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“And this is your third breakfast,” the Drakon woman rumbled, her voice devoid of any irony. “Tess’s mates left this for her.” She pulled a cup of coffee from behind her back, too. “Also, this. Eden is not, however, permitted coffee. The human gestation books say caffeine is bad.”
“Don’t you dare take their side,” Eden growled, stomping her foot. “The doc said I could have one cup a day.”
“And if we let you have that one cup, it’ll really be two.” Cadmium just raised a brow until Eden sighed. “Don’t think we don’t know you already sneak one.” She then turned back to me. “Your mates said they would be back before nightfall. Until then, we head to the clearing in the forest. First, we will go over hand-to-hand, then proceed onto weapon safety. Is this satisfactory to you, human intended?”
“The name’s Tess, Cadmium, you are welcome to use it.” The Drakon nodded stiffly. “Plus, I know how to handle a gun.” I shoved my fork in the fluffy scrambled eggs and shoved the forkful into my mouth. Fuck, perfectly salty and light. Plus, the thick tomatoes that were cut into quarters and placed on the side of the plate, exactly how I liked them. I could see the sprinkling of sea salt on them, as well. Only thing missing was some hot sauce. “Been shooting since I was old enough to lift the rifle.”
“Our weapons are far more advanced, Tess,” scoffed Cadmium. “And there are many parts that must be maintained. Forgetting a step could result in the loss of a finger.” She blinked, then conceded. “Or, in your case, a life.” She took a long drink out of a water bottle and waited for me to acquiesce. When I didn’t, she continued as if I had. “We will go over weapons safety, and then we will practice with our training weapons. By this evening, you should be able to remember which way to point a blaster enough that you can safely carry one. Do not shoot any Drakons.”
“Just the humans,” I mumbled into my eggs, giving her a sarcastic thumbs up. “Got it.” I turned my eyes on Eden. “I bet you just love having her around twenty-four-seven, huh? She’s a barrel of fun.”
“I am not here to be fun,” the female sniffed. “I am on Earth to ensure the bonded and intended mates stay alive.”
Eden only giggled at my deadpan ”see what I mean” expression.
“The Hunters may have originated from your race, but they aren’t the same as you. The magic they have steeped themselves in has twisted the power they wield. Turned it dark and rotten.”
“Hey,” protested Eden, spitting crumbs all over the place.
The golden dragon hummed into her water, tilting her head on the side in agreement. “I suppose Eden has proved that it is possible to choose a different path. So perhaps I shall reserve judgment. That isifI get to keep my eyebrows this session.”
“Yeah, dream on, goldy,” retorted Eden, kicking herself up to standing. “Remember who is vice queen of the MC now, beotch.”
“I bow to you, my queen,” Cadmium replied, rolling her eyes as she pushed off the counter. “Now, march. I have been given a monumental task. Preparing your frail bodies for what will undoubtedly be a deadly war. Sulfur and Bromine have kindly agreed to help me whip you humans into shape.”
* * *
Wind whippedthrough the field as Cadmium led us through a series of katia type movements, taking them slow and steady, getting our muscles used to the movements before speeding them up. Her body moved like water, while mine felt like it was full of boulders trying to mold itself into the different forms.
“Don’t force it,” Bromine whispered to me as he gently corrected my technique. “Our bodies are built differently from yours.” He slowly helped me swing my arm around and dip into a lunge before lifting back out. “You are doing excellent.”
“Thanks, but I feel like an uncoordinated hippo,” I grumbled, as I repeated the move, and he corrected me gently once again. His mate, Sulfur, was over with Eden, his hands holding her wrists firm as he moved her. “Okay, maybe more like an ungainly colt, still figuring out the length of its legs.”
“Earth fauna,” the Drakon nodded. “I myself am partial to the peregrine falcon. They are ever the graceful fliers. And very sparring with their movements.” He pushed my arm just a bit higher this time, lifting it more upright. “Good, now press into that movement. The shifting of your weight is key to this form.”
“Got it.” I tried not to give into the frustration, like Eden was. The witch looked like she was ready to bust loose with some magic, despite the sharp looks of warning Cadmium shot her way. “You might be surprised to learn this isn’t my normal fun time activity.”
“And what is it that you usually do for fun times, if not training?” He stepped back from me and watched as I did it all on my own. “Fabulous. Soon you’ll be taking out your enemies and bathing in their blood.”
“Yeah,” I drawled, scrunching up my nose at the gross visual. “Hard pass, oh bloodthirsty one.” I cocked my head at the guy who merely waited patiently for me to get going with the next form or answer his question. He didn’t seem fazed by which one I chose in the slightest. “Are all Drakons up for the bathing in the blood of their enemies, then?”
He nodded, as though the answer should have been obvious. I thought for a moment and gave him a nod. From what I’d seen so far, it really should have been.
So I gave in, moved into the next set of movements as Cadmium led us on, and answered. “I’ll stand behind a gun, please and thank you. For fun and in battle, I guess. No blood bathing for this human girl, thank you very much.”
“It was a metaphorical bath, little one,” Bromine laughed. “Do your warriors not say things such as that? I’ve been trying to consume human media in order to feel more at home here. I thought that was an expression humans use.”
“I mean, sure, if you’re living in Brave Heart or an action flick.” I shrugged. “Just never sure when y’all are serious or not.” I huffed, letting him push me back into position to start all over again. “Ast did rip the arm off a guy the other day, so you never know.”
“Your fierce mate was in the throes of the first rush of discovering his final mate. It lends us strength and stokes the ever-present fire in the belly of our beast even hotter.” Bromine hummed, sounding like he was lost in a fond memory as he helped me through a difficult turn, which nearly toppled the both of us over. He never once admonished me for being clumsy or a slow learner, however. Simply took us back to the beginning to start again. “While Asteroid is certainly capable of tearing off a limb, he is not known for such theatrics. He usually offers his enemy a good clean death. He must have been particularly worked up to have disgraced the Hunter in such a way.”
“Good to know.”
Cadmium called an end to the exercise and was handing out practice blasters. They had the same weight as the real ones, but none of the fire power. She had spent over an hour explaining all the parts of the weapon. Her lecture was so dull, I’d had to ensure I didn’t look over at Eden, who was feigning sleep. Loudly. Snores and everything. Cadmium had ignored Eden’s antics and made us assemble and disassemble the Drakon weapons countless times, before she had let us shoot.
“I believe you will not need me for this portion of today’s practice.” Bromine patted my shoulder and gave me a brotherly wink.
Of all the Drakons that had shown up with my mates, he was the one that I felt most comfortable around. Sure, the dead-pan Cadmium was great to tease on a girl’s night, but Bromine had this warm, familiar feeling. His mate was nice enough, too, but much more reserved.
