Page 134 of The Powers of Nyx

Something unfamiliar flashed across his face, but he quickly composed himself. “Follow me. We’re going into a sparring room. Anything goes. Fight as dirty as you want, Princess.”

I bristled as he turned and stalked towards the stairs leading down to the training arena. There were several groups already there, taking to the different terrains. The Fae prince was there, sparring alongside his group of followers. As I made my way down and past him, I caught his eye. My heart stopped in my chest, and something deep in my gut coiled tight. They were a sparkling, vibrant violet colour that tickled a memory. I’d never met anyone with eyes like his, and yet I couldn’t ignore how strange they were. It’d been hard to ignore them in the library last week. Even worse now.

Hawk walked right by them, and I followed, forcing myself to break eye contact. The pressure circling my body disappeared like it’d never happened.

What the hell is wrong with me?I picked up my pace so I walked beside Hawk instead.

“What exactly does ‘anything goes’ mean?” I asked sceptically.

Hawk glanced down at me before eyeing a long row of rooms. These doors were thick, almost like cells. I’d seen the inside once before, and they were larger than they appeared. “Today just means you get to unleash whatever you want. Maybe give shifting a try.”

“No thanks,” I replied. “If I’m going to try that for the first time, I’d rather do it with my mate.”

The mighty team leader grimaced but recovered quickly. “I’m here to train you, Princess. Help you use everything in your arsenal. But I didn’t realise you needed them here to hold your hand.”

With that, he picked up his pace and slammed one of the doors open. He didn’t wait for me, and I had to rush in behind him before it closed on me.

My skin prickled as the door clicked shut, and wards settled over my skin. Hawk spun on me, standing in the middle of a circle that made up the sparring room. The circle wasn’t simply a thick line, but rather hundreds of runes overlapping one another, some stark and others smudged like charcoal.

Hawk shucked off his shirt and tossed it to the side. “Hit me with whatever you have. In the circle, your power won’t have as heavy an effect. It’ll protect your sparring partner as well as the outside world. So, if you want to play with lightning, you can. You won’t destroy anything. Including me.”

I gritted my teeth and toed the line. “Are you sure?”

“Are you worried about hurting me, Princess?” he teased, cocking his head. “Do youcare?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Of course, I care. I don’t want to hurt you, Hawk.”

He blinked slowly, sighing. “Trust me. Queen Greer has tested these more than once, and she has more mate bonds than you do. You can’t hurt me in here.”

I pursed my lips and dropped my stare to the runes. They pulsed with a soft glow, as if inviting me in with Hawk’s promise. Even my magic wanted out, to play.

Chewing the inside of my cheek, I sighed. Hawk wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t put himself in a situation where he’d likely get hurt by my magic. And I was better at controlling it, anyway. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him—though it certainly was part of it—it was that I couldn’t trust myself.

“Time’s ticking, Princess. We only have so long in this room...alone.”

I lifted my head and narrowed my eyes. “You’re an asshole, you know that, right?”

Hawk’s lips split into a wide grin. “Get in the circle. We don’t have all day.”

Glaring, I stepped over the line and let the power of the wards wash over me. My skin prickled, the hairs of my arms rising, but the feeling settled before disappearing. Rolling my shoulders back, I stared up at Hawk. “What now?”

“Anything goes,” he replied. “Hit me with something. You’ve got three—four, bonded mates now?”

I stiffened but nodded. He continued, “Good. You’ve got plenty of power to play with, then. Not only that, you have your own. And I know for a fact you haven’t been testing that out as much as you should. It’s a muscle that needs to be used.” He stalked towards me, once again filling my vision, overwhelming me with his scent, withhim.“I want you to hit me with whatever you’ve got. Set a baseline. I’ve seen you in control before, around your sisters. But you aren’t in danger. They aren’t here.”

I closed my eyes as I reached for my power. It was already awake, curious, still weak though. I tried not to think about it being because of Hawk, or the Fae Prince beyond this room. The entity of power within me had a bad habit of appearing when I was around people I didn’t want to think about.

But now, I wanted to draw it out. The constant thrum of lightning in my veins was like a drug, the waves of power it brought nearly overwhelming. I pulled it from the deep well and out, until static raced over my skin.

My eyes opened, and I glanced down at my arms. Purple, swirling patterns ran over me, and magic filled the air. It felt good finally getting to use it in the open. Letting out, rather than smothering it.

“Attack.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, but Hawk wore his arrogance like a shield. Feet shoulder-width apart, and arms crossed, nothing in his stance told me he was afraid of me.

Maybe it was because I wanted to wipe the smug look off his face. Or prove myself.

But I bundled the lightning up, creating a ball of violet energy. Once it was the size of a volleyball, I threw it.

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