Page 8 of Fated Unkindness
“I can feel that’s true and that is probably why I had a sense about you the moment I saw you unconscious on the other side of that tunnel door.” I smile at him, and he returns it. “Can you tell me more about your siblings?” I ask, my heart squeezing a small amount because I miss my own sibling so much. I force a smile as my eyes well with tears.
“I'd love to. I’m the only one left if we don’t find Mel or the cure in time for Dax. The three of us are all that’s left of the Fornax line.”
I know the feeling, and it makes my heart crack for Trent.
We spent hours talking about Dax, Mel, and things that have happened over the last year I've been in Ravendene. It’s no wonder I feel passionate about helping Dax. He was only trying to help his sister, trying to keep his family together. I would do the same for my brother. Wren wasn’t much younger than me when they were ripped away from this world. He would have been going into combat training the following year. We were only just over a year apart. He was bummed when I couldn’t come with them. It was going to be our first-ever visit to the Creale Sea. It was meant to be a magical place where beautiful creatures and people thrived. Places as such were few and far between since the fall of the kingdom. He promised me that since I couldn’t go this time, we would make a trip on our own one day. A promise he will never be able to keep now. They never made it there either.
I try not to dwell too much on the negative feelings I have about my family passing, and try to remind myself that, technically, I have had time to process their deaths. It only just feels fresh in my mind because of the memory loss situation I’ve found myself in. Either way, it hurts knowing they’re gone. I want to know more, but we have discussed so much already my head is hurting. After too many hours of talking, I start feeling tired. We agreed that I would sleep, and Trent would wake me in a couple of hours so we could swap. We agree that Kait needed more rest than both of us, so weleave her to it.
I wake up to light shining brightly in my eyes. At first, it doesn’t register to me that I’m waking up in the cave. I feel like I had a bit too much fun the night before, a hangover from hell causing my head to throb and my body to ache. I roll in my half-sleep, bumping into a warm body, and it makes me jump. I punch out with my right arm out of pure instinct, remembering a little too late that I slept in a cramped cave with Trent and Kait. “Oh sorry!” I rush to say to Trent who was on the receiving end of my fist a moment ago. He’s already got a large knife in his hand and the look on his face says he’s ready to get stabby. I raise my brows at him with a tight-lipped smile.
“I wasn’t going to stab you. I had it out prepared just in case, but dozed off and you scared the shit outta me.” He yawns and winks, putting the large hunting knife back in its holster at his hip. “It’s probably good to get on the move sooner rather than later. It looks like the sun is just rising.” He says as he starts to gently wake Kait.
Kait grumbles a string of profanity aimed mostly at Trent for his ‘loud ass mouth,’ but eventually, she stretches and calms down enough to listen to what we were talking about. We fill her inon the plan that Trent and I discussed the night before. Her lips curl into a smile as we tell her we want to take the risk and circle back to try and get the cure for Dax. We need to carry out what we came here to do. Otherwise, all of this was for nothing. One thing hasn’t changed, though; even without the memories from the last year, I don’t like to lose. If I give up now, that’s exactly what would be happening, and losing Dax is not an option. Kait doesn’t take any convincing. Within the next breath, we are out of the cave, probably doing something incredibly stupid. Heading directly back towards the people hunting us.
Chapter seven
ELEVEN MONTHS AGO
A tingle creeps downmy spine right as my hand touches the handle on the training center doors, and I close my eyes in anticipation. I’ve come to realize that the feeling only ever happens when she is around. Clenching my jaw, I thrust the door open and stride into the space that used to be one of the only places I’ve felt any sort of relief from the chaos that lives under my skin. These days, I don’t get much reprieve. Every time I turn around, she’s near, and the magic I hide stirs more than ever before.
“Did you get wasted again last night, Dax?” Cano says, laughing as he wraps his arms around Raelle’s waist. The look on her face is kind, despite his words. She looks as though she’s sorry for hisoutburst. I wish I was fucking wasted right now. Maybe then I would be numb.
“Fuck off. Who’s first on the roster this morning, Flynn?” I bite out as I stride across the already full room. I stop in the center of the sparring ring and fold my arms across my chest as I wait for him to check who is up first for a match.
“Kait Divins and Raelle Apus.” My eyes flick up to meet Raelle’s. She pries Cano’s hands from her body as she moves to join the circle. He laughs, saying something under his breath that I don’t catch. However, the snickers from the Fae around him and the blush running up Raelle’s cheeks tells me that it was likely something at her expense. He slaps his hand down hard on her ass as she walks away, the red in her cheeks deepening. My magic swims, darkening my vision for a moment before I get a grip on it. Breathing slowly, I take a deep breath. The scent of stale sweat and dried blood from the training center filling my senses.
“If you’re done, we can get started,” I say as the two females join the circle standing on either side of me. I can honestly say I don’t know what she sees in Cano. He’s only ever been an ass to the females he is with. Even when we were younger, he’s treated women as though they were nothing but disposable. A distraction that feels good on his cock.
“Sorry.” Raelle swallows but lifts her chin proudly as she stands before me. It’s the reason I don’t understand the pairing. She is powerful. I’ve not seen her magic at play, but I and everyone else sense the power she holds, even from day one. No doubt the reason Cano has been so attached. More attached than he has ever been to a female. I don’t understand what it is she thinks she’s getting out of it.
“We don’t need your apology. Get into formation.” I bark out as I step back and allow the two some space to ready themselves for the match. Kait’s mouth lifts at the corner. A shit-eating grin on her face, taunting Raelle. She doesn’t take the bait, though. I see her vision narrow as she crouches down and is ready.
Kait, being Kait, is the first to move. She drops her body, aiming to pummel Raelle, taking her body down to the ground with force, but Raelle is quick. She sidesteps, kicking her foot low, and she trips Kait. She recovers quickly though, rolling with the fall, and is back on her feet before you can even tell that she was taken down in the first place. She laughs as the two of them circle slowly across from each other.
I can see that Kait is going to go with another large power move, and the quick footwork from Raelle says she sees it too. She moves before Kait can think twice about it. Raelle comes in close, and her fist comes up in a quick jab to Kait's throat. Raelle’s foot hooks behind Kait's the moment she reaches up to grasp at her neck. Raelle pins Kait to the ground, her arm tight under her chin and her legs straddled over her, pinning her arms to her chest.
“Shit!” Trent is laughing from the front row of seats. “Kait, she just handed your ass to you!” Raelle removes herself from Kait and offers her a hand to stand.
“Fucking shit is right. What the fuck was that?” Raelle shrugs. She’s been here for only a month, and I can tell that she excels in close combat. She knows how to use her quick feet and smaller stature to her advantage.
“Who’s taking on the winner?” It’s not the normal way we do training, but I feel like challenging her.
“Uh, we have the next pairing. Bran Mannix and Trent Fornax-Ravendene.” I hear Trent laugh and turn to face the ginger-haired, lanky male as he stands.
“Sit,” I order, jabbing my finger at him and then at his seat. He spreads his arms wide, a rebuttal ready on his lips. “Mannix, on the mat.” I turn to face Raelle. Her brows are puckered, in confusion but she dusts herself off nonetheless.
“What is this about?” Kait whispers as she leaves the circle to stand by my side.
“What?” Crossing my arms, I watch as the two begin sparring. The male that was paired with Trent is larger than Raelle, but only just. He is a much smaller opponent than if I were to have her face, my brother.
“Having Raelle fight twice in a row?” I turn my head to my second in command, angling it so she can see the irritation in my eyes. “I’m just saying… kind of a dick move.”
“It’s a challenge. That’s what we spar for.” I don’t mention the fact that I’m irritated at the fact that she is always around. That she makes my fucking skin itch with the way my magic wants to be free around her. That she causes my jaw to ache with how hard I clench it, seeing the way she allows Cano to paw at her in front of the whole fucking territory.
Cano watches with rapt attention as Raelle manages to still take down the challenge I gave her. A devilish grin spread across his smug face. Raelle meets his gaze as she beams from the defeat of another opponent.
“Again! Who is next?” I bellow through clenched teeth. Faces all turn to confusion as I continue the challenge for Raelle. Flynn fumbles with the parchment and scans his finger down the list.Swallowing hard, he looks up to meet my eye before clearing his throat.
