Page 34 of Of Daggers and Deceit

I could do this. I was in control.

The rocks beneath my feet began to bounce rapidly as the familiar vibration of the thinning permeated the ground, the sand groaning loudly. My eyes flicked open, alert, scanning the space around me, still maintaining my quiet breaths.

Everything was happening far too quickly. I didn’t feel prepared, but I had to be. I continued in the silent night, trying my best to tune out the jostling ground and the shifting sand.

When I eventually felt centred, I crept back into the nook of shadows to wait for the familiar sounds of shifters below. The warring sides would hopefully be distracted enough to allow me to move unnoticed.

I must save the Omega.

A shout rang out down below, a high-pitched, feminine voice screaming out across the landscape. “Overhead!”

I jerked my head up to see what she had been referring to but found nothing. The yell was followed by a bellowing roar as two bodies collided. I flinched. The impact of each hit echoed audibly across the valley as I waited, counting to ten before I made my move.

Leaning forward, I risked a peek over the edge towards the barrier, my pulse like thunder in my ears. My visibility was poor as clouds slowly moved in front of the moon; I strained my eyes but couldn’t see anything. Damn it. I needed to get closer.

Crunching rock and the thud of feet colliding with the ground ripped my attention away to the nearest point of the crevice to the cliff’s edge, the same spot where Jakari first landed. I squinted, trying to see the face of the enormous figure standing on the outer edge. My heart skipped in my chest, a response to my surging nerves.

I held myself still, keeping my eye on the Dominant, his back turned to me, observing the fighting below. The scene was so eerily similar to the moment I had met Jak all those years ago. Dressed in a black tactical uniform, his form radiated dominance and strength in his broad shoulders and chest, his thick-muscled arms and legs. He looked to have at least forty kilograms on my seventy-kilogram frame, and he staggered well above my five-foot-nine. His weight would be more of an issue in combat, though. Where Bohdi was tall, lean, and agile, this Dominant was tall, thick, and powerful. I had trained with lean, agile bodies so many times, but never had I trained with someone so solid. I definitely wouldn’t want to end up on the other side of his fist.

Despite this, I was fully prepared to fight if he spotted me. I would not be stupid enough to allow another Dominant to use me the way Jakari did. That aside, his presence alone was imposing, and I fought in the dark to regain my control and slow my breathing.

I was strong.

I did not need to fear them anymore.

Not with a gift like mine.

I watched the shifter clasp his hands behind his back casually, clearly unfazed by the fighting. I suppose you would be too if you succeeded every year without fail, and his arrogance both irritated and insulted me.

His voice cut through my rambling thoughts as he spoke. “I can smell you, you know.”

I bristled but held my position, my eyes scanning the area, assessing for a second threat.

He pivoted on his heels to face me, staring directly into the dark where I squatted low. Surely, this Dominant wasn’t looking at me. Surely, he couldn’t smell me from that far away.

He flashed a smile, all dazzling white teeth. I stared back at him, noting his dark mahogany skin and otherworldly, yellow eyes. So strange to see another this close with his two strange piercings in either ear, filled with flat, black discs. They were like nothing I had ever seen worn in the Haven. Interesting, but not desirable for a place that valued delicate beauty. Everything about this male was a challenge to the Haven’s beauty standards: his head shaved around the base, his black hair braided and tied into a messy bun on top of his head. Everything about him seemed harsh, brutal, almost unnerving. Like me. The errant thought fled quickly, because in truth, he was nothing like me. He was a monster. The Dominant before me, for all his intrigue, was no better than the dirt that lined my shoe.

He raised his eyebrows in question, his tongue darting out to lick his plush lips.

I froze in my stance, holding firm despite the weight of his stare. My brain fired on all cylinders, assessing each of the options before me.

Fight.

Portal.

Stay.

Adrenaline spiked within me, my pulse drumming a steady beat as I stalled in indecision.

“You can come out, little one. I can smell that you are not prey.”

I reared back. Of course, I’m not prey, asshole. Little one? I’d be glad to show him exactly what little ones could do.

I moved slowly and purposely out of the shadows to step into the moonlight. Carefully, I reached behind my back and unsheathed my twin daggers, holding them towards him in a warning.

“Prey?” I asked, my voice cool and lethal. I tilted my head to the side with an impassive expression, more like a predator than the prey he believed me to be.

I’d distract him, and then, I’d strike.

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