Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Dara
Someone pinches my arm.
I groan, rolling over.
Another pinch.
Fucking hell. Leave me alone.
I huff grabbing a pillow and throwing it somewhere.
Another pinch to my arm.
What the hell? I punch out, connecting with flesh.
“Ow, that hurt, bitch,” Jolie complains.
My eyes fly open to find her right in front of me, leaning over the bed.Her face is only inches from mine. She’s already dressed in a pair of tights and a black sports bra.
“You’re the one that pinched me first. What did you expect?” I huff back, closing my eyes.
“Come on. Get up before Harlan makes you. It’s training day, remember?”
I groan. Like I needed reminding, I dreamt about it all night and am dreading how badly it’s going to hurt. But if we put it off any longer, we won’t be fit enough to fight for the final stone. Now that I have the Topaz, I feel amazing, like I can take on the world. My body feels light like I’m floating and nothing can get in my way. I have been dying, being cooped up in my room for the past week. The energy I have is like nothing I have experienced before. I crave Ruby and want to have it in my hands; I need it, and without it, we won’t be able to take back Silvia. James will destroy what we have left of our village. I won’t let that happen to Silvia and the people who live here. They deserve a full life without a worry in the world. I’ll die to protect my home. I now have everyone I love here with me.I turn over watching the rise and fall of Kayla’s chest. I’ll do everything to keep them safe.
Loud footsteps echo up the stairs into my room. I quickly push back my sheets and jump up. Jolie steps back just avoiding me knocking her over, she raises both hands with a smirk. I run to my closet and pull off my pyjama top throwing on the first sports bra and top I see along with some tight black bike shorts. Just as I pull them up, Harlan walks into my bedroom. I spin around, leaning back against my closet and taking deep breaths, trying to act cool, calm, and well-collected.
“I’ve been waiting ages for you,” I huff, pulling my hair into a bun. I look up to see the corner of his mouth lifting just before the smile disappears.
“Yeah right, Dara. That’s why you’re puffing and out of breath.”
“I am so not. Been up for hours waiting,” I say with a yawn.
“Meet down in the training room in five, and Dara, some shoes would help,” he teases. Following his line of sight to my feet, I realise I didn’t have time to put shoes on. Dammit. Busted.
He leaves with Jolie snickering as she follows him into the hallway. She’s all ready to go with her hair tied up into a high bun. She skips along behind him, excitement written all over her face. She has been dying to get back into training to work on our magic and my new powers from Topaz.
Kayla stirs awake. I make my way over and sit on the bed next to her. Alaric is on her other side, wide awake, watching her. These two make my heart full. Kayla deserves to have someone like Alaric who treats her like a princess just like my warriors do to me. I’m so happy for my bestie. Alaric fits right in with our little family. My warriors trust Alaric with their lives and in turn, so do I.
Leaning down, I give Kayla a kiss on her forehead.I can’t believe she’s actually here in Silvia. It’s insane.
“We’re going to do some training now— me and the boys are gonna get all hot and sweaty. Rest up and come in when you’re ready. I think it will do you some good getting out of this bed and we need to tend to your healing.”
“Wish I could come and watch now,” Kayla says, looking over her shoulder at Alaric.
He groans, rolling his eyes at Kayla’s stab.
“The man candy will be smokin’,” I tease back, grinning.
She laughs and then starts coughing, which turns into a coughing fit. Alaric’s right there, rubbing her back.
“I’m not going. I need to be here with you to make you feel better,” I state, drawing my brows together.
She covers her mouth, and once her coughing stops, she takes a sip of water.“No way. Get out of here, Alaric will look after me. You need to get back into shape. I’ll be there soon anyway,” she argues back.
I regrettably get up and take a step toward my door, glancing back over my shoulder.
“I’m fine. Get out of here.”
Leaving her in Alaric’s care, I make my way down the stairs and into the training room.
Stopping at the entrance, I take a moment to look around at my warriors. Harlan’s squatting with a huge-arse weight leaning on his shoulders, his arse stretching out the fabric of his shorts. Damn, he’s fucking hot. He’s barking orders to Oliver and Blair, who stand watching. Sweat drips down his naked chest going right toward his shorts, and I lick my lips, looking him up and down. His abs move with each rep. I find myself gawking for a good minute.
A loud boom breaks my ogling. It’s coming from the magic dome. I find Jolie in there, practising magic, throwing spells against the walls and causing boom after boom.
My gaze comes back to the guys. Declan has his sword in his hand and is practising his skills on a makeshift dummy. The poor dummy has cuts all over its body.
Making my way over to Harlan, I give Declan a small wave. His eyes light up, and he charges at the dummy, giving it a stab to the heart. That’s my warrior. Tough as shit.
Harlan’s still in a squat; the weights are gone. So, I sneak up behind him, run my hand over his arse, and then give it a hard smack. He spins around, grabbing hold of my wrists.
“Naughty little vixen.” He smirks, and the guys laugh behind us.
He pulls me forward so that I’m flush against his body. He grinds against me, and instantly, I’m reminded of yesterday’s fun in the forest. The way he made me scream in pleasure. The way he pushed me against the tree, thrusting into me. I whimper at the thought. He leans down, kissing me hard, and I give it back just as much.
He pulls back way too quickly, sporting a huge grin.“Playtime later. We’ve got work to do.”
“Damn it. I was enjoying the show.” Oliver pouts.
“I wasn’t, so good riddance. Come on, Dara; we’ve got training to do,” Jolie pipes up, coming out of the dome to join me at the mats.
“First, we need to warm up. I’ve set up a circuit; it’s written out on the board there. Let’s get into it,” Harlan says, pointing to the whiteboard on the wall near the training mat.
For the next hour, Harlan puts us all through hell. We run, jump, punch, kick, and fight against each other. By the end, I’m on my back, panting hard. My face feels like it’s on fire, burning hot. Oliver hovers over me with a cheeky grin. Oh, here we go.
“I wish I could have you on your back right now panting from something else.” He winks, walks off toward Declan and begins stacking barbells on a weight.
I roll my eyes. I’d rather be panting from that too. But we aren’t going to save Silvia by sitting around fucking all day.
Hey, I beg to differ, Oliver mentally argues. I laugh out loud. I can’t get away with any of my thoughts around here. Now it’s Jolie who appears over me, offering me her hand. At least my girl came to my rescue.
“Come on, babe. We’ve got magic shit to do.” She drags me into our protected dome where we can practise our magic without destroying everyone in our path.
“Now, repeat to me what your father’s message was about Topaz again?” Jolie asks as she starts pacing back and forth.
“Dara, my darling, you did it. You retrieved the second stone. These won’t come easily. Lives will be lost in the process—all for the cause. Your destiny—to bring James down once and for all. Topaz will bring you the strength and courage you’ll need to fulfil your fate. Embrace it as Ruby will be the final task and the hardest of them all.”
“All right, so it will bring you strength and courage,” Jolie says, stating the obvious.
I do feel like I have more energy, but I haven’t noticed any difference in my strength yet. Courage might come later when I’m put on the spot, I guess. Honestly, I have no idea.
Jolie is quiet for a few minutes, still pacing. She suddenly stops. I follow her gaze out of the dome to the door. Elijah’s standing there talking to Blair, but his eyes are on Jolie. She blushes but doesn’t shy away; they hold each other’s gaze. I smile to myself. I’ll definitely be grilling her about this later.