Page 80 of Fated In Blood

And with his superior weight and reach, once he got his hands on me, this contest would be over before it even began. My only chance was to keep clear and land as many shots as I could, though I doubted I’d break his leg as easily as I had Chad’s.

Just the thought of hurting him sent a wave of nausea through me.Weird.

Blake came for me again, and again I dodged away, this time in the opposite direction, using a completely different move and my momentum to add even more speed to my evasive maneuver. He huffed in frustration, and I refrained from taunting him because I had self-control and shit.

I’d been well trained by Uncle Alistair to not be predictable, and tonight we’d see if all that practice would pay off.

I didn’t expect to win, I just didn’t want to humiliate myself.

I managed to land three decent hits before he snatched me out of thin air, lifted me over his head, and—despite Riordan’s roar of warning—slammed me to the ground. I fought to catch my breath as he bent over me, leaning in until we were nose to nose, eyes glittering with malice.

I never found out what insult he was about to hurl because Blake stepped back abruptly, nostrils flaring, pupils blown wide as he glanced between me and his friend, looking like he’d been knifed in the chest. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

Riordan took his time slipping his suit jacket back on, but his face was a shade paler. “Later, Blake.” His voice sounded strangled. “This is more important. You know it is.”

Far-off thunder roiled through the now silent ring, echoing off the trees. I had my breath back, and I wasn’t dead. Definitely a better outcome of hand-to-hand combat with Blake Marten than I’d anticipated.

I climbed to my feet, my entire side soaked with mud.

“I assume it’s too much to expect you’re better with a knife than your hands?” Blake hissed, tossing me a blade end over end. If I were a human, the damn thing would have sliced off a couple fingers, but I deftly snatched it out of midair with a smirk.

I caught the next one, too.

“Why don’t you come a little closer and find out?” I wasn’t normally into taunting my opponents, but goddamn, this prick just wouldn’t stop.

I was okay with a sword, even better with a gun, but knives were my go-to, every fucking time, and suddenly, I wanted to win. I wanted to kick Blake’s ass, if only to shut him up, and maybe—just maybe—to show off a little for Riordan.

I shouldn’t care what either of them thought, but these two were messing with my head in the worst possible way.

They would feed me and fuck me, but they hated me at the same time. I was their enemy but also their ally, but I had to prove myself at every fucking turn, while they didn’t have to tell me shit. They confused me by their actions, and in return, I was getting confused by my own feelings.

And that could get me killed.

I gripped my knives, made my knees as loose as butter, and sank down on my haunches. Today wasn’t about them, it was aboutme. To shut them up for good, I had to prove I wasn’t a liability, I was a fuckingasset.

34

EVANGELINE

Atremor of doubt went through me when Blake took up position opposite me in the ring, his face a flat, unreadable mask, knives held loosely between his fingers.Fingers that had been inside me, made me come so hard I’d…

I blinked, pulling my head out of my ass, or wherever it had just been.

“Anytime you’re ready,” Blake said, lazily spinning one of the knives on the end of his finger. “Unless you just want to give up now.”

“Not a chance.” I bent my knees until I was perfectly balanced, my feet sinking into the mud. My heart rate slowed to a crawl, my body falling into a practiced, familiar stance, flexed muscles humming with new, untapped power.

I’d done this a thousand times before. Ten thousand times.

A flash of excitement sparked then ignited as I realized this might be their test, but it was also mine. I had the training, endless hours of it, but now I possessed the strength and the speed of an immortal.

It was time for me to find out what I was capable of.

Blake’s expression tightened as he noted the change in my posture, his shoulders tensing just before he came at me. His right arm swept toward my face, his left arced toward my stomach, and I dropped low, rolled, and swung my leg across his ankles, tripping him.

He stumbled, plunging the weapons downward, but I was already gone, heart pumping, blood singing as I landed on the opposite side of the circle, barely out of breath.

“Nice move,little slayer.” There was so much disgust layered onto my nickname I cringed. “We’ll see how long you can keep up.”

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