Gilded Blood
1 9
“Daisy will train with me,” Kora says, sliding her golden blade from the sheath resting along her spine.
Daisy’s brows pinch as she gives Kora a grim expression. “Actually, I was thinking of training with Melody today.”
“What, why?”
“Because you’re too skilled for me. Aren’t you bored of training and beating me all the time?”
Kora’s mouth opens to retort, but nothing comes out.
“See. Even you agree. I think Melody is more on my skill level.”
“I’d be happy to train with you,” Melody strolls over to the two of them. She’s tall like Daisy, with light hair that falls down to her waist and grey eyes like a cloudy winter sky. “Levi wants to train with Clarence today, anyway.”
Kora’s mouth purses together. “All right. I’ll see you after then.”
Daisy gives her one final pouty look before following Melody towards one of the vacant rooms.
“You have to admit, Kora,” Matthew starts from the other side of the Commons, “you beat her every time. Doesn’t it get repetitive?”
Kora lifts a shoulder to him. “I suppose I’m used to her fighting now. Are any of you offering?”
Matthew shakes his head, running his fingers through his overgrown brown hair. “No. Not after last time.” Grinning teasingly at her. “I think my pride is still repairing. ”
“And I promised Valarie I’d train with her today.” Lewis adds from his side.
“I’ll train with you.”
Kora’s eyes flicker to meet Jordan’s warm ones.
Matthew quips, “She might mop the floor with you as well.”
Jordan sneers, “I always like a challenge.” Winking at her.
Kora’s teeth press against her bottom lip before she smiles at him. “Come on, then.”
Leading him into one of the empty training rooms, Jordan strolls over to the wall at the back and picks up multiple daggers, placing them in his thigh and waist sheaths. He’s used to carrying his own weapons, but training with some provided by the Ascendancy adds some variety. They all differ in weight, size and shape. Each are silver in colour, simmering under his touch with angelic energy.
Kora wants a few for herself, even though her mother’s blade is already in her hand, waiting to be used.
Reaching for a dagger, Jordan’s hand brushes hers and she pulls back, as if their contact burnt her skin. Swallowing, she goes to grab another when Jordan snatches it from the shelf. His hand grabs a hold of her belt loop, pulling her closer against him. He slides the dagger into her waist sheath with ease, his gaze never leaving hers.
“More?” he questions, a brow arching.
“No.” Her voice is unsteady from their close proximity.
A faint grin surfaces as he licks his bottom lip and walks into the centre of the room, waiting for her to join him.
Kora didn’t realise she was holding onto her breath until she exhales slowly. Her skin tingling all over like tiny pin prickles titillating her flesh. Pulse racing in her veins, she comes to stand opposite him.
She takes a moment to study him. Kora’s been this close to him before, but the sensation is stronger, like her body longs to be against his. Jordan’s dressed in his black training clothes. Golden hair gleaming under the artificial lights. A defined, chiselled jaw line and visible muscles outlined even through the fabric of his short-sleeved shirt. Cerulean eyes like the sea during summer on a cloudless day.
Holding up her blade at the ready, his eyes track her movements carefully. Pulling two daggers from his own sheaths, one in each hand, his gaze never falters from hers. Jordan positions himself in his fighting stance-right leg forward in preparation.
Kora follows suit, steadying herself with her blade outstretched in front of her as the other clutches a smaller dagger facing outwards. Her lids narrow onto his as Jordan cracks a smirk.
“Are you ready, Miss Hamilton?” his masculine voice slicing the tension in the room like a knife.
With a nod, her eyes glance over his features. Kora notices the small white scar sitting just above his right eyebrow, running through the hairs and onto his temple. His cheek dimples are deep and charming. His light lashes frame his bright eyes, and the small bow in his lip makes them even more enticing.
Kora waits for him to move before she strikes out. They both stare each other down like predator on predator.
Jordan swallows, his apple bobbing momentarily in his throat. Not from fear, but more from intrepid confidence.
Without warning, Jordan lunges out, swinging one of his daggers at her. Within seconds, Kora has rolled out of the way and moved to the other side of the room.
Jordan spins as her blade comes down on him. His arm thrusts up, then his dagger hits her weapon.
The crashing of metal sounds the room. Kora pushes against Jordan’s energy as he pushes down on the blade.
Pressing against him, Kora manages to slide out from underneath his body. Jordan’s dagger collides with the floor and splits. He growls, kicking it into the corner of the room and grabbing another one from his many sheaths.
Kora is standing again, her blade up and ready for him to attack her. His arm reaches back and he releases a dagger. It flies towards Kora, who ducks out of the way just in time. It narrowly misses her face, embedding into the wall behind her.
Before Jordan can reach for another blade, Kora rushes up to him and slides along the ground, kicking his leg out so that he falls to his knees.
Scrambling to her feet, Jordan is already standing again, his hands both gripping knives.
Kora lets out a soft grunt as she races towards him, determined to strike him or pin him down. A knife comes at her, and she twists and turns her body to avoid being stabbed. Her blade comes down, slicing a neat thin line along the outside of his leg.
Jordan looks down in surprise.
Bright red blood rises to the surface of his skin and spreads into the fabric of his dark trousers. He swears to himself calmly and looks to Kora. It’s not a deep cut, probably one that will heal within the hour.
“Sorry.” She says with a faint grin.
He stares at her.
She can’t quite tell if he’s angry, frustrated or impressed-perhaps it’s a mixture of all three. His grin grows, settling her nerves as he says, “You’re even better than Matthew said you were.” Complimenting her.
With a sly smirk, he removes his shirt up over his head, giving Kora a full view of his muscular abdomen. Deep, defined muscles frame his figure. A sharp V shape disappears into the waistband of his pants. Wiping away the blood from his leg, Jordan tosses the shirt aside.
Kora can’t peel her eyes away from his bare upper half. She has only ever seen her brother and Matthew shirtless in the lake during the hotter months, but they were never as glorious as what she’s staring at right now. Saliva fills her mouth as she forces herself not to move any closer. To reach out and run her fingers along-
“Kora?” he asks, a brow rising with enjoyment .
She flicks her gaze up at his face to see a smirk toying on his lips. He did that on purpose just to mess with her.
Shaking her head to clear the image from her mind, she trains her focus onto his handsome face. As much as she wants to look at every line and etch of his body, she has to win this fight.
“Sorry.” She repeats, not able to think of any other word to say to him right now. Her mind might as well be liquid.
Jordan lets out a small chuckle, his muscles moving in rhythm with each inhale of air. “You said that already.” He teases her.
“Do you concede?” she asks him, ignoring his toying with her.
“Hell no.” He smirks.
Great, now I have to fight him while he looks like that. Her cheeks blush pink as they reset their positions.
Jordan approaches her, swinging a silver dagger that gleams under beams of light.
Kora lets out a sound as she dodges him, jumping up onto a wooden crate perched in the corner of the room. She’s just taller than him now, despite the generous size of the crate. Pushing out her golden blade, the metal collides with one of his weapons.
Reaching for her other knife, she swipes it out, attempting to cut him. It strikes his other dagger that lifts just in time to defend. They lock eyes as their arms push against each other’s strength.
Not wanting to let her eyes drift downwards, Kora tells herself to only look at his eyes. Nothing else.
With enough force, Jordan pushes her off. Kora’s body stumbles backwards off the crate.
Hitting the ground with a thud, Jordan appears on top of her. He holds a dagger against her throat; the blade threatening to slice into her skin, and he grins down at her, pinning her into place.
Kora’s hazel eyes flare as he stares down at her. The chilled kiss of metal holding her to the floor. She can’t even swallow without the blade digging into her flesh.
“Do you concede?” Jordan taunts her lightly .
“Never.” She says, pushing his arm away so that the blade is no longer pinning her down.
Jordan’s other hand swipes at her, and she rolls out from underneath him. He turns to face her as she steadies herself again. Tiny beads of sweat sit on his forehead and she can feel them dotting hers as well.
Thrusting out her blade, Kora misses his torso, his muscles rippling as he dodges her.
Then she feels the stinging in her side.
Pain shoots through her ribs and stomach as the dagger wedges itself into her side. With a cry, she lets her mother’s blade drop to the ground in defeat.
Falling to her knees, the pain intensifies as she feels her body already trying to repair itself. Her muscles and tendons attempting to string together around the metal piercing her insides. Blood rushes to the surface and Kora presses the palms of her hands against her skin, blocking his view of the wound.
Jordan crouches beside her, watching her whimper in agony. “I am sorry, Kora,” he says quietly as she bites back tears. “I think I distracted you there for a moment.”
Her glare at him is glacial. Yes, distracted by your half-exposed body. She wants to yell out angrily, but she controls herself.
“Does it hurt badly?” he asks, his voice growing gentler.
She shakes her head at him in response, even though a tear slips from her lashes. It’s not from pain though, it’s from the fear engulfing her chest.
He goes to take out the knife when Kora stops him, pushing him away from her. “No!” She shouts out, her hazel eyes widening with panic.
Jordan’s brows furrow at her. “You need to take it out so that you heal, Kora.” He reminds her, leaning forward to grab it again.
She shakes her head at him urgently, pushing his hand away once more with her elbow. “No. I need to leave it in. ”
“Just take it out, Kora.” His voice is calm as it can be.
His hand grips onto the handle, and he pulls out the dagger with ease. Jordan watches as red and gold blood releases from the wound, trailing down her skin and clothes. The wound is momentarily open before closing and mending itself within seconds.
She hears the dagger slip from his grip, falling to the floor. Her blood dripping from the sharpened edge. Gilded scarlet blood.
“What the-” He stops himself before he curses loudly in front of her.
Kora can’t bring herself to see the alarmed look on his face. It’ll be the same as when Clarence first discovered her special abilities when she was eight and he first struck her in their attic.
She stands, her sticky blood already drying against her skin. Her internal organs and bones are still repairing, but they will be fully healed within minutes.
“How?” He asks her, his voice breathless, like he can’t believe what he’s seeing right in front of him.
“I don’t know.” She answers honestly, her voice raspy and innocent.
Jordan reaches out, touching the already healed skin with his fingertips. The golden laced blood stains his extremities. Kora flinches under his touch from his energy sparking her own. “How long have you known about this?”
She looks at him finally, her eyes glassed over with fear. Fear of not knowing if he will tell the Elders. Fear of not knowing how he will react. Fear of not knowing if he will even talk with her again.
“Since I was born,” she starts, her voice croaky, “I have always had this… ability. Clarence found out when I started training with him. We don’t know why I am like this, why I am so different from everyone else. Seraphim can heal faster than Mortals, but nothing like this. When I was much younger, I’d heal within a few minutes. Now it only takes mere seconds.”
Jordan’s eyes continue to search hers as he stays silent .
“Nobody else knows about this except for Clarence. You can’t tell anyone, please. Promise me you won’t tell anyone .” Her voice breaks as she lets out all the tears she’s fighting back.
He continues to stare at her in shock.
Even though he’s the one half naked in the room, Kora suddenly feels more exposed and barer. She’s allowed him to see something of her that nobody else knows, not even Daisy, her closest friend. And that thought frightens her the most because something about Jordan is trustworthy. She can’t even place exactly what it is that enables her to trust him, but there’s something unexplainable inside of her, assuring her.
Maybe it’s the way he’s so comfortable around her, or how her breath halts when she simply looks at him. Maybe it’s because he’s so highly regarded amongst her friends. Something draws him to her, pulls them closer, like two magnets connecting.
When he doesn’t say anything, her heart sinks a little inside her chest. Perhaps he will tell someone about this. It’s not his secret to hide. Why should he care?
Then, without a word, Jordan pulls her into his arms. It’s the last thing she’s expecting him to do.
His smooth skin is like silk under her touch as her arms wrap around his midsection and she sobs into the crook of his chest. Tears keep flooding from her eyes. Warm salty tears of pain, anxiety, and candour.
“I won’t tell anyone about this,” he whispers to her. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Kora.”
He feels her body relaxing into his, like a weight has lifted from her shoulders. “Thank you.” Kora rasps out.
“You will be all right. I won’t let anyone else find out about this.” His voice drops as if people on the other side of the shielded glass can hear them. “I promise.”
She nods against his smooth skin .
“But you need to find out how you have this ability. What makes you different from the rest of us.” He adds on.
Her head lifts, and she pulls herself away from him. Her skin itches to stay connected with his, but she shakes her head hastily. “What if I find out something that I regret knowing?”
Jordan frowns at her. “But what if you find all the answers you need to know? Perhaps you should see an Augur. Your answers might be inside your memories. Memories that you can’t surface. I can come with you if you like?” he offers kindly.
She gives him her weakest smile before shaking her head again, wiping her tear-stained cheeks with her forearm. “No. If I do this, then I need to on my own.”