Chapter 24
Ithrow another punch in Ajax’s direction and miss.
I shake out my hands, ready to try again, but my mind keeps dragging me back to that room with the strange boy.
I didn’t sleep again last night, half expecting him to jump out of the shadows and attack me.
It’s been three days since my run-in with him, and I still can’t shake the eerie feeling that he left behind.
My body is in a constant state of panic.
After Karius walked me back to my room that night, I had the ridiculous urge to beg him to stay, too afraid to be alone. I thought better of it, of course, and have turned up early for training every day since. I’ve always been able to protect myself, and that isn’t about to change now.
“You’re distracted, Red.”
For the first time, I notice that he has stopped and is watching me.
I stretch my neck from side to side to release the built-up tension that seems to be forever present.
I feel like I’m being watched all the time, and it doesn’t help that Karius has increased the number of guards in the palace.
Everywhere I turn, I seem to run into a pair of red eyes.
Between my training sessions with Ajax and my time researching with Iza, I haven’t allowed myself time for anything else.
I haven’t seen Karius much, but I know that he has Iza looking into more than just the bond.
She thinks I haven’t noticed, but I have.
I stay quiet, biding my time to use the information to my advantage.
“Red.”
My head snaps up, and I realize that I haven’t answered Ajax.
I see a look of concern in his eyes as he watches me intently.
I hate to admit it, but these sessions with him have become the highlight of my day, and despite myself, there’s a foolish part of me that is starting to like him. Gods, I sound like a sympathizer.
“It’s nothing. I’m just tired.”
My eyes flicker over his shoulder to where Ivana has pinned Piper to the floor.
Piper slams her hand against it several times, admitting defeat and ending their sparring match.
Ivana holds out a hand, lifting her to her feet.
Like me, Piper hasn’t won a single match yet.
According to Ajax, she’s still in training, and Ivana has taken on the task of preparing her to become a full member of the guard.
I’m almost used to their presence now, always training at the same time we do.
I’m sure Ivana is glad that Ajax decided that I no longer need to run and instead use sparring to get control of the magic pumping through my veins.
I think if she had to stop me from hitting one more wall, she may have actually killed me herself.
Ajax steps forward, dropping his voice down low and eyeing me suspiciously.
“I know what tired looks like, and that isn’t it. You look on edge.”
I hate how right he is, but the last thing I need is for him to tell Karius—and for me to suddenly become a prisoner in my room again. I need the freedom to explore and find out what’s really going on.
“I said I’m fine. Can we just get on with it?”
An emotion that I can’t read crosses his face, but he nods.
“Your footwork is getting sloppy. If your foundation is not grounded, then it’s easy to take you down. Keep your core tight when you’re fighting; otherwise, your opponent will always have the upper hand.”
I nod in understanding, stretching out my arms before curling my hands into fists in front of me.
I’m slowly getting used to the speed and force of my movements.
Whenever I used to fight vampires back when I was trying to get their venom, I always had to act fast—or I would be dead.
But with Karius’s power running through me, everything is heightened, and what was once a hard jab can now bring down an entire wall.
The concept is still odd to get used to.
Focus on his eyes. They will always predict what he is about to do. This one fights well, but he has a tell. He turns slightly whenever he is about to attack.
I internally nod at Athriel’s words. Since he started training me, he has taught me things that have saved my life on more than one occasion, and I’m not about to ignore his teachings now.
How is it that you know so much about fighting, anyway? I ask.
I feel a shrugging sensation deep within. I truly do not know. It is almost like breathing; I just know without ever being taught. It’s an odd sensation.
It may be odd, but it’s definitely useful.
Hmm.
Ajax turns so slightly that I almost miss it, but I duck and dodge the punch that he just aimed at my head. Its speed so fast that it sends cool air washing over my face.
“Nice, Red. Always anticipate your opponent's next move.”
Athriel scoffs. I already taught her that.
You sound jealous. I tease.
I do not get jealous. Those ridiculous feelings are reserved for mere mortals. I just abhor the idea of someone taking credit for my work.
I laugh. Of course.
Ajax and I circle one another, and I feel Ivana and Piper’s eyes on us, but I dare not focus on them for fear that I may miss something.
It only takes a slight distraction for him to get the upper hand.
Ajax may joke around a lot, but he is a skilled fighter.
I wait for a second before I let my fist fly out in his direction, but he swerves out of its path with ease, and I have to fight to stay on my feet, the damn speed of it almost knocking me over.
“Remember, you do not require the effort you used to. Keep it slow and steady. This is not a race.”
I let his words sink in as I try to hold back the force of my next strike. I throw a jab in his direction, and it almost lands.
“Much better, much more controlled.”
Ivana watches from behind him, a look of sheer concentration plastered across her face.
Her eyes meet mine briefly before she points a finger at Ajax’s left side.
The move is so subtle that I almost miss it.
She widens her eyes when I do nothing, and I realize that she is showing me his weak spot.
She’s helping me. I don’t hesitate. I move fast but controlled and let my foot curl into his side, and though he moves out of the way, the edge of my toe just grazes his hip.
A laugh falls out of me in excitement when I realize that I almost hit him, and he steps back with a grin. He folds his hands across his chest and looks over at Ivana.
“You think I don’t know that you helped her?” he says, but she only lifts her hands in a gesture that tells him that she has no idea what he’s talking about. I can’t help but smile. “You’re supposed to be my best friend, and you betrayed me.”
He runs at her while laughing and tries to grab her, but she easily evades him, a soft smile on her face.
They move faster, becoming blurs that my eyes still cannot adjust to.
Ajax says that one day I’ll learn to control my vision, to slow fast-moving things just enough to see them—but that takes practice.
For now, they’re nothing more than a blur of colors flashing around the room, only slowing long enough for me to make out their lean frames.
“You did well,” Piper says from beside me.
“Thanks. Though I got a little help.”
She chuckles at this as she watches them chase each other.
“They look happy,” I say, watching as Ajax and Ivana seem to be having their own private conversation in a language that only the two of them understand.
Piper nods. “They need it.”
I turn to her and raise my brow in question.
“They fought side by side in the war. They lost a lot of friends, so it’s nice to see them smiling. There was a time when I wasn’t sure they ever would.”
Her words churn something inside of me, and I want to tell her that they don’t deserve to cry over their suffering during a war they likely helped to start, but as I stand watching them laughing with each other, they look so…
human. Back at the bloodhouse, vampires only ever demanded obedience and would get it in any way they saw fit.
I cannot deny that this group seems nothing like the vampires I’ve previously met.
Still, my mind refuses to forget what they really are.
It’s clear that they love each other. They’re a family, but no matter how beautiful that may seem, when it comes down to it, I’m nothing more than a human to them, and if it weren’t for my bond with Karius, I’d already be dead.
Suddenly, the doors to the training room open, and a guard comes into focus, his face stern as his eyes search the space until they land on me.
“The prince has requested your presence.”
After the guard escorted me from the training room, he delivered the prince’s message that he expected me to be bathed and dressed before being brought before him. I almost argued until Ajax said that we were done for the day, anyway. I don’t know who Karius thinks he is to just summon me.
Perhaps he believes himself to be the prince of a kingdom. Athriel jests.
It’s not funny. He gets on my last nerve.
Somehow, this only amuses Athriel.
The stern-faced guard and I walk in complete silence to the unknown location until he finally stops in front of a large door and knocks on it.
I run my hands down the soft material of my dress, the dark emerald shimmering against the starlight that leaks through the window at the far end of the corridor we are standing on.
A grumbled ‘come in’ from the other side of the door brings me back to the present. The prince’s voice grates on my nerves as he gives the order.
The guard pushes the door open, revealing a room twice the size of my own.
My eyes scan the lush sheets and large window across the way, and I don’t miss the fact that it is slightly ajar, unlike the one in my room, which remains sealed shut.
I cross my arms over my chest and stare at the prince as he lounges in the chair by the window, swirling the amber liquid in his glass before taking a slow sip.