Chapter 32
A Little Horny
Sinta
It’d been a long week, but I was glad it was Friday.
Dealing with my Fever symptoms, classes, my sudden spot in the limelight, and tutoring with Imelda had been a juggling act.
But today was my first session with Yelana, and I was meeting her outside the Student Village.
I was ignoring everybody today. People had gone out of their way to be bigger assholes ever since Elite Addict confirmed I was living in Rising House.
That included the nosey assholes watching me approach the village archway.
Spotting Yelana, I wave to get her attention.
She waves back. Then she turns to the male she has in a choke hold, hissing something in his ear.
Nodding like a bobblehead, face red, the male stumbles as she releases him.
She barks at him when he doesn’t leave fast enough.
He sprints away from her, slamming into people.
“People are going to think you have rabies.” I tsk.
“Rabies.” Frowning, Yelana thinks deeply for a moment, then blurts a raucous laugh. “Ah, the earth illness that makes animals crazy.”
Screwing my face up, I shake my head. “I keep forgetting that you get to go to Faerie.”
“Get to?” She echoes. “What do you mean? Have you never been to our home realm?”
“No. My foster parents have a home there they visit during the summer, but they only ever took Aletha with them.” I admit.
“Right. The twin sister.” She murmurs. “Did they have a good reason for leaving you behind?”
“They’re elitist Pegasi. She’s a unicorn, they thought I was a snake.” I shrug. “Enough said.”
Her eyes flash a yellowish gold. “They sound edible.”
My laugh was dark and a little crazed.
“Come on.” She orders, marching away towards the forestry behind the Student Village.
There were pools of fresh water on the other side of it, called the Fresh Springs. I’d heard they threw parties there in the summer.
Jogging a little to keep up with her longer stride, I trot at her side and ignore the curious looks thrown our way.
“Where exactly are we going?” I question.
“Somewhere quiet, so you can focus.” She quips. “You fought Tremore well, you had some skill and a decent enough form. Have you ever handled a weapon?”
“No. I had a really good self-defence instructor, but he only had three levels to his class, and once you surpassed them that was it.”
“He just shooed you off?”
“No. There were a lot of people that needed his help. Fae that weren’t Elite.” I explain. “He couldn’t afford to split his attention, so he had to keep his classes small.”
“You are from New York?” She questions.
Since I knew I hadn’t told her that, I decided I didn’t want to know how she knew. “Yes.”
She nods distractedly. “Yes, I always thought they were idiots. The few times Imelda visited I thought they’d get their lips stuck kissing her ass.” She snickers. “They acted like they were all royalty themselves. Tried to treat me like the Help until Melda pulled rank on them.”
“That about sums them up.” I sigh.
It was even worse when you didn’t have a Princess to protect you. The amount of times I ended up covered in food or wearing a drink because the Elite felt like bullying someone was somewhere in the double digits.
“What sort of self defence did he teach?”
“A mix of them. Karate forms, kick boxing, a little Krav Maga. Jiu-Jitsu.” Thinking on it, I add, “He also threw in some wrestling, just in case an attacker managed to get us on the ground.”
“An eclectic mix, but a good one. Your strike defence was good from what I saw, but we could make it stronger. Faster.”
“Are there any buildings this way?”
“No.” She chuckles.
“That’s not serial killer-ish at all.” I mumble.
“Come on.” She calls. “I promise I’m not going to kill you.”
“Not reassuring.” I tell her but up the pace to walk beside her just as we enter the tree line. “If you wanted privacy, why aren’t we training in the Beast Wood?”
The large forest on the West side of the Academy was warded to contain beasts. You entered in your human skin, and you had to leave like that too. When shifted you couldn’t exit its borders.
It was secluded and obviously afforded a certain level of privacy.
“Most people don’t bother trying to control their Beasts when they shift to roam the Beast Wood – It’s safer here, where I’ll be the only thing attacking you.”
“Oh.”
“I’m going to start you off with a sword first, then we’ll work on some other weapons. Eventually you’ll find a favourite and we’ll teach you some moves more specific to it.” Yelana explains as we pass under the thick canopy and step over roots. “Trevone is competent enough to get you to a decent level with your hand-to-hand combat, and then I’ll take you further. But that is a while off.”
“So we’re just focusing on weapons.” I confirm.
“Yes. It is essential to learning in Faerie, and most of the Elite grew up there.” Tossing me a sly glance, she smirks. “You’re going to need the skill, now that rumours are floating around about you and Fade.”
My head whips to her. “Rumours?”
“If you are going to flirt with one of the campus kings, I advise you not to do so in the main courtyard where anyone and everyone can see you.” She chuckles. “You are just lucky it was Fade and not one of the princes. Females would already be challenging you to a duel for daring to touch them.”
My face colours and I quickly glance away.
“Oh, I see.” She laughs. “Which one? Tomashi or Rapid?”
“Tomashi would lunge at the chance to disembowel me.” I mutter. “But Rapid wants to….. be involved.”
“Like dating? Or casual sex?” She inquires.
“Um….. I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
I flash her a clueless look.
“Okay…… What do you know about Fae courting?” My ‘huh?’ look says it all, so she continues. “I’m going to burn your foster parents alive. Fae – either male or female – have certain steps and rituals they abide by when courting each other. Gifts, food, physical touches, gestures, offers of time. We aren’t like humans, we’re predators. When approaching another predator you must have something to offer, so…… has he offered you anything?”
Yes. All three of them had.
“They all touch me a lot. And feed me. And hang out with me.” I admit.
“I’ve seen how Elijah is with you. I can safely say he is interested.” She says. “Fae males initiate touch for one of three reasons; They’re trying to manipulate you, they intend to harm you, or they are interested in you. I’m going with the latter in this situation.”
“Oh.” I whisper.
She laughs at me. “I’ll tell Imelda to add socially acceptable gestures to her lesson plan, hmm?”
I nod.
“Come on, we are almost to the Rubble.”
The Rubble?
Shaking my head, I fiddle with the strap of my backpack. “I haven’t had a chance to ask Imelda. But is dating multiple people…… normal, for Fae culture?”
She nods. “More than. Some Fae only having one Mate, a destined soul match. But others are known as a Centre, and they have two or more mates out there. A Dragoness always has more than one mate, but because we live for so long it can be a few centuries before we even meet one of them. So, we date, usually many at once.” She thinks on it for a moment, then nods again. “Some Fae get tired of waiting, so they’ll marry for political gain or love – maybe even marry multiple people. The ratio of females to males in our society is about ten males to every female, so the Mother just decided to group us together.”
The Mother, one of the other great deities of Faerie, alongside Lady Fate.
“So, if I were to be approached by multiple males, who all said they wanted to be involved with me, and had all agreed beforehand with each other to share me….. that would be normal?” I inquire.
“Yes. Very, in fact.” She stops and turns, grinning. “Rapid doesn’t do commitment, so he must really be smitten with you.”
“We haven’t defined it. For all I know he and the others didn’t mean relationship…… they could want a casual thing.”
“Then talk to them, make it clear you want a label. And make Rapid work for it, that boy needs a firm hand. But do not accept a relationship without a Gifting – Fae males aren’t serious unless they offer a gift.” She says. “I’m going to need to turn you into a master swordsman by next week. When females find out three of the kings are off the market, you’ll feel like Bugs Bunny during hunting season.”
I blink at her. “You watch The Looney Tunes?” I splutter.
She shrugs. “I like Daffy. He’s very relatable.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that.
“Come on, we’re here.” She gestures behind us.
Turning, I find ruins of what was once probably a gorgeous building. Crumbling walls and shattered windows with a mossy weather-beaten stone mosaic floor was all that was left of it.
Striding through the freestanding stone archway, I follow Yelana to where she has dumped her belongings against a half-wall and place down my bag.
There was also a wrack there, stocked with shiny weapons of all kinds.
“You just leave these here?” I question, glancing around.
“No one comes here, and everyone knows not to touch my things.” Picking up a sword, she tilts it to show her name artfully engraved on the blade. “It is on all of them.”
I examine it with an impressed nod. “Nice.”
“Okay, shirt off. It’ll only get in the way.” She orders, snatching up another sword and marching to the centre of the space.
I tug it off, glad I had put on one of my sturdier sports bras today.
Leaving me in only my tights and my sneakers, I walk over to join her.
I barely catch the sword by the handle when she tosses it at me, then shriek and duck away when she lunges and swipes.
She almost slices off a chunk of my hair.
“Where’s my warning?” I snap, stumbling away and trying to raise the sword between us.
I manage to hold it upright but its shaky, the weapon far heavier than I was expecting.
“We are training for reality. You will often have no warning.” Yelana states. “From the moment you touch that sword your training begins. You will get no warning.” She intones.
And then she’s lunging, and I’m forced to combat her hit.
The loud clang, the vibrations it sends up my arm, and the savage grin on her face are a shock to my nerves.
“Good reflexes.” She croons.
Then she’s moving, fluid like a bladed wind, and I’m scrambling to defend against her.
Daffy Duck, she said. More like the fucking Tasmanian Devil.
I was sweating in places I didn’t know I had, and my arms are killing me.
“Are we done now?” I groan, panting. “It has to be close to 4:00pm.” I moan.
Yelana shakes her head, dancing lithely from foot to foot, her sword held firm before her.
My own feet move to mirror her steps, keeping her in sight.
After thirty minutes of being wacked by the blunt of her sword, I had learnt to watch her feet.
Now I could avoid 30% of her hits.
“Not yet.” She tuts and lunges to strike my left.
I parry and dance out of reach, my sword up to catch her retaliation.
But she only stands there with a grin.
“You’re doing well. A fast learner.” Nodding, she sets her sword down and gestures for me to lower mine. “We can take a water break. You look like you are about to faint.”
Arm wobbling, I have to concentrate on gently placing the sword on the ground before hobbling over to my backpack.
I yank out my water bottle and collapse onto the stone floor, guzzling it.
Yelana takes a seat beside me, barely winded, and sips at her own.
“I hate you.” I tell her.
She laughs, the sound evil. “You won’t when this saves your life.”
I grumble under my breath.
We both look up when the sound of twigs snapping echoes from the other side of the ruins.
I curl my lips in a snarl when Tomashi steps out of the forest.
Shirtless, muscles rippling beneath smooth tanned skin, sweat dripping down to play about the dips of his abs, my snarl falls slack.
I take in all the bad-boy glory of that asshole.
But my gaze sadly lands on his face. And the smug arrogant smirk blazoned across it.
Snarl back in full force, glaring lasers at his head, he returns my glare with a sneer and a scathing rake of his eyes.
He bears his teeth, eyes flashing, then looks away to gift a respectful nod to Yelana.
I don’t look to see her response.
I’m too busy imagining ripping his intestines out of that ridiculously defined body.
Fuck me, why do the assholes always have to be so fucking gorgeous?!
“He hates your guts, huh?” Yelana chuckles.
“I told you he does.” I mutter as I watch him jog away, wondering if my aim is good enough to pelt one of Yelana’s knives at him.
“That’s not what I just saw.” She hums.
Turning to stare at her, I pump up a brow in question.
“Sin, there is a very thin line between lust and hate.” Pointing a finger in the direction he’d disappeared, she fans her face. “And that, was all lusty heat. Sexual tension at its finest.” She croons.
“I’m pretty sure that saying is ‘a thin line between Love and Hate’.” I correct, then shake my head. “And I don’t know what he is feeling, but I want to rip his—”
“Pants off?”
“Head off, every time he opens his damn mouth.” I finish with a glare.
“So don’t let him open his mouth. Put a gag in it.” She says, completely serious.
I stare at her.
“You two would probably feel a lot better if you just fucked.” She shrugs.
“He hates me, wants to get me tossed out of Rising House, and has threatened to kill me. He’s lucky I am even willing to be in the same room as him.” I growl.
“Oh. So, it’s the dangerous kind of lusty tension, I see.” She nods like it all makes sense.
Staring at her like she’s got a screw loose, I’m stuck between disbelief and pure incredulity.
“I want to smack you.” I tell her.
“You’d never land the hit.” She chortles, then leans in close. “Have you been having naughty dreams the past two days?”
“About Tomashi?!” I cry, outraged.
“No, in general.”
“Why?” I demand.
My head is spinning with her topic whiplash.
“You smell.” She says.
Leaning away, I sniff myself. “I am all sweaty from training.”
“It’s not that. You smell like iron and change. You’ve synced with us.” She announces.
“Synced with who? For what?” I demand.
“Your first full period, dummy. I thought you looked a little frustrated, have you and the guys not done the tango yet? It’s only going to get worse until you start bleeding.” She scolds.
“Wait, I’m starting my cycle?” I mumble, thinking. “First week horniness…..” I whisper.
Then I groan.
Idiot, I thought I was just missing sex. Going almost three weeks without it had to be some kind of record for me.
“Yup. At this rate you’ll bleed next Friday, just like Imelda and I.” She chirps. “You need to tell Mr O, he’ll have you excused from classes so you don’t roast anyone, but you should be fine to keep doing your sessions with Melda and I.”
“It gets that bad?” I gape.
“Oh yeah – and worse. I’ve had someone challenge me while I was on the third week before – the only thing left of them was a burn mark on the floor.” She chortles.
I grimace. “Great. I’ll text him after we’re done.”
“Good.” Moving to her feet, she holds out a hand and yanks me onto mine.
Not used to her crazy strength, I stumble and stop myself from smacking into her side.
“Come on, we’ve still got an hour.” She beams and makes her way back to her sword.
“Fuck me.” I mutter, tossing my bottle onto my backpack.
This was going to hurt.