Page 50 of Fractured Souls

How had Anuk remained sane all this time? How had she survived?

Alexis quickly came to respect the Tharian’s strength of will, and she quietly decided she didn’t want to do things Enki’s way.

She just couldn’t understand the fierce, intense Kordolian, no matter how much Layla seemed to adore him.

“Why are you slowing down? Don’t tell me you’re already tired.” Nythian’s dark lips curved ever so slightly, making her heart flutter.

“Of course not.” His gentle taunt made her want to push harder, to test the limits of her endurance. Her whole body ached, she was starting to feel good again. Really good. Yesterday, Zharek had given her full medical clearance.

Nythian might be the nicest and most attractive Kordolian she’d ever met, but he was a hard taskmaster. He didn’t go easy on her because she was female or human or recently returned from the dead. He pushed Alexis to her absolute limits.

And this was only the beginning.

Until now, her training had been all about building fitness and speed. This was the first time she’d sparred with him directly, and it was… humbling.

Jeez… By Academy standards, she was a competent fighter, but this Kordolian made her look like a totally green recruit.

He wasn’t even trying hard. Hadn’t even broken a sweat… did Kordolians even sweat? Probably not.

Her chest heaved up and down. Sweat gleamed on her face. They’d been at it for what felt like hours. Nythian had forced her to chase him all around the damn room until she was short of breath and her whole body ached.

He was too fast, too wily, too damn cocky.

No, scratch that last one. He wasn’t cocky at all. This was just all so natural for him. Clearly, he was in a class of his own when it came to fighting.

Nythian was a freak, and she couldn’t land a punch on him.

It infuriated her.

“Faster.” He moved in. She could tell he was going easy on purpose, giving her time to react.

She danced backwards. “I can’t move any faster than this,” she huffed, her breaths coming in sharp, shallow rasps. Sweat trickled down the side of her face and neck. The back of her black thermoskin top was soaked. “I’m human, in case you’ve forgotten, oh mighty one.”

“Don’t put limits on yourself, Alexis. You can move faster than that.” He frowned, looking every bit the stern instructor.

She put her hands on her hips and stretched her neck, taking a moment to study him. Nythian’s dark armor was gone. In its place, he wore a pair of loose black trousers and a sleeveless tunic that revealed his silver arms.

She was sure it wasn’t intentional on his part, but the sight of his bare arms was damn distracting.

Every time he moved, his powerful muscles flexed. She’d never seen such perfect anatomy in her life. She could spend all day just staring at those twin examples of masculine perfection. She could spend all day studying his wide shoulders, staring at his broad chest, trying to imagine what lay under the dark fabric of his shirt.

If the sight of his arms was anything to go by, then—

“Alexis,” Nythian snapped. “What are you doing? Don’t lose focus.”

Before she could respond, he moved, becoming a sliver-and-black blur. His hand snaked out and tapped her right in the middle of her sternum.

“You’re dead.” His voice was soft and deadly, and Alexis froze as she got a taste of how lethal he really was. What if there had been a blade in his hand? There was no way she would ever have seen it coming.

She suppressed a shudder.

“Not fair. I can’t react that quickly,” she grated. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that this alien was physically superior to her in every way. “Do all Kordolians move like you?”

“No.” He shrugged. “Without enhancement, Kordolians are naturally stronger and faster than humans, but my body has been modified, so I am twice as fast again.”

“So you’re twice as fast as an ordinary Kordolian, and you’re expecting me to be able to block you?”

He gave her a cryptic look. “You don’t have to block me. Just get inside my guard. Use distraction if you must. All humans possess the instinct, the danger-sense. You just need to recognize it and hone it. We have trained others and seen vast improvements. The aim is not for you to fight back. You only need to dodge once, because once you are close enough…”

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