Page 87 of Bound to a Monster

“I’m okay,” I tell him and reach out on an impulse to touch his hand. He smiles at me, but there’s sadness in his eyes.

“Yeah, alright, I know you are. You’re a good one, Carm. Stronger than we give you credit for.” He swats me away. “Now stop getting so fucking emotional and shit.”

We walk out together. I give Luca a quick hug while Daniel sits in the car looking annoyed.

“He’ll come around,” I say about my grumpy older brother.

“And if he doesn’t, we can always shoot him.” Luca lightly punches my arm. “You’re sure you’re good? Lev’s treating you well?”

“Honestly?” I smile at him and I don’t even have to fake it this time. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

“Look at that. Shit always works out, huh?”

“Not really. Lev’s business is crumbling and I’m not even sure we’ll be welcome in this city for much longer. But yeah, totally, always works out.”

“We’ll get it sorted.” Luca nods at me and joins Daniel in the car.

“Stay out of trouble,” Daniel yells as he pulls into the street.

Chapter 35

Carmie

Ishout as my saber slices through the air. I lunge aggressively, the tip of my weapon ripping toward my opponent. He grunts in surprise as I bypass his guard and land a hit on his shoulder a second before his strike slams into my arm.

“Point, Carmela,” Aline says.

I scream with victory as I go back to my position. Jacque seems annoyed as he resets too, bouncing on his toes.

The whole class is watching. Aline’s refereeing the bout, her sharp eyes keeping track of each touch. Over the last few days, I’ve been slowly fighting my way up the ranks until I’m finally fencing with the best saber specialist around.

Jacque’s older than me. He’s in his late twenties and fenced for the University of Pennsylvania for a couple of years before getting injured and quitting the sport. He’s been getting back into shape and rebuilding his old skills, just like me, except he’s got a lot more experience than I ever did.

And I’m beating him.

“Allez,” Aline says. “En garde.”

Jacque strikes. I knew he would. Saber’s all about reading your opponent, taking initiative, and hitting hard. But every once in a while, I hang back a step and let them come to me.

I parry his blade, turning it aside, and take a step in. Once I’ve retaken initiative, I’m able to score a quick touch on his side.

He seems surprised by the move as he tears off his mask and throws up his hands. “There’s no fucking way she parried that,” he says.

Aline’s only shaking her head. “Retake your position, fencer,” she says, tone sharper than our blades.

Jacque curses, shoves his mask back down, and rolls his shoulders.

He’s pissed. Which is good and bad. Now he’ll be reckless, but he also won’t hold back.

And honestly, he’s really good. Maybe better than I ever was. Except he’s older and his old injuries still bother him, which means I can match him for speed and hold on with my better endurance.

He scores a hit in our next two clashes. Class is nearly over and Aline says the next touch wins.

“Allez,” she says, “en garde,” and I charge.

But Jacque does too. We clash and each score touches at the exact same time. Because Aline couldn’t tell who had initiative, we have to play the touch over again.

And again. And again. I refuse to back down and Jacque does too. We’re both sweating and tired as we clash over and over,until finally, when I feel like my stamina’s about to give out, he hesitates.

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