Bound by Blood (An Anya Maynard Novel)

Chapter Twenty Two

   No…no I wouldn’t accept that fate, not for me and not for my family.

   My lips thinned in a fine line and I focused on that part of me that the goddesses responded to, that voice of mine that could be heard by those unseen to the eye…then I cursed the fates themselves.

   Fuck you, I thought with every ounce of fury in my being, if you can hear me then know this, I make my own path!

   I turned my loathing outward again, my face twisting into a contemptuous glare, “No…no the anger doesn’t suit me does it?” I shook my head earnestly at the elf in front of me as I clasped my hands together, “I find revenge to be so much nicer.”

   Then I swung my knotted fists upwards, connecting hard with the elf’s jaw and sending him stumbling back.

   Out not in, there’s more power in a back hand then a swing, another of Steve’s lessons. Maybe if I had been a trained fighter my blows would have more impact, but I wasn’t, all I had was my mass, but by putting that behind my strikes I might be able to hold my own here.

   Good to know you were listening, Steve’s voice held a hint of humor to it…beneath the exhaustion it took for him just to stay with it.

   Just rest okay; I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you.

   You sure?

   Positive.

   Like his father, I felt it when Steve removed that tether from my mind, realizing only with its absence the empty place it left in its wake that I had never noticed before.

   Connor wasn’t the only who was always with me, Steve was too.

   Maddie’s eyes immediately shot up to her brother, her fight pausing abruptly, then her worried features quickly turned to me in question.

   I gave her the barest of smiles, assuring her everything was okay.

   Her eyes lit up and she shook her head, the words, “damn girl,” readable even from here before she finished wrenching her elf’s arm fully from his body.

   I swallowed hard at his chilling cry, knowing no matter how sick that made me to see that, Maddie must’ve had a reason for not killing that elf outright. He must have done something to her or her family in the past, Maddie might be a pain in the ass but she only really harassed those who deserved it on a regular basis.

   I’d bet she made his life a living hell because he had done the same to her.

   I turned back to my elf at his grumblings, satisfied in myself as I had knocked him back a good three paces.

   “I’ll give you that one,” he rubbed at his jaw, “but if you assault me again then I will take that as a rejection of my offer.”

   I spun on my heel and threw the other into his chest in a roundabout kick, sending him back into the sand on his rear in answer.

   Maddie was right; there was some give when you connected with them, so much different than any of the wolves I had fought with. Of course it was never anything as dire as this, but just to train me. Steve too was pretty hard on the knuckles, it’s why he didn’t spar with me that often, I couldn’t take it even when I was the only one practicing blows.   

    The elf shook his head in honest remorse as he righted himself, “such a waste,” rolling from his lips before he lunged for me. He came at me low, aiming to take me down by my waist and I side stepped just in time, dropping an elbow into his spine.