Quaid’s brown eyes twinkle. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
SIX
Excerpt from the Veydran Code of Conduct:
You are no one, and there is no you.
RIVEN
I was born and bred to fit in anywhere, yet I’ve never been this out of place.
When the giant, scarred human suggests training, relief floods my body. Fighting is something I can do. Hand to hand combat, defending against magical attacks, figuring out my opponent’s moves before they make them... That’s easy, but I don’t have a clue how to play nice with strangers.
No one has asked me directly why I’m still here, but I’ve seen the curious glances. I’m wondering the same thing. I helped Celine and the others escape the monster realm, and I don’t regret it, but I tore my entire life to shreds in the process. I could have left with Hyacinth as soon as we landed in Vegas. There was no reason for me to come to the compound with Celine and put myself on theenclave’s radar.
When her brown eyes widen with excitement and her wings shoot from her back, I know exactly why I’m still here.
I’m obsessed with her.
And it’s humiliating.
She already has attachments. They’re more than attachments, and even if she didn’t have the others, there’s no reality where she wants me. I don’t even know my own face.
“Do you want to spar, Riven?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her no. I should be running in the opposite direction, but I’m wound tight after sending Hyacinth off with the witch. I need to let off some steam, and the breakfast, while delicious, has settled like a glue-covered boulder in my stomach.
And I can’t turn down the opportunity to fight with her for fun. We’ve never faced one another without intending to cause the other pain. Will the same obsession for her possess me once the danger is removed? There’s only one way to find out.
I nod, and everyone graciously pretends that I didn’t sit here in complete silence debating my answer for longer than was socially acceptable.
“No chance,” Luca mutters. “I’m still sore.”The shifts.He’s new to his basilisk form, and the ache must be tremendous after years of disuse.
“What about you, Ali?” Celine asks.
He shakes his head and glances around the table. The cagey vampire doesn’t want to reveal his moves in front of enclave members, and I can’t blame him. I would be worried too if my moves weren’t virtually unlimited.
In the end, it’s Celine, me, the big human, and the bigger shifter who head to the indoor, padded training room inside their wing.
“I want to fight Celine,” Gideon says,grinning until his tanned cheeks dimple.
“Celine chooses,” Quaid snaps, the scar above his mouth pulling tight as he scowls. “They escaped a war zone, Gideon. She gets to decide everything.”
Celine smiles at him first, then smirks at Gideon, leveling him with a devious expression. “The big ones fall harder,” she teases. “Are you sure you’re ready to get knocked on your ass in your own home?”
Quaid steps to the side to referee, but not before I see his lips twitch.
They establish basic rules: no hits at full power, no broken bones, that sort of thing. I listen absently while sizing Gideon up. He’s an omni shifter—able to become any animal. That’s challenging enough, but he’s also huge in his two-legged form. He’s got at least ten inches of reach on Celine, and he wears his confidence the same way I wear my mask.
Celine’s going to crush him.
They circle each other slowly, noting the way the other moves. I’m pleasantly surprised by his caution. I expected Gideon to charge right in. Perhaps this fight will be interesting after all.
After about a minute, Celine darts closer, deliberately putting herself within his reach.
She’s obviously baiting him, but the temptation is too much for Gideon to resist.
He tosses a slow, testing jab at her belly, giving her plenty of time to block or dodge. She does neither, grabbing his forearm and flipping him bodily over her shoulder instead. He slams against the mat with anoof, and Quaid’s smile stretches across his face until he’s downright menacing.
