Chapter 6
SIX
Excerpt from the Veydran Code of Conduct:
You are no one, and there is no you.
RIVEN
I was born and bred to fit in anywhere, yet I’ve never been this out of place.
When the giant, scarred human suggests training, relief floods my body. Fighting is something I can do. Hand to hand combat, defending against magical attacks, figuring out my opponent’s moves before they make them . . . That’s easy, but I don’t have a clue how to play nice with strangers.
No one has asked me directly why I’m still here, but I’ve seen the curious glances.
I’m wondering the same thing. I helped Celine and the others escape the monster realm, and I don’t regret it, but I tore my entire life to shreds in the process.
I could have left with Hyacinth as soon as we landed in Vegas.
There was no reason for me to come to the compound with Celine and put myself on the enclave’s radar.
When her brown eyes widen with excitement and her wings shoot from her back, I know exactly why I’m still here.
I’m obsessed with her.
And it’s humiliating.
She already has attachments. They’re more than attachments, and even if she didn’t have the others, there’s no reality where she wants me. I don’t even know my own face.
“Do you want to spar, Riven?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her no. I should be running in the opposite direction, but I’m wound tight after sending Hyacinth off with the witch. I need to let off some steam, and the breakfast, while delicious, has settled like a glue-covered boulder in my stomach.
And I can’t turn down the opportunity to fight with her for fun. We’ve never faced one another without intending to cause the other pain. Will the same obsession for her possess me once the danger is removed? There’s only one way to find out.
I nod, and everyone graciously pretends that I didn’t sit here in complete silence debating my answer for longer than was socially acceptable.
“No chance,” Luca mutters. “I’m still sore.” The shifts. He’s new to his basilisk form, and the ache must be tremendous after years of disuse.
“What about you, Ali?” Celine asks.
He shakes his head and glances around the table. The cagey vampire doesn’t want to reveal his moves in front of enclave members, and I can’t blame him. I would be worried too if my moves weren’t virtually unlimited.
In the end, it’s Celine, me, the big human, and the bigger shifter who head to the indoor, padded training room inside their wing.
“I want to fight Celine,” Gideon says, grinning until his tanned cheeks dimple.
“Celine chooses,” Quaid snaps, the scar above his mouth pulling tight as he scowls. “They escaped a war zone, Gideon. She gets to decide everything.”
Celine smiles at him first, then smirks at Gideon, leveling him with a devious expression. “The big ones fall harder,” she teases. “Are you sure you’re ready to get knocked on your ass in your own home?”
Quaid steps to the side to referee, but not before I see his lips twitch.
They establish basic rules: no hits at full power, no broken bones, that sort of thing.
I listen absently while sizing Gideon up.
He’s an omni shifter—able to become any animal.
That’s challenging enough, but he’s also huge in his two-legged form.
He’s got at least ten inches of reach on Celine, and he wears his confidence the same way I wear my mask.
Celine’s going to crush him.
They circle each other slowly, noting the way the other moves. I’m pleasantly surprised by his caution. I expected Gideon to charge right in. Perhaps this fight will be interesting after all.
After about a minute, Celine darts closer, deliberately putting herself within his reach.
She’s obviously baiting him, but the temptation is too much for Gideon to resist.
He tosses a slow, testing jab at her belly, giving her plenty of time to block or dodge. She does neither, grabbing his forearm and flipping him bodily over her shoulder instead. He slams against the mat with an oof, and Quaid’s smile stretches across his face until he’s downright menacing.
“Shit, I should have been recording,” he says. “Could you do it again, Celine, so I can show Sheena later?”
Celine laughs, and Gideon jumps to his feet, somehow twice as excited as he was before he got tossed on the floor.
They go a few more rounds, but Gideon doesn’t make the same mistake again. He’s a skilled fighter; Celine is just better. Facing him in his preferred animal form would present a bigger challenge for her, but the nice rubber mats wouldn’t survive it.
They take a water break, both pouring sweat, and Gideon glances at me. “What if we fight in pairs? Quaid and me against the two of you?”
Celine shakes her head. “I don’t think it would be a fair fight. Riven is lethal.”
My chest puffs up. Idiot, that wasn’t a compliment for you, it was a warning for them. Except the way Celine said it sounded nice. Pushing that from my mind, I focus on the human. He’s big, and he carries himself like a soldier, but he doesn’t have supernatural gifts.
I clear my throat. “Do you think the two of you could defeat me and Quaid?”
We’re play-fighting. Children grappling in a facility designed by someone with adult money. It should feel like a waste of time, but it doesn’t. Quaid called it training, and I guess he’s right. It’s just different than what I’m used to.
Gideon bumps his giant knuckles against Celine’s and bounces on the balls of his feet. “This is going to be good,” he says. “It’s been forever since I kicked Quaid’s ass.”
Quaid rolls his eyes. “If by forever, you mean never.”
“That’s because you always pair with Sheena and hide behind her wishes.”
A muscle in Quaid’s jaw ticks, and I squash the smile that wants to escape.
This will be a good match.
Quaid waves me over, and we turn our backs on the other two. “I’m good on the ground,” he whispers. “Gideon has a hard time waiting. If you toy with him long enough, he’ll try to force an opening.”
I nod. “Celine is strong; try not to let her get her arms around you, and if she brings her wings out, stay away from them no matter what.”
He grunts. “What about you? Any weaknesses I should know about?”
I raise one eyebrow. “None I’m willing to share with you.”
“Fair enough.” With nothing else to say, we turn to watch the other pair. They’re whispering and laughing. Gods, are they planning to fight or gossip?
I roll my head in a loose circle until I hear the familiar crack of my neck. If I don’t want my joints to pop, they don’t, but something about the bad habit has always been especially satisfying to me. My own quiet rebellion.
They erased my true form, but I refuse to be silenced.
Celine and Gideon face us; everyone nods, then the fight begins.
They’ve chosen to stand close together, forming a wall of muscle to prevent us from getting behind them. Our strategies couldn’t be more opposite, with Quaid and me hugging our respective sides of the padded floor and giving each other plenty of room to work.
I’ve watched Gideon fight enough now to have a pretty good idea of his rhythm. Enough to mess with him, at least.
I signal to Quaid, and we swap sides.
Gideon grins, breaking formation with Celine to face me. I pretend to lunge and toss a loose uppercut at his midsection. He dodges, and Celine scoffs. “Don’t fall for that, Gideon, he’s—”
Quaid charges her, moving faster than I would have expected from a human of his size. He sweeps his right leg into Celine’s ankles, and she barely manages to jump clear of him, too distracted giving her new friend pointers to pay attention to her opponent.
The move catches Gideon’s attention too.
I duck in while he’s watching them and drive my knee into his gut, pulling back at the last second to avoid breaking his ribs.
He wheezes, air leaving his mouth in a whoosh, but he doesn’t panic, not even for a second, grabbing my knee and forcing me to the mat.
He’s a much tougher opponent on the ground.
Bigger than my standard form, determined, and strong. I enjoy the challenge of the size mismatch for a few minutes, then mirror his moves, a flicker of magic running through me.
Thirty seconds later, I’ve got him pinned.
A vein in his forehead throbs, and he taps the mat.
I release him immediately and offer him a hand up.
“Nice move,” he says. “How do you do that? Am I telegraphing with my eyes or something?”
I shake my head. “It’s a veydra thing.”
His eyebrows hit his hairline, where sweaty curls have formed a wild nest. “Are you reading my mind?”
I shake my head. “It’s an extra sense, if anything. I have no idea what your brain is doing, but I can tap into the way your body moves. Almost like a frequency.”
“That’s fucking cool.” Gideon offers me an unopened water bottle, and for a second, I leave him hanging, too startled to take it.
No one thinks veydran are cool—especially not other shifters. I know Gideon’s parents raised him on Earth, but surely they told him about the dynamics on the home realm.
“I think she’s going easy on him,” he says.
I glance at Celine and Quaid. They’re grappling on the mat, talking about various holds and transition moves through ragged breaths.
I walk over to them and tap my foot. “Is this playtime or a real competition?”
Celine blows a strand of flame-red hair out of her eyes and narrows them at me. “It’s training. We’re learning.”
I hum as if I’m considering it and smirk. “Good to know. You should also know that if you lose to him, your team is done.”
She rolls her eyes, but I know she won’t allow a loss.
The lean muscle in her arms flexes, and she flips the much bigger man onto his back. Before she can land the hold, though, he curls on his side, messing up her angle and starting the struggle all over again.
It takes her fifteen minutes to get him to tap.
I’m impressed.
They scramble to their feet, smiling and panting.
Celine circles me. “Let’s go,” she says. “I want to see if you can beat me without the cloak.”
I huff a laugh, but my heart is pounding.
We face each other, and neither of us holds back.
I mirror her moves, but as I discovered in the ring at the Mouth of Hell, I’m almost too late every time.
Celine moves with immediate intent. She never hesitates; her combat style is skilled but instinctual.
I’ve never fought anyone so in touch with their own body.
Which is how I end up with Celine sitting on my chest, her knees pinning my arms. Her thighs are spread, and her mouth is set in a determined line. It should be precarious, and maybe it is, but the view short-circuits my brain. All my instincts abandon me. Except for one.
Gods, she’s the loveliest creature I’ve ever seen.
“Are you going to tap out?” she demands. Her chest is heaving, and a drop of sweat trickles down her neck. I watch it disappear under the collar of her shirt and lick my lips. “Riven, do you tap?”
“Why the fuck would he?” Gideon mutters, only to be shushed by Quaid.
“Never, darling,” I whisper.
Lifting my legs, I drive them down and use the momentum to dislodge her. Then she’s under me, and every inch of her body is pressed against mine. Her cheeks are flushed, she’s panting, and the fire in her eyes . . . Gods, this was a mistake.
I freeze, tapping the mat before jumping to my feet.
Touching her was a bad idea. No good can come from me feeding my obsession.
Grabbing the water bottle, I unscrew the top and drink deeply, kicking myself for being obvious.
I should have let her pin me and pretended I couldn’t get free.
That way, she wouldn’t be staring at me with a question in her brown eyes.
My saving grace? She won’t ask it out loud.
She fears my answer as much as I do.