Page 147 of Fated to be Enemies

“Icy testicles!” he growled but continued his downward spiral.

I loosed another arrow but missed him completely. The arrow soared past the stone wall, landing who knew where.

He flapped his wings, slowing his descent, and hovered over me. He grabbed the sword at his side, and I dropped the bow and removed both daggers.

When he swung with his uninjured arm, I blocked him. I expected him to fight like Maeve, but instead of pressing down, he flapped over my head and landed behind me.

Before I could fully turn around, he kicked me in the back. I stumbled forward so brutally that I barely turned my daggers to the sides before my hands and knees hit the stone.

“See—” he started, but I jumped to my feet, spun, and round kicked him in the stomach.

He flew back and landed on the ground, and I rushed over to him, dropping my daggers. I didn’t need them—I would make him hurt with my hands. I went to punch him, but he shifted and swiped my legs out from under me.

Worse, I fell on top of him.

He grinned. “If you wanted to roll around with me, all you had to do was ask, not pretend you wanted to train.”

I grabbed the arrow protruding from his left arm and dug it in a little more. “Not funny.”

“What in frozen summer is going on out here?” Orla’s shrill voice almost busted my eardrum.

I winced, guessing what this looked like to her. Apparently, blood and roughness were foreplay. Of course they were. Climbing off Dallas, I rose and found her eyes narrowed and shooting daggers at me.

“We’re sparring.” I gestured at the arrow in his arm. “Dallas is training me to fight High Fae.”

Orla’s chest heaved, and her skin turned red, contrasting with her sky-blue gown. “You need to prepare for your introduction to the Summer Court. Now. We leave shortly.”

Flames engulfed her fingers, making me pause. She had fire magic, which meant her ass could fry me.

I wanted to argue, but an hour more of training wouldn’t get me far. I’d have to practice in my room at night. Instead of making more of an enemy out of my sister, I nodded. “Fine. I made him bleed anyway.”

“You got lucky.” Dallas chuckled, and I cringed. He was making things worse between Orla and me.

“Thanks for the quick lesson.” I sheathed my daggers and grabbed my bow.

The whooshing sound came again, and I glanced at Maeve. Who else had she lined up to train me?

“Secure the palace!” Maeve shouted as I glanced skyward and saw bright-green smoke soaring toward us.

What the fuck was that?

Dallas and Maeve readied their swords, so I followed suit with my bow and arrows.

“Queen Orla, we mean you no harm. It’s Lord Avalon from the demon kingdom of Isramorta.” A deep voice rang through the open area as the smoke stalled. “Morgana and I have come to ask a favor of you. May we join you?”

I had no clue what any of this meant, but he didn’t seem too threatening with that introduction.

“A favor, you say?” Orla chuckled. “Come. Join us, but at the first sign of a threat, we will kill you without remorse.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” he replied as the flames extinguished around him. All that was left was the bright-green smoke.

As he descended, his glowing blue eyes were the first thing I noticed. That and the girl in his arms. When his feet touched the ground, the smoke vanished, and his long black hair settled past his shoulders. He placed the woman, who was more than a foot shorter than him, on her feet.

Something about her seemed so familiar. I should remember—she had striking purple eyes and long, wild black hair with emerald tips.

Orla stepped toward them. “What is it you need? We are about to leave for the Comortas.”

“This request won’t take long.” Lord Avalon licked his lips and stood protectively next to the woman. “King Dacio stole some land at the corner of the Winter Court territory and has used his earth magic to create his own personal armor that isn’t permeable by any demon magic or weapon, so we cannot injure him.”

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