Page 73 of Fake Fae-Ancée

A moment of awkward silence followed, thick and charged. Kai held her sword still raised between us, the tip of the wooden blade quivering. The dummy behind her looked pretty damaged. She had probably been here for a while, wearing herself out. Drops of sweat shone on her forehead. Her white T-shirt clung to her upper body.

Bear growled with hunger.

"Care for a practice fight?" I heard myself ask.

Kai scoffed. "You're winning anyway."

A grin spread on my face. Bear bristled the hairs on the back of his neck — my neck — and crept forward.

"Like that would stop you, McKenn."

She snorted. Measured me up and down, then her gaze hardened.

She stepped into the middle of the open space on the mats, muttering, "Let's get this over with."

I pulled one of the practice swords from the rack on the wall and followed her, adrenaline pumping through my veins. Bear roared, shaking himself in anticipation of the fight.

"Sparring rules," I said, standing a few feet in front of her.

She gave a curt nod. A shadow had fallen across her face as she raised her sword. Her eyes blazed bright purple.

With a short cry, she attacked. Wood cracked as the swords collided. She was fast. Pummeled me with lightning-fast blows. They lacked their usual firepower, but I still had to focus to fend them off.

Rage drove her, each of her blows bore it like molten meteorite fire. I backed away, letting her advance, deflecting her sword again and again, her swift blows raining down on me like pinpricks.

"Come on," Kai groaned, teeth clenched. "Stop playing around."

I parried her next blow, wood clashing against wood. Her sword snapped back like a snakebite. Hell, if she had her Anima running in full power, I'd probably be toast by now. But as it was, with Yli-Pekkalas spell restraining it, she only had the strength of a normal human.

She was no match for me.

That was probably written all too clearly on my face, because she whirled around — shooting me another death-dealing glare — and launched a well-aimed kick into my stomach. Her foot bounced right off my midsection. Bear huffed, amused. It could just as easily have been a sparrow kicking me.

Kai’s face contorted with anger.

"Fight properly!" she yelled, taking another swing. I parried both blows with ease, wooden swords clattering.

Bear grunted, launching to the surface. He had continued to creep up on me, slowly prowling, the wall between his being and mine having grown paper-thin. He'd had enough of this charade. He urged me to end this little game. To put her in her place. Force her into submission.

I caught her wrist in my grip.

"Hey," she protested, giving a surprised yelp when I squeezed her wrist and the wooden sword slipped from her grip.

"Let go of me, you bastard! Let go!" She squirmed, slamming her fist down on my ribcage, kicking at me, trying to wrench herself out of my grip. But Bear wouldn't let go. My hand was a vise around her wrist. She kept thrashing and cursing. I stood still as a rock and took it all.

"Why can't you just let me go, you stupid, giant idiot?!" she screamed, furious tears glittering in her eyes.

With a violent jerking motion, she snaked a leg behind mine and pushed. Bear gave a surprised grunt as she used my own strength and weight to lever me out. With one of her stealthy judo maneuvers she tilted us both over. With a thud we went down to the mat.

We wrestled on the floor. Bear growled and shot forward. And before she could fight back, I had her underneath me, grabbed her hands and pinned her down. She bucked and wriggled like a fish, thrashing and raving and cursing. After a long while, she calmed. Chest heaving, she looked up at me, black hair tangled in her face. Eyes blazing with liquid fire.

"Are you satisfied now?" she yelled.

"How could I be," I thundered, Bear hovering close-by in my mind, ready to launch again. My hands clasping her wrists looked huge. Three times the size of hers.

"Figures." She gave a bitter laugh, a stray tear running from her left eye. "You won't be satisfied until you get the rest of me. You won't give up until you've completely destroyed me."

Her voice wavered. As if something stronger, darker was making its way beneath her rage. Something she could no longer hold back.

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