Veiled Guardian: A Borne of Angels Novel (The Awakening Book 1)

by Leigha Wolffe

  “We’ll see.”

  Ash’s eyebrow arched impossibly high and the left side of his mouth pulled up in a heart-stopping half-grin. That was always a good sign. The right side meant he was genuinely amused. It was the happy side. The left side only pulled up when his smile was either sarcastic or angry. It was the sexy grin that hid his bitterness or dripped with disdain, but I hadn’t seen it in the past week or so.

  Why did I know that?

  “Alex? You ok?”

  I snapped to attention, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Yep. Sorry.”

  “Okay. You sure? I need you focused if we’re gonna start weapons training today.”

  “I’m focused now. Promise. I’m ready.”

  Ash nodded. “Okay, then. Let’s do this. We’ll start with melee weapons. They’re for close proximity, things you’ll use up close during hand to hand combat rather than from a distance.”

  I nodded thoughtlessly, staring at the daunting layout of shiny metal and polished wood.

  “Does anything stick out to you? Henry told me that sometimes with magical beings like us, a special weapon, or even a type of weapon, might call to them.”

  I knelt beside the weapons, letting my hand trail over each weapon, handles and blades alike, as I perused my options. Several things stuck out to me but not one particular weapon.

  “Anything?” Ash asked.

  “No, sorry. At least not one in particular.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I feel drawn to a lot of them, some more than others, but it’s hard to differentiate which. Can we try them all? Maybe working with them will help?”

  A wide grin spread across Ash’s face, the kind that reached his eyes and made them sparkle as they lifted to meet mine. “Hell yeah, we can.”

  15

  Alex

  “Damnit!” I grunted as I hit the ground hard. Again. We’d tried several different weapons so far: a staff, a spear, an axe, even a mace and a scythe. I was definitely doing the best with the twin daggers I was currently holding, but unfortunately, the best simply wasn’t great. At least not great enough. Ash kept winning and watching me like he was waiting for some miraculous break-through that just wasn’t coming.

  Pounding both knife-clutching fists against the ground, I started to push up, but hearing the rustle of leather behind me, I rolled quickly left. Ash’s twin daggers slid effortlessly into the ground where I’d just been lying.

  Before he could respond, I threw myself from the ground onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and crossing the daggers across his throat. Ash dropped and rolled, and I gasped as I was thrust onto my back. His full weight landed on top of me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he continued to roll. I didn’t relax my hold and kept the blades firmly against his throat as he finished his roll and landed back in a kneeling crouch.

  “Give it up, Ash. If this was for real, I would’ve slit your throat before you rolled. I win!” I wasn’t in the best position, and I’d lost a bunch of times before then, but I was elated that I had in fact managed to get the upper hand, just once, even for a moment.

  “About time,” he snarked with a grin, but his eyes were a bit duller than they had been at the start of the day. I could have been reading too much into it, but it looked like he was trying to hide his disappointment. I think he’d expected some miraculous explosion of skill and power that it was impossible to have naturally, thereby proving my divine heritage and destiny. Or maybe that was just me. Based on my performance so far, it was no wonder we were both disappointed.

  I released Ash’s shoulders, sliding down from his back as he stood and landing lightly on the ground behind him.

  “Okay, sword time. You ready?”

  I cringed but nodded, heading toward the pile of weapons that was now in disarray. There was a definite draw pulling me toward the weapon, but something about it also made me strangely nervous. The combination of the butterflies I felt constantly in Ash’s presence and the nerves about the sword made me suddenly nauseous and dizzy and I turned, doubling over and bracing myself with my hands on my knees. I felt like I might wretch, but I took a few deep breaths to calm my mind, stomach and racing heart.

  Ash was instantly behind me, placing awkward hands on my back and shoulder, and when the spell passed, he disappeared then reappeared next to me, holding an opened bottle of water out to me. Nodding to him as I stood, I rested my hand on my hip and took the bottle. A few sips of water helped to slow my breathing and calm my mind a bit.

  “Wanna tell me what just happened?” Ash asked, and I shook my head.

  “I don’t know. I just… I get this feeling about using the sword. It’s like nerves, but also not. I don’t know. I’m not scared, but that’s kind of how it feels.”

  Ash watched me a moment, his expression guarded, then he turned and walked to the weapons, staring at the pile of metal, wood and leather. After a few more sips of water and few deep, cleansing breaths, I felt better, so I closed up the bottle, set it down next to a tree, then walked over to Ash and the weapons.

  “Pick up a sword.”

  I nodded, ignoring his suddenly harsh tone as I studied the dozens of swords. I knelt, closing my eyes and running my hand over the group of swords until I felt something. Grabbing the leather wrapped handle beneath my tingling fingers, I opened my eyes to find a simple and unimpressive double-edged short sword in my grasp. I rose slowly and backed away, staring at the long shaft of metal. Despite being a little unwieldy, it felt good in my hands as I moved back to our training circle. Swinging the blade in a full circle, I watched the reflection of the sunlight slip up and down the blade like a lover’s caress, and as Ash took position across from me, holding a sword of his own, I felt my Guardian purr.

  “Are you ready?” Ash asked, watching me curiously.

  My eyes met his, and my lips pulled up in a satisfied grin as I dropped into a fighting stance. I nodded and he lunged. Metal clashed against metal as I blocked his first blow, then his second. The reverberations shuddering through my arm woke something inside me, and I felt my muscles rise to meet challenge after challenge. I felt strong, capable. Magic and power flooded my body, fortifying my waning strength, fueling my tired muscles, heightening my senses.

  Finally, the moment came when I was no longer just defending myself, and I lunged at Ash, swinging the blade with a speed, strength, and accuracy I didn’t know even a supernatural being could possess. I advanced on him as he defended against my attack, driving him backwards across the clearing and feeling the strange warmth in my chest grow as the clashing metal rang and echoed through the suddenly silent forest.

  With a final twist of my wrist, Ash’s blade flew from his hand and he was left leaning back against a tree, hands up and breathing hard with the tip of my sword at his throat, eyes wide and glowing a brilliant gold.

  16

  Ash

  The cold steel of the blade brushed against my throat, but the Light coming from the weapon was far more disturbing. And her movements. I’d expected a modicum of ability, a surge of supernatural talent, but she’d flipped the switch so suddenly and overtaken me so easily, my mind still hadn’t caught up.

  What the fuck was that? I’d never seen anything like it. Not only was the blade still glowing, but so was Alex.

  She had this brightness about her, like the shade of the trees above us didn’t exist and the sun was reflecting off her skin like the summer sun off Lake Cavanaugh. And her eyes… Their sparkling hazel coloring had given way almost completely as the Light hidden within her shone through, turning them a brilliant silver. She was breathtaking even as her face tensed with recognition and her gaze flicked back and forth between the tip of her sword and the flesh of my neck.

  Even with the cold steel pressed to my throat, the feel of her eyes on me had the same effect it always did. My heart sped up, pounding against the cage of my ribs, my breath came shallower and quicker until I was panting, and my every thought was focuse
d on trying to control the flow of blood surging toward my hips. I could pass off the rest as exertion or nerves, but that… not so much.

  The breath in her lungs exploded outward, and Alex shot back away from me, staring alternately at me and the sword in horror.

  “Ash… I… I’m so sorry,” she whispered, then turned toward the house and took off at a fast walk that quickly turned to a trot.

  “Alex!” I lunged up off the tree and took off after her.

  “I don’t know what happened, Ash. I’m sorry.”

  “I know what happened,” I said with a huff, rushing to catch up. “You just found your weapon.”

  “It was more than that. I could have hurt you, Ash. I knew what I was doing. I just didn’t care. All I could think about was the feel of the sword in my hand, and the power flooding my body—”

  “And victory?”

  Alex’s gaze shot to mine and her eyes pinched together in that adorable way that made the skin between her eyebrows crease. “How did you know that?”

  “That’s how it feels when… when he pushes to the surface.”

  Her face softened, but it didn’t relieve the tension between her eyes. “Ash—”

  “The difference is, your heritage is heavenly, Light, and mine is Dark. When you feel the urge to fight, to kill, the desire for victory, it will always be for good. Always. Just like you.”

  In the silence following, I watched emotion after emotion wash across her face, but none prepared me for her reaction as she lunged at me. I almost dropped into a defensive stance, but I honestly didn’t have time. She was so freaking fast now that she was on me even as the thought crossed my mind, and her lips slammed into mine before I could react.

  Her fingers laced through my curls, and she pressed her body against me. Through the leather armor, I could feel her body respond to me, and I knew she would feel mine respond to her. The reaction I had struggled to control earlier just couldn’t be contained now, and as my arms wrapped around her, seemingly of their own accord, I pulled her to me.

  I lost myself in Alex, her scent, her embrace, the feel of her body moving beneath me. We were on the ground, and I couldn’t remember how we’d gotten there. My lips slid from her mouth past her chin to her throat, tasting the salt on her flesh as I moved to her chest. Alex used my hair to tug me back to her mouth, and I captured the gasp that escaped her lips as I pressed my hips forward into her. I felt the heat rush into my eyes. And flames.

  And then I felt him begin to rise.

  I froze as I suddenly had to focus on breathing. The demon’s cage was rattling, and I could feel him pressing against the barrier in my mind. The one that kept him safely confined, where he couldn’t hurt anyone. He’d been so docile lately that I’d convinced myself he was no longer a threat to Alex. I’d convinced myself it might be safe to be with her, but I’d underestimated how much he wanted her.

  The effort it took to pull away from her was second to nothing I’d experienced in my life, and I roared with the effort, throwing myself roughly backward and away from her.

  Alex sat up and looked at me, the pain and confusion so evident in her eyes as she reached for me. “Ash?”

  “Don’t!”

  When she flinched, it ripped a brand-new piece of my heart apart. But that would be nothing compared to the pain if he were to get out, to hurt her. He would destroy her. If she were to be harmed by my hand, I would not survive it.

  “It’s him, isn’t it?” she asked, and I nodded once, still struggling to contain the beast that was desperately trying to break free.

  “Let him out, Ash.”

  Her request caught me so off guard, I lost my focus and he surged forward. I managed to keep him contained, but just barely, as my eyes found hers.

  “You don’t know what you’re asking, Alex,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “He wants you. Who knows why or what for, but even the best-case scenario isn’t likely to be pleasant.”

  “Ash, maybe he’s just tired of being locked away. And even if that’s not the case and he’s insane and out for blood, I can handle him. You saw me today. My Guardian powers are growing and—”

  “You had one wave of good luck with your powers. One! It was impressive, yes, but you still can’t even control when you shift, Alex. You haven’t shifted since the wedding and you immediately lost consciousness afterward. You don’t know what his power is like! What happens if you pass out and you’re left at the mercy of some monster that I let out of his cage?”

  Taking a deep breath, finally back in control, I rolled onto my knees and pushed up. “I’m sorry, Alex. I thought I had him under control. I don’t.”

  “So, that was all him, then?” Her voice was so small when she spoke that I barely heard her even with my wolf hearing. I chanced a look up at her, but I shouldn’t have. Unspilled tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes, her lips were quivering, and she kept her gaze on the ground, unable or unwilling to meet my eyes. It was just as well. It was easier to lie to her when I didn’t have to look her in the eye.

  “Yeah. It was. Listen, I’m sorry, okay. I—I’m sorry. I won’t let it happen again. I won’t let him catch me off guard again. And I’m sorry I lost my temper too. It’s just frustrating. But you did great today. In training. We’ll work more on the sword tomorrow. It’s getting late tonight. I’ve gotta get to work.”

  Every lie I told her ripped pieces of my already ragged heart away, but as I turned to go, Alex called after me in a tiny, broken voice that shredded everything that was left of it.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I nodded shakily and called in a light tone that I hoped didn’t betray my lie, “Don’t worry about it. This supernatural stuff is difficult to navigate for all of us, and you don’t have the benefit of having grown up in it. You’ll get there. Just be patient.”

  I headed to my room and gathered my things into a small bag, and when I came back out, Alex was standing at the kitchen counter. I smelled the coffee before I heard the pot sputter and watched her reach up to grab a mug from the cabinet as I slipped out the glass doors without a word.

  Walking away from the house as I heard her tears begin to fall and a stifled sob tear from her throat was torture, but everything these days was torture, so I kept walking, even as my sight began to blur. A tear slid down my cheek as I cleared the tree line and stripped, stuffing my clothes into my bag and shifting before they could begin to fall in earnest. I grabbed the small bag in my massive wolf jaws and took off into the forest, wondering if I might be able to outrun the pain as a mournful howl ripped from my chest and rose into the night sky.

  17

  Alex

  God, he was such a grade-A fuckwad. Asshole just didn’t say it. He’d treated me like a lovesick schoolgirl with a crush on the popular boy and my rage and hurt had blossomed in my eyes as rage tears. I knew he’d seen them, and that was even worse. For a moment, just a moment, I’d thought he could be a decent human being, but here we were. He just couldn’t contain his innate dumb-fuckery any longer.

  Jade poofed into the den behind me as I was pouring my coffee, and it startled me so badly that I dropped the glass, spilling the coffee everywhere as it rolled off the counter, crashed to the floor, and shattered into a thousand pieces. I didn’t move. I just stared at the perfect representation of my life. A mess.

  A familiar howl rose from the forest, and I knew Ash had shifted. Everything inside me wanted to run to him, run with him, but I couldn’t. He didn’t want me. He’d made that very clear. And I shouldn’t want him. It was such a horrendous betrayal of Andrew—

  Andrew. I missed him so much. I hadn’t thought about him in days. Hadn’t cried for him in weeks. Not since the eight days I’d disappeared into my pain. It simply hurt too much, so after that, I’d swallowed my grief and focused on learning how to be the new me in this new world. And now, here I was, afraid I would disappear again. Into all the things I wanted, the life I would never lead, and suddenly my head was swimming.
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  I could see Jade trying to get my attention, vaguely registered her lips moving, but everything that had happened the past few weeks came rushing over the dam I'd built. I was trapped in a flood of my own making with no way out. I needed to go… needed to run… to fly… I needed to get away. I caught sight of the sliding glass doors and took off, sliding them open too hard and hearing one shatter, then sprinting into the night.

  Jade was suddenly in front of me. She overestimated my ability to stop while panicking, though, and poofed a little too close to me. I plowed into her, both of us tumbling to the ground in the backyard. I laid there stunned on my back for a few moments, then looked at Jade who was now lying on her back right next to me.

  “Well, that didn’t go as planned,” Jade said as she turned to look at me with a wry grin. “You have a lot of power and zero control. We’re gonna need to work on that. But now that we’re here, do you wanna talk about whatever had you sprinting off into the night alone?”

  “Why? Haven’t you read it in my mind yet?” I snapped at her. I knew she didn’t deserve it, but I was angry and frustrated and Jade was the most convenient target. My preferred target had just fled the grounds like his ass was on fire. Again. Given my knowledge of this world, I suppose that could be possible. His eyes caught fire, why not his ass. It was hot enough.

  I started laughing then, and I couldn’t stop. I knew I sounded crazy and hysterical—probably because I was—but I just couldn’t stop. I covered my face with my hands and let go. I laughed, and I cried, and something in the middle. I let the hysteria take me and wash me away in its embrace until it was finished with me and I was spent.

  Then I turned to my friend. “I’m sorry, Jade. I’m a bitch. I’m just losing it a little. I feel like there’s a stranger in my head and Ash is... complicated. He’s making it hard to remember who’s on my side.”

  “You know that’s always going to be me, right? I know this is a lot to take in. It’s disorienting, but never lose sight of that. I am always on your side. Also, just to clarify, you’re not crazy. There actually is a stranger in your head, so... Whatever that’s worth.”