My spine stiffened, anger coloring my vision red, "you would not force yourself into my mind." I said through gritted teeth.
Wes shifted until he stood between Arthur and I, facing Arthur.
"If that is what it takes to keep your powers from running amok, I will do it."
Bastard.
Suddenly, Wes barked twice and bared his teeth in a low snarl. The dog was looking at Arthur.
The ancient raised his brows. Wes' ears flattened down over his head. His body lowered in a threatening stance. The great dane's blue-black coat glimmered under the office's bright lighting.
Kat and Jesse looked as flabbergasted as I felt. All my anger at Arthur was forgotten in the face of the dog's unusual behaviour, I put my hand on his back and whispered, "Wes!"
The growling stopped, though it took a couple of seconds for the dog to straighten. He shook his head with a small whine and looked around him in confusion.
"What the hell?" Jesse said, green eyes wide.
Arthur looked at me with a carefully bland expression, "what did you do?"
"What?" I reared back from the sudden accusation, Jesse and Kat now both regarding me suspiciously. "Why are you looking at me? I didn't do anything."
Wes turned his head to my lap again, looking as innocent as a puppy. I petted his head.
"What's gotten into you?" I murmured to the dog, his big eyes looking as pitiful as they could manage. Little con artist.
"Anyway," I said when everyone kept staring, "there has to be another solution."
Arthur shook his head with a sigh, "Well, then, you better find it. And fast. Because the moment you become a threat I will do whatever it takes to protect my people."
I didn't miss the way he looked pointedly at me. I was one of his people, too. To keep losing control over my magic could not be good for me. Which meant that in his mind, any action he took would be for my own protection. Even if it meant breaching the walls of my mind.
Because Arthur could do it. He could force himself inside my head. I had no illusions. The reason I had managed to stop him back at the apartment the night we first met was only because he didn't use his full power. If he did, my mind would be toast.
And I had no doubt Arthur would do exactly what he said if I didn't come up with an alternative soon. He was eons old, breaking into a twenty five year old mind would be childsplay for him. He wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
***
Three days later, I was finally pronounced fit enough to engage in mild fight training by the doctor. Visiting the training arena again after the fiasco that happened the last time I was there was interesting, to say the least.
The clashing of swords and grunts of soldiers immediately quieted down when I stepped inside. Around sixty pairs of eyes stared my way.
A deep, strangled sound broke the silence. The blonde vampire I'd knocked down before my fight with Jesse stood near the benches on the far right of the training hall. His face was bloodless and eyes wide.
I smiled and waved at him. I kind of felt guilty for beating him up. Maybe I'd gotten carried away a little.
But when I remembered how he spoke and behaved like a sexist pig, I shrugged off the guilt. He probably deserved it.
"Back to training, everybody!"
At Jesse's bellow, everything went back to normal. Sparring partners clashed swords and instructors lectured soldiers. I spotted Irene at the far end of the hall, sitting alone on the bench at the bottom of the stands and cleaning her sword.
I looked around the place as I headed towards her. Only senior soldiers, no juniors. I didn't have training with them for another week.
The senior soldiers were a balanced blend of vampires, witches and shapeshifters. The vampire presence was slightly more dominant, but that was to be expected since the vampire population of the world outnumbered other immortals.
"You're late." Irene said, putting away the cleaning rag and giving me a half-hearted glare.
"Oh, really?" I spoke in a childish voice, "did the big, bad soldiers scare you?"
She flipped me off, put her sword in the back sheath she always wore and managed to conceal using her magic. I looked as the sword's hilt vanished from where it had poked a second before.
"I really wish I could do that." I sighed wistfully.
"Well," Irene stood to her feet, "you can burn the entire island to a crisp if you want to, so I don't really think you need the ability to make stuff disappear."
"Funny." I stared blankly at her. She grinned, pulled a dagger from her thigh sheath and flipped it in the air.
"Let's see if you still got it, fae."
I pulled my own dagger and pointed at her, "first one to draw blood."
"Go."
The exhilaration I felt while fighting after weeks of temperate exercise was indescribable. Irene and I went head to head for a while, neither of us succeeding in landing even a scratch on the other.
I jumped back when Irene's blade passed a hair's length away from my cheek.
"Damn it, girl. My face already has enough scars as it is." I said as we started circling each other again.
"They're fading, I think you need a fresh one." she said, referring to the burn scars on my face. They had faded to a pale pink, a few shades darker than my skin tone. But they were still very much there.
I smiled and jumped in, taking her by surprise. She blocked the blade I aimed at her arm with her own knife, but didn't realize that my foot hooked behind her leg until she was flat on her back on the ground. She rolled out of the way just as I put my knife to her throat.
I thought she'd managed to avoid my blade again. But when she cursed loudly and jumped to her feet, I smiled. A smidget of blood on her neck.
"Ha! Got you, foxie."
She wiped the droplets of blood from her skin and looked at her fingers, "nice. I thought you'd be slower since you're still recovering so I went easy on you."
"Really, Irene? Really?" I arched my brow.
She stuck her tongue out, "not really. But I didn't expect you to be back at one hundred percent, to be honest."
I put my knife back in its sheath. I was breathing heavily, but it wasn't unusual considering what I'd been through. I actually did better than I expected.
I felt a burning gaze on my nape and looked over my shoulder. Arthur was across the arena from us, listening to Jesse and another vampire. But his eyes were trained on me.
Clad in a black t-shirt, black cargo pants and combat boots pretty much like everyone else, his expression was carefully neutral.
I greeted him with a nod. His expression didn't change. But his gaze went from me to Jesse then back.
What was he up to now?
I looked back at Irene to find her staring at a sparring couple nearby with a riveted expression. It was Charles and another vampire. I wanted to tease her about the way she gaped at them, but I sort of understood her fascination.
Charles was a very accomplished fighter. I'd seen him fight on several occasions, but as I, too, had been busy keeping myself alive, I couldn't truly appreciate how skillful he was. He moved with a powerful grace, his movements flowing together smoothly until I couldn't tell where his arm ended and his sword began. It seemed as though the blade was part of his body.
Watching him reminded me of how I used to watch uncle Robert dance with his sword. I used to simply watch, my mind going to a quiet, peaceful place where no sound existed but the one the blade made as it cut through air. Uncle Robert had been exceptional with a sword. He'd been magical.
Charles had his sword on his opponent's throat in one complicated move. The other vampire snarled, annoyed, but lowered his own sword and held up a hand.
"He's pretty good, isn't he?" I told Irene in a low voice. She nodded absently. Right then Charles looked up and met her eyes. He winked.
Irene's eyes flashed the bright blue of her other form, she showed him her teeth in a ferocious smile that conveyed her strong desire to rip him apart with her fangs and claws. Charles, looking more amused than anything else, turned when someone called his name.
I whistled, "Whew, intense."
Irene turned her glare my way, "what is?"
"Well, you know." I pointed at her then at Charles.
She wrinkled her nose. "You need to get your head checked, the silver must've done some damage."
"Uh-huh, whatever you say." I said in a sing-song voice.
She opened her mouth to reply, looked over my shoulder, then murmured, "company."
I turned just as Arthur and Jesse stopped beside us. Arthur looked straight at me, "Have a go with Jesse."
I raised both my brows and glanced at Jesse. The shapeshifter grinned, his eyes bright, and rested his sword on a well muscled shoulder.
"Sure," I said, because there was no way I was turning down the opportunity to land a few hits on him, even though there was a good chance he'd win in the end. "But why now? Suddenly?"
"Why not?" Jesse said, "scared?"
I rolled my eyes. Arthur scratched his bearded jaw, "I need to see where you're at. And you two need to work out your differences. I won't have you at each other's throats every chance you're in the same room. Fight it off."
My blood hummed with the promise of another worthwhile fight. I smiled at Jesse, "alright, kitty cat, let's go."
He bristled at the taunt, but kept his hands to himself. Arthur nodded, "a sword-"
"No." I cut him off, "no sword. He can have a sword if he wants, I'll fight with my knives or bare handed."
Jesse scoffed, murmuring under his breath, "if you can't even fight with a sword..."
I didn't correct him. He could assume I couldn't use swords, for all I cared. Underestimating me would only be his downfall.
Arthur held my eyes for a long moment before nodding, "alright, you both go bare handed, then. But Elle," he stepped closer, "you can't put it off forever."
I pursed my lips. I could certainly try; I had managed this far without using a sword.
"Bare handed," I said.
"I will call it." Arthur said and stepped back. I gave my weapons and my sweatshirt to Irene and stayed in a tank top.
"You sure you'll be fine?" she whispered, glancing where Jesse was stretching on the side.
"Fine. I probably won't win," not going bare handed against a shapeshifter, "but I sure will make him hurt."
Irene smiled, nudged my shoulder with hers, then jogged out of the round space the crowd had formed around us.
I tightened my hair further. It was a pain keeping it all in place in its current length. Jesse had removed his t-shirt, the caramel colored muscles on his upper body defined to a sculpt. He glanced at the scars on my chest and arms with a small frown.
"Ready?" Arthur asked, his voice crisp clear over the buzz of the crowd, standing with his arms crossed over his chest on the side. Jesse and I both nodded.
"I will call the winner," he eyed us both, then nodded, "Go."
Jesse and I circled each other. It had been long since the last time I'd sparred with someone with no weapons. My mind blocked everything but the person facing me. My eyes caught the smallest twitch of his body, and my hearing was attuned to the rhythm of his breathing. The anticipation made my blood rush to the center of my chest where my magic was. It was kept tightly under control, but the thrill of the fight always made it flare up in excitement.
Jesse's entire body tensed up a fraction of a second before he moved towards me. He was quite fast for someone with his bulk.
I stepped back in time to dodge his swinging fist. I took hold of his wrist and twisted it. I didn't have the advantage of his physical strength, but I was well trained, I knew the body's every little painful spot, every little muscle and tendon and nerve ending. I knew the exact point to strike to induce the maximum pain.
Jesse grunted, kicked his leg up between us to dislodge my hold. He succeeded, and I almost tapped him in the ribs when I shot my foot out. He leaned out of the way, crouched low as he turned and tried to bring me down to the ground with a low kick. I jumped out of the way.
He was on me again almost instantly, his fist swinging a hairbreadth off my face with a swishing sound. If that connected with my face, he would definitely break my jaw.
I ducked low and swung a fist to his side. It did not make the impact I wanted because he moved out of the way at the last moment.
We parted. He cursed, glancing at the beautiful shade of pink his side had turned. Bruised ribs, but nothing that wouldn't heal before this fight ended.
"A little slow, aren't you, cat?" I told him.
He growled, his eyes glowed a bright shade of green. I charged in first this time, taking him by surprise. I swung a fist, he blocked, shoved my arm out of the way and hit me with a kick aiming at my thigh. I jumped up high. Higher than he'd expected because when I put my hands on his shoulders and rolled upside down in the air to land behind him, he was too surprised to dodge the kick I landed on his kidney.
Another pained grunt left his throat as he whirled around fast. He moved in on me in a quick, relentless fury of punches and kicks. He moved so fast that I realized he'd been holding back.
One of his strikes landed on my stomach. Air rushed out of my lungs and I flew several feet back. I managed to skid my feet to a stop and block Jesse's punch to the ribs when he appeared next to me in a flash. My lungs were still struggling for air when I aimed my elbow to his face. My strike connected with a crunch that I hoped was his nose, but that was at the expense of my ribs. He'd aimed a low punch at the exact spot he'd hit earlier.
We jumped apart. Air burned its way down my chest, and the pain in my side was a sign of a cracked rib, at least. I didn't feel bad, though, because Jesse was holding his bloody nose. With a snarl, he put it back in place with a sound that made everyone around us wince.
"Your nose is very easy to break, Jesse." I grinned, out of breath already, "I've broken it two times now, right? they say third time's the charm."
He growled. He truly was easily riled up.
"Stop talking, Ellie, and fight."
I bristled. Only one person called me Ellie, and it sure as heck wasn't him. "Don't call me that."
He knew he had something on me, then. With a smug smile, he approached slowly, "Don't call you what? Ellie? Why? It's such a cute nickname for a cute little girl."
I knew he was egging me on. I should've known better than to fall for his childish jabs. But when it came to uncle Robert, I was in no way rational.
"Come on, Ellie, you can do better than that, lass."
Uncle Robert's voice from a memory too long ago flashed in my head. It only made me angrier. The perpetual heartache I felt whenever I remembered uncle Robert's face was fuel to my rage.
"I said, don't call me that." I gritted out, jumping in on Jesse. He laughed, the sound like sandpaper on my senses, and dodged my attempts to nail him with ease.
We went blow for blow, neither of us managing to hit the other. At one point, Jesse blocked my arm and got really close enough to whisper in my ear. "Not much of a fight. Whoever trained you must be sorely disappointed."
That did it.
I pulled my head back and headed him right in the nose again. Sure, my head hurt like I had taken a sledgehammer to it, but it was worth it to hear the sound of his nose cracking. Again. He made a noise, but still came at me with vengeance.
I was still too mad to hold back. So I didn't immediately realize what was going over the next few seconds. Jesse growled out loud the moment I closed my hand around his arm in an attempt to block a hit. He pulled away and was across the ring from me, staring at the charred skin of his arm.
I looked down at my hands and recoiled. They were engulfed in blue flames up to my wrists.
"Everyone out!" Arthur called out before everyone in the arena moved as one body out of the arena. I didn't take my eyes off my hands.
Magic was pooling out of every pore of my body. I felt my clothes heat up against my skin.
No.
I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, looking deep inside of me, sensing my magic as it moved around through my blood freely. I focused all my senses and directed the energy to my heart on instinct, back to where it was supposed to be. It was difficult, sweat rolled down my back and my heart hammered so strong and quick I thought it would surely break out of my ribcage.
It felt like I was trying to push a mountain, but a few moments later, I felt the magic slowly flow back to my heart. The buzz in my bloodstream died down until its heat no longer burned every inch of my skin.
I pulled in a ragged breath and opened my eyes. My hands were back to normal.
Arthur stood a few feet in front of me. Why in the world hadn't he left? He would've been burnt to ashes if I had lost control completely.
My gaze lifted to his, a perfect mask of apathy blanketed his features. I knew mine was nowhere near as calm or collected as his was. I was shaking. My entire body trembled from the catastrophe that had been on the verge of happening, and from the decision I had to make.