Page 22 of The Light Falls
Five minutes turn to ten, and I’m starting to get irritated. Where the hell is Ansel? I search the group at the far end of the room, but not one of them has auburn hair. This is ridiculous. I could have stayed in bed. I glance at my phone. Fifteen minutes have gone by. If I knew my way back to my room, I’d leave, but I don’t.
Stalking in the same direction Ansel took earlier, the entire room begins to notice a woman is in the room and training grinds to a halt. One of the males lets out a long whistle. I glance in his direction, ready to flip him off, but the mark of the crown on my forehead shuts him up quick.
Someone shouts, “Shit! Queen Merindah!”
I pivot toward the voice and see a knife flying toward me. My head swivels looking for cover, but there isn’t any. All I can do is duck at the last minute and hope it misses me. Shifting to the balls of my feet, I wait, ready to dive or squat, but in the end, I don’t have to do anything at all.
A large, masculine hand reaches out and catches it in mid-air. With a flick, he sends it into the nearest target, embedding it all the way to the hilt. The entire hall sighs in relief. Except him.
Similar to most Fae, he’s tall, maybe even one of the tallest I’ve seen, but that’s where the similarities end. There’s nothing urbane or polished about this man. He’s sharp edges and darkness. A huge, lightning-fast predator sums up my first impression, and those aren’t even his most interesting traits. Dark complected with thick black hair to his shoulders, he has scars, lots of them, and not the barely seen, almost transparent scars most supernaturals get from battle. These are brutal, like massive claws carved deep furrows into his skin.
He doesn’t seem to like me, either. Feet planted wide, arms crossed, he is staring at me with pure contempt. His animosity is almost smothering.
Leery, I eye the dark, massive Fae who’s obviously not my biggest fan, and my irritation rises. What’s his issue? He didn’t have to stick his hand out and save me. I would have found a way to avoid the damn knife. Besides, I’m immortal. Most knives won’t kill me. Except the one.
Damn it. Ansel is going on my shit list… when I find him. “Thank you. I appreciate your help. If you’ll excuse me, I was just looking for my guard.”
“Ansel’s busy,” he informs me in a rough, gravelly voice that matches his unpleasant demeanor. “You’re training with me today.”
The hell I am. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m done with training today. If I can just get someone to escort me back to my room, that would be wonderful.”
Silence reigns around me. Not one guard steps forward to volunteer. I wait. Nope. None. I knew I should have stayed in bed. My gut is never wrong. If it says it’s going to be a shit day, it is.Fuck it.I will walk around the hallways until I find a member of the staff to help me.
Before I’ve taken one step, he’s standing directly in front of me.
I blink. “Excuse me.” I step to the side, but he immediately blocks me. Furious, I place my hands on my hips and get up in his face. “Get out of my way.”
He leans down until our noses are almost touching. “Make me.” Steel-grey eyes gleam with challenge, but I just roll my eyes. “If you want to leave, you’ll have to go through me.” The smallest half-smirk appears on his face.
What is it about the Fae and their bullshit microscopic expressions? I mean, seriously. Would it kill them to have a full-blown reaction? Pivoting quickly from side to side, I watch him follow my every move, but not one muscle twitches in response. With a wink, I slip by and take off running toward the pole in the middle of the room. Just as my hand grabs it, he appears in front of me.
I grin, swing around the pole, and slide right between his legs. I jump up on the other side and take off again.
He reaches out to grab me, but I sidestep through two guards. When he follows, I jump back to the main path and run straight for the ring in front of me. Diving between the ropes, I flip up to a standing position, then take a running leap to the top rope and somersault to the ground on the other side.
I take two steps forward and slam into the mat face first.Ow.Instead of letting it faze me, I wait for him to ease up. When he does, I throw my elbow into his windpipe and slither out of his arms. A meaty fist catches my ankle, and I flip over and kick him in the head with the heel of the other foot.
He growls. “Enough.”
Suddenly, I’m frozen. Unable to do anything but breathe, I glare up at the asshole.
Grey eyes study me intently. “Not once did you use your magic. Ansel told me you wouldn’t be able to train because you were experiencing burnout, but you didn’t even try. Not one spark to avoid the knife or me.”
It didn’t occur to me to reach for my magic. I don’t know if there’s anything left after last night, but he’s right. Not once did I try to use it. Instead, I resorted to the tactics I’ve used my whole life. Running, evading, defending.
He hauls me to my feet. For several minutes, he stares into me, trying to see the magic underneath. “You’re almost empty. That must have been some tantrum. Try not to have another one before our next training session. I won’t take it easy on you just because you’re a queen.”
Ansel appears to the left of him, along with Kaius. “So, you’ll train her?”
A muscle ticks in his jaw, but he answers. “She needs to replenish her magic. Bring her back in two days. I’ll train her.” He strides away.
Free to move again, I flip all three of them off and stalk out of the room, Ansel and Kaius following close behind. “No. Absolutely not. I’m not training with that neanderthal. It’s not happening.”
Kaius laughs. “I originally picked someone else, but they suddenly became unavailable. Dead, actually. Something I’m not upset about anymore. Besides me, he’s the best fighter here, but I can’t teach you how to wield your magic. He can. Give him a chance.”
I think about the vow I made last night to do everything possible to kill Leandra. She excels at magic. If I’m to have a fighting chance, I need someone brutal to teach me.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
