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A surprised laugh escaped me even as I tried to cover my mouth. “Isn’t that a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, Abi?”
She wasn’t paying attention as Grant gave a nod, taking several steps back. I exchanged a look with Gilbert, and we cleared the floor as well. As soon as everyone was safely out of the way, Piers lunged at Abi, sand spraying behind him. Abi deftly dodged to the right, her smile staying in place even as her expression grew far more intense. I was surprised to see that Piers wasn’t pulling any punches. He didn’t let up on the speed, and even threw Abi down into the sand.
She landed with a soft “oof,” and I had to stop myself from asking if she was okay. I knew Piers wouldn’t really hurt her, even if he’d knocked the wind out of her. Abi wheezed, but sherolled back to her feet in a matter of moments, reaching for what I couldn’t see. As Piers rushed her again, Abi feigned left before sliding right, grabbing Piers by one shoulder and shoving her other hand under his throat. Only when they stopped moving did I realize she was holding one of the false training stakes that Grant had given us for practice.
“Woo hoo!” I hollered, clapping for her as I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet. “Abi, that was awesome!”
“Abigail Murphy is the winner,” Grant proclaimed, and I was positive I detected pride in the ex-hunter’s voice.
“I want a rematch,” Piers grumbled as he took a step back, dusting the sand off his slacks.
Abi just twirled away, flashing him a bright grin as she stuck a victory pose for his benefit. He scowled, and Cody laughed. “Makes sense that a baby Dracula would be such a sore loser,” he said.
Piers gave him a dark look. “Would you like to go next, puppy?” he asked as he stood straighter.
“Oh, yeah!” Abi urged. “Fight, fight, fight, fight!”
Grant shook his head and rolled his eyes. That didn’t stop the pair as Cody and Abi exchanged places, leaving the young shifter and vampire to square up. “You’re a menace,” I whispered to Abi as she joined me again, having barely broken a sweat during her match.
She flashed another wild grin. “You love that about me,” she said.
I might have protested, but Piers and Cody had already begun. They were moving so quickly, both relying on their heightened sense of speed, it was difficult for me to track who was doing what and who landed which hit. The French cursing was all Piers, but the yelp was from Cody.
After what seemed like an eternity, the shifter stumbled backward, fighting not to trip over his own feet. Piers was on himin less than the span of a breath, grabbing Cody by his shoulder and his forehead, forcing his head back to expose his neck for a bite before stopping there.
“Piers Rolfe is the winner,” Grant announced with far less enthusiasm this time. “Are we done with the dick-swinging contests now?”
Piers rolled his eyes but let Cody go, turning around to face me and Abigail as he dusted his hands off. “You see? If—oof!”
All I saw in the second before he tackled him was a mischievous gleam in Cody’s bright blue eyes. Moments later, he had Piers face down in the sand, cackling as the vampire thrashed and spat out grit.
“Gilbert!” Piers squalled. “You’re supposed to have my back! What the hell is this?!”
“Hah!” Cody paused long enough to ruffle Piers’s dark hair before crawling off him. He did stop to offer the vampire a hand, chuckling again when Piers glowered at him and got himself up.
“I’m sure you and your big mouth can handle yourselves,” Gilbert said to his brother, standing next to Fenris once more. “Unless you plan to fight everyone on the island.”
I laughed, looking back at Grant while he cleared his throat, clearly ready for the next part of his lesson. I felt a lot more settled now, and the next few hours flew by.
The shadows were getting long in the sky when Val called us inside for dinner. Everyone filtered in, leaving for separate rooms to change and clean up. I paused, hanging back with Fenris until we were the last ones left on the patio.
“Hey,” I said quietly. “Do we think we could have Lyka join us? Would that be safe?”
Fenris sighed, looking toward the house pensively. I knew without a doubt he’d love to spend more time with his brother,but we both knew that just because the former Lunar Lord was doing better now didn’t mean he wouldn’t have regressions. Frankly, we still didn’t know if he had any triggers and what would happen if someone accidentally crossed one.
“As much as I wish to bring him to the table,” he said after a moment, “I’m not sure that’d be a good idea, for him or for us. But I think I’ll bring him dinner afterwards, and we can sit together.”
“That’d be nice,” I said, offering a smile. “Now, let me go rinse off before we sit down for dinner. The last thing I want is Cody King smelling all that sweat.”
Fenris growled softly at that idea, and I grinned, dashing inside before he could stop me.
The scene around the dinner table almost feltnormal. At the end, closest to the kitchen, sat Walter with Val on his right. Morgan had come back to Isla Lobo after gathering supplies from her coven and was on her aunt’s other side. Naturally, Cody took up the parallel seat, like he’d simply die if he was any further away from her. Liana was stuck between Cody and me, and Fenris sat at the head. Gilbert was on his other side, and Abi sat sandwiched between the twins.
That left Grant Oakley. While he hadn’t seemed terribly thrilled to be next to Piers at first, the fact that Walter was on his other side, giving him first access to most of the things coming out of the kitchen, brightened his mood.
I enjoyed the chatter, as well as Walter and Val touching toes beneath the table when they thought no one was looking. Morgan was having an involved discussion with Grant, and he seemed impressed with her expansive knowledge of vampiric lore while Gilbert and Abi were involved in their own private conversation. The entire thing felt homey to me, and I suddenlyfelt a pang of melancholy despite being right here, in the middle of it all.
What if I don’t ever get to do this again?
