AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Adrian launches forward, his outstretched sword reaching towards me. I pull on my powers, imagining an invisible shield stretching across the room. I feed my energy into it, pushing the image outwards. My eyes pop open, and I cringe in anticipation of the collision. But he stops himself at the last minute, knowing the barrier would come down between us at any moment.
He pulls up short, the end of his sword bouncing lightly off the invisible barrier. My lips quirk to the side—eyeing him warily, unsure why this is necessary.
“Why are we doing this again? I mean, do you really need to be running at me with a sword to test my shields?” I ask, tilting my head in confusion as I keep pouring power into the barrier. He stands a few feet back from it, but my mind still imagines the worst.
“We have to test your powers under pressure.” He chuckles, eyeing me curiously as I rub at my arm nervously. “I would never hurt you,” he says softly, as though that is the reason I’m unsure. His amusement fades as he examines my body language, brows knitting together in confusion.
“That’s not it.” My tone is soft and heat creeps to my cheeks. Flushing with embarrassment. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
He gives me a genuine smile that brightens by the second. I can’t help the answering grin that spreads across my own.
We’ve been training tirelessly for the past almost two weeks. Working on my powers and rebuilding our trust as though they were one and the same. We moved on from the fruit, conjuring sofas, clothes, and weapons before moving on to shielding. Little by little, I’ve seen Adrian’s guard drop, his teasing smiles and devious smirks coming easily now rather than the forced ones on our first day. His eyes meet mine, wide open now, the walls crumbling down between us.
Despite this, we still haven’t discussed any of the issues lying between us, avoiding it like quicksand. Knowing one wrong move will suck us into its depths. I desperately want to cling to this newfound trust we’ve built between us, but at the same time, it still feels like there’s some barrier between us. Neither one of us wants to breach it and potentially destroy what we’ve built back these past two weeks.
At the same time, I know if we want to get back to what we had, we’re going to have to broach those topics. My little chicken heart keeps pushing it off, though, apparently hoping for some sort of miracle.
I snap back into awareness as Adrian lunges forward, testing my barriers now that I’m distracted. That crafty man. I pour more power into the invisible shield between us in a panic, rushing to beat him there. My breath catches in my chest as the barrier glows, emitting a golden sheen of light. We both notice too late, Adrian’s gaining momentum makes it impossible to stop in time before the light crashes into him. The force of the light crashes against him, and he’s barely able to brace himself before it sends him flying backward. He tucks his head in, avoiding any major damage as his body is flung to the mats, much to my relief.
“Adrian,” I gasp, pulling the power back into my chest before starting forward. My training sneakers slap against the hardwood floor until I reach the mats and fling myself forward. Landing next to him in a heap. Probably not my most brilliant move.
I groan, lifting myself up on my elbows to crawl over to him.
“Are you alright?” I ask hurriedly, my hand moving of its own accord to push back his hair, but I halt at the last minute, unsure if my touch would be welcome. My gaze runs over him, checking for any injuries for a moment before the realization hits me. I reach my hands out, placing them over his body and pulling on my powers. I run my senses over his torso, limbs, and head, searching for any signs of injury, just as Kyros taught me. Besides our history lessons, he’s been working with me on my healing energy. The power is becoming second nature to me now. However, my mind still slips back at times, thinking I’m a mortal, and lacking any sort of abilities.
“I’m alright,” Adrian groans, waving off my probing hands, but I shush him, placing a hand on his chest to ease him back down. He doesn’t fight the touch, instead, allowing me to slowly lower him. Which is a good thing, I give him a warning look, not wanting to have to use my strength on him if he’s truly injured. That was becoming the running joke among us four. Despite being the smallest in stature, I’m sure I could kick any of their asses in a hand-to-hand match, especially with my super strength. Maximus is still unconvinced, though, and I swear I’m going to have to get the jump on him one day just to prove myself.
I pause as my power senses an injury along his ribs and give him a scathing look. He backs down sheepishly, looking in the other direction. Knowing I found the source of his injury.
“Next time, don’t lie, tough guy. Not only will I be able to figure it out, but I’m sure I have some sort of lidar.” I huff out a breath of annoyance when his brows knit together, giving me a curious look.
“Like a lie radar, you know some sort of truth-telling ability,” I explain before pushing my power into him. I may admittedly not be the most gentle due to my lack of focus. He gasps out a pained breath.
“Oops, well, let’s just say that’s payback for the lie.” I wipe my hands at a job well done, and my chest warms with pride at having used my powers to heal his injury. Sometimes, the reality of what my powers can do is daunting, but other times, it feels good to help someone. Climbing to my feet, I reach down a hand to help Adrian up but pause, uncertainty freezing me in place, unsure if the contact is too much. I inch my hand back, not wanting the pain of rejection to pierce my heart, when I feel his warm hand close around mine, his large masculine hand dwarfing mine as he pulls himself up to stand before me. My cheeks heat as his crystal blue eyes find mine. My heart picks up pace, pounding excitedly against my chest at the electricity that zings between us. Desire blazes through me, licking up my spine at the nearness. My breath catches in my throat, taking in the mere inches that separate us.
His hand stays wrapped around mine while his other reaches up to gently tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear. My skin tingles at the contact, and I tilt my chin up to him, craving the feel of his soft, teasing lips on mine.
“Liv,” he whispers my name, sounding almost like a plea. I search his gaze, needing to know if the answering desire I see in them is real. My chest lightens at the use of my nickname he’s increasingly used since we started training, seeing that as another sign of the walls breaking down between us.
Indecision wars in his gaze, as though he wants to claim my mouth in a searing kiss, but something is holding him back.
He seems to make a decision and heat blazes in his breathtaking crystal gaze as he lowers his mouth to meet mine. I raise up, moving closer to press my body against him and almost whimpering at the thought.
The training room doors’ telltale creak splits through the otherwise silent room, breaking the moment between us. We both glance to the side, and I let loose a breath of frustration. Glaring at whomever the approaching figure is that broke this moment between us. Our cheeks are nearly pressed together now at how close we’d gotten.
“I brought you coffee,” a male says in a sing-song voice, knowing the secret word to my heart. My glare drops. Kyros is in the doorway, focused on keeping the tray of drinks upright.
He glances up, darting between Adrian and me, and his cheeks flush. He takes a step back, his expression chagrined.
“I love coffee,” I exclaim. My smile grows broader in the company of two of my gods, despite the pit in my stomach at the interrupted moment between Adrian and me.
“We know.” They both chuckle, the sound warming my heart.
“How did training go? Are you all ready for the big day tomorrow?” Kyros asks jovially, but his words make me pause. I’d completely forgotten about the impending trial tomorrow with all the sexual tension between Adrian and me today. My mouth pops open, and I’m unsure what to say. I feel confident in the powers I’ve learned so far, but that doesn’t mean—
“She’s more than prepared for tomorrow,” Adrian interjects. His gaze is hard on me, his mouth in a stern line. The look is so different from his heated one moments before. He entrances me, as though that look alone will convince me that I’m ready. I nod in agreement, willing myself to believe it, hoping his confidence will rub off on me. I close my eyes, reluctantly cutting off the eye contact, and pull in a deep breath, steeling myself.
Although I may have less time to train, how many others could say that they were trained by the gods themselves. Few, I’m sure.
