Page 90 of Memories Like Fangs
“Good. How about we start with your stance?”
Everett guided me to adjust my stance. The moment I got into the right position, my dragon perked up, her wings fluttering and her muscles coiling. When he fixed how I was throwing punches and kicking, I felt the power from the impact. I was able to do it faster and harder than before. The more he taught me, the easier it was for me to understand, and the quicker my dragon took to it as if it was instinctual. Very soon, he asked me to give it my all and show off everything I learned.
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
Given how he had woken me up this morning, I didn’t go easy on him at all. I couldn’t pass on the opportunity. I nailed the pads hard enough for him to grunt from the impact and to have to readjust his stance to better handle the hits, but I didn’t give him a moment to breathe. I showed off everything we had gone over. At the end, I gave him a combo of my own with a flourishthat was so powerful it laid his ass out on the ground right where he belonged.
Karma is so sweet, I thought, laughing at Clarkson coming to lick his face again.
Quinn whistled just like a wolf in a cartoon while Teddy clapped in approval next to her. I beamed at them both as I got some water.
“Does she have to do thateverytime I land on the ground?” Uncle Everett groaned, pushing Clarkson away to sit up.
“Hey, don’t be mean to her for trying to help! It’s not her fault that you are an ass, is it, Mama’s good girl?” I cooed, bending down to scratch behind Clarkson’s floppy ears as her little stub of a tail wagged.
“You know what? I think it’s time for you to actually spar with someone.”
“Oh?” I said, looking up at him. “Is this the part where I get to kick your ass for real?”
“You wish, menace. Anyway, there’s no point in fighting me. At least not yet and not like this. You will get your chance totryto land a real hit on me later when we see how you and your dragon fight midair.” I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t care less about his bravado. My dragon snarled in agreement with me,It’s going to be easy to knock his ass out of the sky and we’ll have fun doing it.Everett continued. “No, you are going to be fightinghunters. You need to know how they fight. And, who better to show you than a real bona fide Huntress Princess?”
Quinn sneered as she pushed off the boulder. “You call me that again, and I will show youexactlyhow a huntress fights. Unfortunately, the asshole is right. No one knows hunters like I do. I’m the best one for you to practice with.”
When Quinn came to stand beside Everett, he asked, “Did you bring your knives with you?”
“Always. Why?”
“I want you to use them.”
Quinn arched an eyebrow. “Use them on what?”
“During the sparring, clearly,” Everett stated matter-of-factly, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.
“I beg your finest fucking pardon,” I said, my eyes widening.
“¿Perra, has perdido tu puta cabeza? I’mnotgoing to use my daggers on Byrd. I could hurt her.”
“She will heal from anything you do?—”
“Yeah, slowly because it’s ahunter’s blade.”
“Look, I’m not saying to fucking stab her to death, okay? That’s obviously not what I want,” Everett argued. “Byrd needs to know what it’s like to take on a hunter. Dragons are some of the smartest predators to ever exist because they absorb information and adapt on a dime to it. Once she gets a feel for how the best of the best fight, she will be prepared to take on any of them. Now, correct if I’m wrong, but I have never seen a hunter fight without a weapon.”
Fuck, I hated when he was right.
I couldn’t think of a single time I had ever seen a hunter without a weapon when they were facing off with an opponent. Even Quinn wore hers constantly. If I were going to face off with Lilah and Cooper, I needed to know how to fight a hunter. I knew Quinn could show me that.
At first, the idea of fighting Quinn with her blades made me slightly nervous. She was a seasoned warrior who knew what she was doing, and I was a girl who had just found out she was a dragon-shifter and started fighting two minutes ago by comparison. But the more I thought about it, the more the idea interested me. It was a challenge, facing off against the best huntress I knew with her blades in hand, and it was kinda exciting. I know it sounded insane, but it almost felt like a chance to prove myself and show that I could be more than just the damsel in distress that Quinn or someone has to comeand save. I was not that little girl who was trying to survive the hunters in the cave, or the woman facing off against the energy vampire, or even the one who had been captured and tortured by a blood witch-fae. I was so much more than that, and I was capable of so much more.
Let’s show our mate that we are worthy of her,my dragon roared within me eagerly.A dragon never backs down from a challenge, a test of skill. We can prove ourselves, and our mate will be so proud.
As I was coming around to the idea, a muscle flexed in Quinn’s jaw. Her hands were fists clenched tightly at her sides. Quinn’s eyes narrowed on Everett, bright like melting gold being made into bullets. I could see the inner battle happening within her, as well as feel it through our bond. The conflict was clear as day:how can she keep me safe by putting me in such danger?
My wings came to life behind me, and I used them to flutter to Quinn. I took her face in my hands before pulling her into a kiss. It wasn’t a searing or even a soft one. No, this one was grounding, steadying, full of trust and certainty. It was slow, our lips sliding like they were built for each other from the same mold. This kiss wasn’t a conversation but a reassurance and clear statement.
Do it. I love you.
When I pulled back, Quinn’s eyes were back to their usual rich color as they met my own, but there was so much more there and within her. Was that admiration? Respect? Love? A combination of everything? I couldn’t say for sure, but I wanted to preen under its glow.
