Chapter 3
Dean
It’s hardly been an hour since Hazel started training the kids when Harvey and Seiji storm in like rowdy gang members and announce that today’s session is over. They’re both dressed like my mate, so this is definitely not a surprise visit.
What are they up to now?
Harvey, the Horseman of War, might look stoic, but that mountain of muscle is Seiji’s biggest enabler. The Prince of Famine is always cooking up new ways to cause chaos. I thought they’d mellow out now that they have mates and are full-grown adults, but I don’t think they’ll ever grow up.
The kids wait for Hazel’s approval before breaking into cheers at the chance to leave early.
When I don’t spot my elder daughter, Grace, I mindlink her mate to ask where she is.
“Sleeping in,” Harvey answers.
That’s odd. Grace is usually up with the sun, something Harvey grumbles about constantly. “Is she okay?”
“Just a little tired.” He sighs, silver eyes softening at my concern. “She’s fine, Dean. Come by lunch and see for yourself.”
I tell him I’ll be there. The ache in my heart won’t ease until I see for myself that she’s okay.
Grace is a human, and even though she’s become stronger since mating with Harvey, to me, she’s still the thirteen-year-old I found wandering the woods, lost in more ways than one.
That’s why I started weekly father-daughter dates. I’ve missed too many important moments of their lives, but not anymore.
I don’t care if Grace has a simple cold. I’ll be there for her, make her soup, hell, I’ll drag a human doctor to our realm so they can check her out. Our healers are excellent, but I’m not taking any chances. Humans are fragile.
Harvey crosses the field and stops in front of my mate. Whatever he says makes Hazel smirk in a way that screams violence. She rolls her shoulders, something flashing in her eyes, and I’m instantly on alert.
I jog over to Nevaeh. “Do you know what’s going on?”
The moment she starts cackling, I know this won’t end well. “Seiji, Harvey, and Hazel have a bet. Every month, they pick ten warriors from their kingdoms to fight. Winner gets bragging rights until next month.”
So Harvey and Seiji are sending their warriors to die at my mate’s hands?
Nevaeh catches my expression and laughs, patting my chest.
“Relax, it’ll be fun.” She grabs my hand and drags me closer to where they stand inside a circle drawn with chalk, warriors surrounding them from all sides.
“Why doesn’t Anxo participate? He’s the Horseman of Conquer. Shouldn’t he be sparring with them instead of Hazel?”
“You know him. Angel thinks the bet is childish, and he’d rather do serious, boring stuff instead.” She grumbles, then suddenly her eyes glaze over like she’s linking someone. The next second, she’s smiling so wide I’m tempted to squeeze her cheeks to stop her from pulling a muscle.
“Let me guess. Anxo just said something disgustingly romantic.”
“Yeah.” She giggles, pulling me to sit on the ground beside her.
Every time I see her this carefree around Anxo, I’m grateful the Fates paired them together. His calm demeanor steadies Nevaeh’s restlessness, and after everything she’s been through, their bond feels like a blessing.
Seiji claps his hands, and the warriors fall silent instantly.
“Are you ready, Siren? I hope you’re not having flashbacks of how brutally you lost last time.” Seiji blinks innocently, but judging by the steam coming out of my mate’s ears, he’s seconds away from getting his ass handed to him, friendly competition or not.
Harvey laughs, then immediately takes a step back when Hazel’s glare lands on him.
How do I feel knowing everyone’s a little afraid of my fiery siren? Ridiculously proud. And a little tingly.
As someone who is on the receiving end of those glares daily, I know his heart just skipped. I’m pretty sure Hazel uses her siren powers to make her threats more effective.
Harvey is built like a mountain and still backs off. Seiji, on the other hand, laughs and kicks dirt in her direction like he’s not afraid of being buried alive.
“I only lost because you cheated,” Hazel grits out, wrapping bandages around her knuckles with unnecessary force.
Seiji gasps, clutching his chest. “How dare you. I would never do something like that.”
“So the knights you brought from Hell and bribed to pretend to be Famine warriors were…?”
“Method actors. I merely gave them a learning opportunity.”
“You are exhausting.” Hazel sighs, biting her bottom lip to hide her smile, but keeps her eyes narrowed on Seiji so he doesn’t think he’s off the hook.
Hazel flips the dagger into the air and catches it by the handle, the movement so smooth it almost feels like a trick of the eye. The slight curl at the corner of her mouth tells me she did that on purpose.
Harvey cracks his neck, running a hand through his dark hair that could use a cut, and tightens his grip on his word.
Seiji throws a headband over his head, securing his perfectly styled hair before his twin whips crack against the ground, the impact sending strong vibrations through the floor beneath us.
When they’re ready, Nevaeh jumps up to start the countdown, then rushes back to sit beside me.
Nevaeh tells me the only rule is no Divine, since that would give Harvey and Seiji an unfair advantage. While I think my Siren’s magic is nothing to be taken lightly, a Horsemen’s Divine is on another level.
They’re at each other’s throats in an instant. I wasn’t expecting them to slam their opponents on the ground hard enough to hear bones crack. Once your back hits the ground, you’re out. By the five-minute mark, warriors start dropping fast.
Hazel slams a warrior to the ground hard enough to make him cry out in pain, and I wince on the demon’s behalf. I’ve been watching her tear through opponents for thirty minutes, but that one felt personal because he tried to sneak up on her from behind.
“Fuck. She really doesn’t like people touching her, huh.”
“Yeah.” Nevaeh grimaces. “But don’t worry, it’s not a trigger. She just doesn’t like people in her space.”
I know she’s saying that for my benefit, so I don’t feel bad about Hazel acting like I’m contagious.
Hazel looks like a goddess of war, her hair whipping behind her, a small cut on her cheek somehow making her look even more dangerous.
“She’s untouchable.” I’m in complete awe, unable to take my eyes off her.
“It’s a big deal if anyone even gets close enough to land a hit. She’ll have you on your back before you blink, and you won’t even know how.” Nevaeh leans in to whisper. “I think she uses her magic, but she’d rather die than tell me her secret.”
For another twenty minutes, I watch Hazel take down her opponents one by one until it’s just her and Harvey left standing.
Seiji is cheering for Harvey along with the warriors from War and Famine.
I nudge Nevaeh. “They seem pretty biased. Is it because she’s a Siren or a Warriorhead?”
Nevaeh laughs. “It’s because she’s a cocky bitch. Every time she wins, Hazel mocks everyone who participated, including Harvey and Seiji, until one of them snaps.”
I’m not sure how to feel about that.
Nevaeh screams at the top of her lungs when Hazel kicks Harvey’s knee, making him stumble. “Yes! Take him down!”
We curse at the same time when a warrior’s blade slices across the back of Hazel’s thigh, but he barely gets a breath before she slams him face-first into the ground.
The second his body hits the dirt, she’s already moving again, like the injury never happened. Fate’s she is fierce. My little hellfire.
She turns to me. “I hope she wins. Seiji has been unbearable since he won last time.”
Now I see why Nevaeh and Hazel are so close. They’re both deranged. Maybe even clinically.
With one final hit, Harvey goes down, his thunderous growl shaking the ground. Hazel watches him try to calm down with pursed lips, then bursts out laughing when she hears him mumble, “It’s just a bet… it’s just a bet.”
Fates, she’s beautiful when she laughs.
The warriors from Conquer erupt in cheers, quickly joined by my daughter, who’s jumping like a lunatic and singing my mate’s praises.
Hazel is breathing hard by the time Harvey gets his Divine under control, stopping himself from flooding the kingdom with rage.
“Better luck next time, War.”
Harvey glares at her, gripping his sword so hard the hilt cracks in his hand.
Oh boy…
Hazel, Harvey, and Seiji thank their warriors before Hazel announces that her team gets tomorrow off, and the losers will cover their shifts.
My mate is winning hearts all around.
I don’t like fighting without cause, but maybe this is my way to break the ice between us. At this point, I’d do anything to get closer to my mate, to breathe her in and drown in her sweet scent. Maybe even touch her.
Once that thought enters my mind, everything else becomes white noise.
“Oh no. I know that look.” Nevaeh grabs my arm before my feet can take me to my mate. Fuck. I didn’t even realize I was moving. “Papa, stop. You don’t go after an angry bull wearing red.”
But red is the color of love.
The thought of getting close to Hazel has my Divine thrumming. I’m not passing up this golden opportunity.
Suddenly, Harvey steps in front of me, blocking my path.
“Dean, listen to Nevaeh. Hazel turns my castle into a battlefield once a month to train her students. Do I protest, even though I really hate teenagers wandering around and pissing themselves when they come across real danger? No. Because it’s easier to channel that anger into training those punks than dealing with the queen of death glare standing over there. ”
As if he summoned her, Hazel’s gaze snaps to me, her signature glare locking in as she watches Harvey and Nevaeh crowding me.
I lift a hand and wave, grinning before I can stop myself. As expected, one look at me and her frown deepens.
She definitely thinks I’m a weirdo.
I should apologize. Or congratulate her.
You hug when you congratulate someone, right?