The Survival of Four

Chapter 31

Avrey and I circled each other, both of us holding out our long swords defensively. Dylan thought it was a good idea for me to spar with her since we were the same size. I was the first to swing. She easily dodged and stabbed her sword toward my torso. I jumped back and attacked right back. We carried on for a few minutes, neither of us willing to back down.

I took a step forward and swung my blade in her direction. She lost her footing as she dodged my attack and stumbled onto her back. I stood over her and held my sword point to her neck. After a moment I stepped back, satisfied I had won the match. "You're fast," Avrey observed.

"Riley is known for her speed here at the haven," Dylan informed her.

She nodded and didn't turn her eyes from mine. "Good to know." I held out my hand which she accepted. I pulled her onto her feet and a moment later, we were sparring again.

Avrey was quicker this time. I dunked and her blade whisked over my head. I took a step and stabbed my blade toward her ribs. She dodged to the side and slapped the flat of her blade onto my forearm that had been shot by the arrow. I cried out in pain and instinctively released my weapon so I could grab my now throbbing arm. A second later, her foot connected with my stomach and I was knocked onto my back. Pain seared through my skin. "Gods..." I spoke through gritted teeth while holding my arm. Avrey grinned at her win, holding her blade point toward my chest.

"That wasn't necessary," Kyle spoke lowly. He walked to me and pulled me onto my feet using my good arm.

The daughter of Zeus shrugged. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

I looked at her wearily but slowly nodded, still tightly gripping my injury. "Don't worry about it."

I looked down at the bandages. They were getting soaked in red again. "There is a vial of nectar in my kitchen," Dylan told me. I nodded and started walking toward his front door, Kyle following behind me. We made our way into his kitchen and raided his cabinets until we found the vial. I took a drink of the contents while Kyle retrieved a first aid kit.

I watched his movements as he removed the bandage and threw it in the trashcan. A loud boom of thunder sounded causing our eyes to drift toward the window. Avrey was conjuring a massive lightning bolt. We watched a lightning bolt descend from a charcoal cloud and make an impact with the earth. Carson and Dylan fell back from the motion. "She's powerful," I noted.

"Very," Kyle added. "Maybe even more so than Dylan." I looked at him and watched him continue to stare out the window. After a moment, he drew his attention back to my arm, without looking me in the eye. He cleaned the hole in my arm and placed another bandage on it before rewrapping it.

Once we placed the kit where we had found it, we rejoined the others outside. Kyle, Dylan and I sat down on the grass, while Avrey and my brother sparred. "She's really good."

Dylan nodded. "She has been defending herself against monsters for over five years, I wouldn't expect anything less."

I zoned out, focusing on her movements. Her form and stance were perfect and she was light on her feet as she moved around in between attacks. She knew what she was doing. She used all of her weight behind each swing and made sure she had momentum behind each attack.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why didn't Zeus tell you where she was sooner?" I asked.

Dylan shrugged. "He wants her to be able to help us with the new attacker."

I shook my head and looked at him like he was an idiot. "Why wouldn't he bring her here and let her help us with the war?" My thoughts drifted to my father. He had kept Carson away from the war too.

"He probably didn't want her to get hurt."

I sighed and leaned back. "But we needed the help. She has powers. It would've made a huge difference." He didn't answer. Kyle rested a reassuring hand on my knee. I looked up at him and he slipped me a small grin. I returned the gesture, silently thanking him.

We watched them fight for many more minutes, each of them taking turns with the win. After a while, they switched roles and it was Kyle and Carson upfront sparring. The two boys visibly let out their frustration and hatred toward each other.

Avrey observed them with a very confused look on her face. "They look like they wouldn't care if the other got hurt."

The boy to my right let out a breathy chuckle. "Kyle and Carson don't care too much for each other."

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at us. "I thought you all were friends."

I nodded. "We are," I assured her. "Carson only arrived here at the haven a few weeks ago. He and Kyle didn't hit it off too well." I smiled. "They always find the smallest things to disagree on. But what can you expect? Fire and ware are polar opposites."

"You and Kyle seem to get along fine," she observed.

"Yeah, well we just happen to have things in common."

"What's that?"

I thought for a moment. I flashed back to my mother dying in front of my eyes when I was eight years old. Kyle had accidentally started a fire in his house, killing his mother and two little brothers when he was the same age. We were both held captive by Terran in the middle of the war. I had killed Aidan. He had killed Drake. "Everyone here at the haven has a past," I told her. "Every demigod that lives here has struggled to get to where they are today. Let's just say Kyle and I suffered similarly."

She nodded, accepting the answer and gazed back toward the fighting boys in front of us. "I'm sorry for hitting your arm earlier, I was focused on winning. I didn't mean to hurt you," she apologized.

I gave her a genuine smile. "It's okay. You are forgiven."

We sat for a long while in silence as the boys messed around. Eventually, Avrey spoke back up. "Dylan, can you go back to where you found me and get my belongings? We were in a rush last time because of that Minotaur and I didn't get to grab anything."

"I am just going to buy you new clothes," he told her.

"Dylan, I had a necklace that mom had given me before we left for our journey to Safe Haven."

He looked at her and observed her with sympathetic eyes. He nodded. "Carson and I will get it this evening."

"I want to go, too," she said.

He immediately shook his head. "No. Someone has been attacking and we still don't know what they want. It's too dangerous to leave the haven again," he told her. "You are staying and that's final."

She rolled her eyes but gave in with a nod.