouldered my way past him as he gaped, having the decency to at least look sheepish, though it didn’t last long.
I couldn’t see him, but I heard him follow me into the hall and could hear the hubris in his voice when he called after me. “Make sure you eat a good breakfast. You’re gonna need your strength for training. Meet me outside in twenty.”
I whirled on him, but he was already walking away, so I called loudly, “I thought Jade was training me!”
“You thought wrong, Princess. Twenty minutes!”
I stared after him for far too long. If he’d come back, it would have been embarrassing. Flustered didn’t say it. The early morning confidence I’d felt at being able to communicate with the Guardian washed away, quickly replaced by gut-wrenching anxiety.
Eventually, I turned around and headed to the kitchen, making some coffee while I rummaged for food. I eventually settled on two eggs and a granola bar when I found the bread had mold on it. Yeah, we definitely needed to go shopping. I scarfed down the granola bar as I scrambled the eggs, then I practically inhaled those too, so I scrambled two more.
In all fairness, I hadn’t eaten in over a week before last night, but it could also be the nerves. I had a tendency to eat my feelings when I was nervous, and I definitely was. I couldn’t train with Ash. And what kind of training could he give me anyway? How to control my inner self? How to own my power? How to shift from one form to the other effortlessly? … Probably battle training… Okay, fine, he was probably the best option, but I still didn’t have to like it.
“Wanna put some money on that?”
I jumped sky-high, choking on my last bite of eggs as Jade poofed into the kitchen right next to me.
“If you are going to keep doing that, we’re gonna need some personal space rules.”
Jade laughed as I picked up my plate and walked past her to the sink. “My bad,” she chuckled out as I washed up.
“Why don’t I think you actually feel bad about it, though?”
“Mmm… Because you know me.” I turned to look at her, but my exasperation was curbed as she winked, and I laughed.
“So, it’s to be torture for me rather than training, I gather.”
“Oh, come on, I’m sure Ash has a few things to teach you,” Jade said with a waggle of her eyebrows.
“Tell me this is an actual plan to train me and not some nefarious plot to play matchmaker while the fate of the world rests in the balance.”
She shrugged. “Can’t it be both?”
“No.”
She laughed at me again, the way a parent laughs at their child when they’re saying something ridiculous but utterly adorable.
“Five minutes!” Ash yelled as the back door opened and then closed again, and I glared at Jade, dropping my shoulders and letting my head fall to one side.
She shrugged and smiled in true Jade fashion. She would get her way because in the end, we all knew that she knew better than we did.
“Fine, I’ll trust your recommendation.” I headed past her to the back door and waited until I had it open to add loudly, “You old crone!”
“Oh, hell no! I know things, Alex! Don’t test me!” she was yelling as I quickly slammed the door and ran, just in case. I was looking back at the door—like she’d even use it—and not paying attention to what was right in front of me. Until I hit it.
I ran face first—or rather ear first—into Ash and basically bounced off him, landing on my ass on the grass.
“Ow.”
“Oh, good Entity and the Goddess,” Ash said as he reached a hand out to help me up. “How am I ever supposed to train you?”
“Don’t know. Not my idea.”
“Listen, Princess, I’m trying to help you—”
“Can you cut the ‘Princess’ shit? It’s getting seriously old.”
“What? Don’t like being called out… Princess? If you can’t take the words, what exactly are you going to do against fangs and claws and blades? A hellhound in a dream almost took you out.”
“I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work.”
“Oh, yeah? And what’s that?”
“You’re trying to goad me into changing. It’s incredibly unoriginal. And it won’t work. She doesn’t view you as a threat.”
“A threat to her? Or to you? Because I don’t see a Guardian right now. Just a weak little girl, too busy crying over her ‘poor me’s to step up.”
“No takers, Ash. She won’t hurt you. But keep it up, and I might. Don’t forget, I know where you sleep.”
He studied me for a long moment before his body relaxed and he said, “Fine. Then we’ll start with fighting. Hand to hand first, and when you get a feel for that, we’ll start with weapons.”
“Wait, what?”
“What?”
“That’s what I said.”
“What?”
“Ash!”
His head tilted back as he let out one of those melodic laughs that affected me so, and my soul clenched. “I’m sorry. That was just too easy. What did you think we’d be training you on?”
“I don’t know, history of the world, facts about our enemies I need to know, figuring out how to control when and where and how I change.”
“Jade will take care of that. I’m here to teach you how to fight, just in case.”
“In case of what?”
“In case you need to defend yourself. Or the world. Or in case you’re in too tight a space to shift or find that you suddenly can’t. We don’t know what’s going to happen with all of this. A Guardian without an Anchor is unheard of. Her powers are given and stripped repeatedly, but if someone finds you and you’ve lost her, they’re not going to care. You’re in this world, with or without her.”
I swallowed as I stared at the ground between us. I hadn’t considered the possibility of losing her, not really. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe, somewhat unsuccessfully.
“Hey, breathe, Alex. It’s gonna be okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t think.” His hand slid along my neck, brushing the hair aside and cupping my jaw, then lifted my face to meet his gaze. “I’ll keep you safe. No matter what. But part of keeping you safe is me teaching you to defend yourself. Just in case I’m not there.”
My stomach was all aflutter, more so than maybe ever before. I nodded, unable to make my mouth form words and kind of not trusting what words it would form if it could. All I could focus on was the feel of his skin against mine, the warmth of his hand as it brushed along my skin, and the empty, cold feeling left behind as he pulled it away. I released a forceful breath as he withdrew, one he was kind enough to ignore as he took a step back.
“Okay, so, you’ve had some fight training. We should build on that.”
I nodded again, my brain function not quite back to speaking levels yet until I processed what he’d said, then I tilted my head and looked more closely at the man across from me.
“Andrew tell you that too?” I asked coldly, and Ash’s gaze dropped to the ground fleetingly before raising to meet mine with equal steel. I shook my head and turned away from him, needing some distance. “Whatever. Okay, how do you wanna do th—”
I never finished, interrupted by the sound of rushed footsteps and the wind whistling around his body as he rushed me.
14
Alex
Iwoke up incredibly sore. Just as I had every day for the past two weeks. We’d trained all day, every day, taking only a short break for lunch—during which Jade and Ash took turns telling me things about this world they thought I ought to know—before we were back to fighting. I’d been so tired the night before I hadn’t even eaten dinner. I’d even been too tired to try to access my Guardian’s power to
heal. I’d just dragged my tired ass inside and leaned against the shower wall under the hot water for as long as I could stand, then crawled in my bed mostly dry and passed out. As a result, every muscle in my body hurt. Every. Single. One.
I lay there for several minutes before Jade appeared just inside the door.
“Up and at ‘em sleepy head. His highness is getting fussy, and dealing with his moods is not part of my job description.”
“Ugh… Fine. Tell him I’ll be there in a minute.”
“So… lie to him.” She smiled. “Got it.”
Jade disappeared just as I heard Ash call from the den, “I heard that!”
I rolled my eyes at their insane back and forth, then rolled myself toward the side of the bed, sliding one leg over the edge and rolling the rest of me off the bed onto my shaky legs. I used the bed as leverage to help me actually stand up, and when I did, my abs and hip flexors screamed and spasmed in retribution.
Hokay, if you’re in there, I need help healing. Training is important, for Guardian stuff, I thought, reaching out for her as I did.
I felt the heat in my belly instantly, warming and spreading, washing over me like that relaxing shower from the night before, then settling over me for a few moments like a warm, comforting blanket. Every muscle in my body relaxed one by one, the soreness sloughing off and their strength returning, until my body felt new and fresh. The entire process took no more than a second or two, but my awareness of time had been changing too. I could count the fractions of a second effortlessly and when I focused, the world around me seemed to slow down.
“You’re getting better at that.”
I whirled toward the now open door to see Ash leaned against the doorframe. The morning sun was shining on him like his own personal spotlight, making the highlights in his hair sparkle. How long had he been there?
“Not better enough, obviously. I didn’t hear you knock. Get out of my room. I’m coming.”
He smiled and his eyes twinkled mischievously. “Already? I barely looked at you.”
I gaped at him. Eyes wide. Mouth hanging open. Gaped. “Excuse me?”
He laughed again, straightening up and wandering into the room. “Besides, technically it’s my room, so I don’t have to knock.”
“Jesus, Ash. If you want me to leave, just say so. We’ll go in—”
“I don’t want you to leave. I was actually hoping you guys would stay forever. I’m thinking about getting us all a dog—Ow!” he cried as a pillow hit him in the face. Yes, I threw a pillow. It was all I had.
He picked the pillow up off the floor and threw it back at me, then said with a devilish gleam in his eyes, “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that later, Princess.”
I shivered pleasurably in a way I hadn’t in a while, and his lips dropped apart as he watched me, but for once, he didn’t smirk. He only watched with a hungry gaze, then met my eyes unapologetically.
I swallowed, feeling like a bunny trapped in a wolf den. Which was actually a pretty appropriate comparison given Ash’s predatory nature and the fact that he actually was a wolf sometimes.
“I brought you something,” he said, pulling away from the doorframe he’d been leaning against. He reached out and handed me a set of light, leather feeling fabric that I hadn’t noticed. Surprise, surprise. “Wear these for training today. I’ve got more coming. This will be what you wear from now on when we’re training. Also, I made breakfast when you’re ready, then I’ve got a surprise for you outside.”
I watched him curiously as he turned to go. “Oh, goodie,” I called to his back as he left the room, closing the door behind him. “I always love your surprises!”
That was weird. Ash usually avoided being alone with me outside of training, and even that was focused. I turned away from the door, tossing the pile of fabric onto the bed and tugging my shirt over my head. Still pondering the odd interaction, I slipped my pants off as well and changed into the new set of training clothes.
They were leather, supple, light-weight, but still sturdy and thick somehow. The pants went on relatively easily, for fitted leather pants, and the top was basically a high leather corset with sleeves and almost no back so there was room for my wings if I shifted. Well, if I partially shifted. If I fully shifted, I was pretty sure I’d shred everything I was wearing without exception. Once they were on, they seemed to fit themselves to my skin. They felt like armor to the touch, but I could still move like I was in a tank top and my yoga pants.
Magic. Had to be. He’d given me enchanted training clothes. How? Who knew. Ash left after training every night to go to ‘work’ and came back sometime between when I passed out and sun-up for training. I had asked a few times, but he had managed to avoid giving me any real answers, and I was beginning to wonder if there was a ‘work’ at all.
His secrets remained secret, but his mood had improved significantly over the past couple weeks, and he hadn’t threatened to scary-demon-out in at least a week. Even training had been drama-free, and I had to admit, hanging out with Ash had actually become pretty enjoyable. My body still reacted to him without my consent or participation, and the butterflies in my stomach were in overdrive all the time. It had actually started to cause a bit of nausea, and I was beginning to wonder if there wasn’t something magical up with that too.
Fully dressed in the leathers, I slipped on socks and the combat style boots he’d brought home for me on our third day of training, and then I headed to the kitchen. The outfit was so comfortable, I almost forgot what I was wearing until I exited the hallway into full view of the kitchen. Ash looked up instinctively as I walked into view and froze. His eyes dropped to the counter that separated us, then slid back to me and slowly up my torso, almost as if it were drawn there against his will. His gaze was so heavy I could feel it, like hands on my skin, making their way slowly to my neck and face and, finally, to my eyes.
“They fit,” Ash said in a voice that was just a little too high. He cleared his throat and continued in a slightly lower tone. “That’s good.” He smiled awkwardly and turned, setting his plate in the sink and turning on the water.
“Yeah, they fit. A little better than when I first put them on too.”
I might have been mistaken, but I thought I saw a slight blush brighten Ash’s cheeks as he grabbed a sponge and the soap and began scrubbing his plate just a little too hard.
I looked to Jade, seated at the counter nearby. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“So, I’ll eat real quick, and we can get to it,” I said, turning to pass Jade and head into the kitchen, but a plate appeared on the counter in front of me like magic, only this time, it was Ash. He slid the plate to me without a word and then turned away and started cleaning up the kitchen.
“Thank you,” I all but whispered, looking to Jade again, but she was no help. She just kept making kissy faces at me and inappropriate hand signals between the two of us, so I Ignored her and ate my breakfast—a massive egg-white omelet with spinach, tomato and mozzarella cheese, which was absolutely delicious—as quickly as possible.
“I’ll be outside when you’re ready,” Ash said before heading outside.
No sooner had the door closed than Jade started, “Girl! What is going on? Did something change between you two? You’re supposed to tell me these things. Don’t make me start treasure hunting through your mind again. What gives?”
“Nothing. I don’t know. He’s just being weird today. Nothing has changed.”
“Mmm-hmm… Likely story.” She stood and turned to head to the room she had claimed for herself, calling over her shoulder, “I’m watching you!”
I shook my head at her antics as I hopped off the stool and headed around into the kitchen, cleaning my own dish and laying it out to dry before heading outside.
As I opened the door, something whistled through the air toward my head, and I smiled to myself. Ash had been trying to catch me off guard all week, but with my new Guardian powers, I was picking up new skills quickl
y. I felt my eyes heat, and the world slowed down around me. I turned, snatching the rubber training weight out of midair, then completed the spin, releasing it in the direction from which it had come.
As the world sped back up, I heard a satisfying thunk followed by, “Ow!”
“Yes!” I screamed, throwing my hands in the air in victory. “Finally! I got you!” I cried as my head fell back, only to hear another whistle. I ducked quickly under that weight, and jumped over the next, but Ash was moving fast and throwing them from all around me. I managed to miss most of them, but by about the twelfth, I got hit in the thigh and grunted as I went down hard.
Ash jogged over and held out his hand, a smug smile playing across his lips. I took it and let him help me up, whispering, “Sore loser,” to which he responded with a bigger, albeit less douchey, smile.
“That was so much better, but I shouldn’t be able to touch you, Alex. You’ve got to access her more, or better.”
I nodded, uncomfortable under his praise. He hadn’t been particularly free with it since we’d begun training, and while this wasn’t exactly gushing, he wasn’t yelling at me.
“Okay, now for the surprise…” he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
He nodded to the left, indicating I should follow him, then turned and walked that way. I followed him a little way into the woods, wondering the entire time what might await us in the dark woods out of view and earshot of the house. He led me to a small area where the trees were sparse. There was a large stand next to one of the trees and it held a plethora of weapons: staffs, bows, spears, swords, daggers in singles and matching couplets, sets of throwing knives, axes, and even a scythe.
My butterflies stilled for a moment as my stomach was filled with dread. “Weapons training?”
“Weapons training,” Ash said, matter-of-factly. “Don’t worry. Your leathers function as armor.”
“Which means you’re planning to swing those things at me. Very comforting.”
Ash smiled that smile that made me forget to breathe and the butterflies picked back up, forgetting to be afraid. “Better me than someone intent on killing you.”
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