Page 113 of Ash and Feather

“It would be easier than making me force it out of you.”

“You won’t force anything out of me.”

He cut me a sidelong glance that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Maybe not,” he said with a shrug. “But I’m still willing to try.”

I gripped the back of the bench harder. Pulled myself up taller.

“I wonder…how much would it take to catch his attention through the impressive wards we’ve created?” His appraising gaze drifted between me and those wards. “My theory is it would takequitea bit of pain for the sensation to pass through and reach him. Shall we experiment?” He leaned back, propping afoot upon the opposite knee and reaching for the knife sheathed at his ankle.

I stood, still holding onto the bench as I tested my balance. “Stay away from me.”

“Iwantto,” he said, holding up his bandaged, crudely amputated hand, “but I do owe him for this.” He got to his feet, stretching, the knife clutched loosely in his hand.

I held my ground as he turned to me. Heat swirled in my gut, my magic still fighting for a chance to rise up and confront him regardless of all the different things trying to shove it down.

He twisted the knife around in his hand, speaking more to the blade than me as he said, “What torture it would be to him, to feel your pain but not be able to reach you.”

His eyes flashed to mine.

He lunged.

I swung my fist forward and flames exploded from it, forcing him to a stop. He took a step back, throwing his arm up to block the scorching air from his smiling face. “A bit of a goddess in you after all, it seems.”

“If you take one more step toward me, it’s a demon you’re going to encounter, not a goddess.”

He smirked at the challenge. “One in the same, as far as I’m concerned.”

In the next breath he was darting forward again, sidestepping more flames I managed to summon, then curving around behind me.

I sensed his arm falling toward my shoulder. I ducked and dove out of the way of his first slash, but the evasion triggered another wave of dizziness that slowed me down. He took advantage when I stumbled, immediately following up his first swipe with another.

Still half-unbalanced, I parried wildly with all the unbridled divine strength I could summon. My fist struck his forearm,forcing his grip on the knife to unclench for an instant. As his hold faltered, I hooked another, more accurate punch into his wrist. The knife slipped free and thudded against the dirt.

His hand caught me by the throat as I focused on kicking the blade away. He jerked me back against him, trapping me in a close embrace that was worse than any knife trailing across my skin.

“Just like old times,” he murmured in my ear. “I miss training with you.”

I slammed my hand into his thigh. Claws sprang forth as I did, accompanied by a rush of heat—enough fire and sharpness to make him curse and send him staggering backward once more.

“And all those training sessions we had together seem to be paying off now,” he said. “Well done.”

“Trying to take credit for my strength, even now,” I growled. “What a fucking delusional bastard you are.”

“Maybe I’m not the one responsible for your strength,” he countered, “but let’s not forget that I do know yourweaknesses.”

He proved this an instant later by striking forward again without restraint, aiming for my face. For my scars. He knew my tendency to flinch whenever anybody focused on those scars.

Iknew it, too, yet I couldn’t stop myself from twisting frantically away, leaving my shoulder vulnerable to a blow that sent me sprawling across the ground.

Countless times, he’d used this same move during all those training sessions we’d endured together—and almost every time, it ended with me on the ground. It was usually the move that signaled the end of our practice.

It would not be the end of me this time.

Despite my awkward landing, I recovered quickly and sprang back to my feet. My skin was burning, my magic glowing faintly,lighting symbols over my body and illuminating the old scars along my face and neck.

Proof of my power, not my mistakes,I reminded myself, fiercely.

My claws came to rest against Andrel’s chest in the same instant his fingers wrapped once more around my throat.

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