Chapter 60
JACE
The air is thick as she gazes up at him, her chest heaving. I want to break every finger he has wrapped around her neck. But she doesn’t seem to mind. The shift in her scent tells me she’s actually enjoying this.
It’s a sickening realization.
My clap bounds off the walls of the ring, and they break apart as if just remembering my presence.
“That’s enough for today.”
Zadyn guides her toward the wooden bench, his hand on the small of her back.
He better watch that placement…
“We need to come up with an actual plan for Kylian,” I bark as they take a seat and chug down some water.
“Stabbing sounds like fun,” Serena breathes, wiping her mouth on her sleeve.
“He’s bigger and stronger than you.”
“So are you, and I handle you just fine.”
“Only on your best day, witch. Don’t overestimate your abilities.”
She fires a mild glare at me, cheeks beet red, dark strands of hair clinging to her neck.
“We need to figure out his weakness and exploit it.”
“He doesn’t have a weakness. I mean he lost it anytime someone hit me or touched my face…”
Zadyn and I both tense. She stares at the ground, turning over a thought. “Actually, there is something. But it definitely doesn’t play to our advantage. It seemed like Kylian was able to read my thoughts.”
“Fucking sirens,” I curse under my breath.
“I need the element of surprise on my side if I’m going to kill him. There has to be a way to keep him out of my head long enough for me to do what I need to do.”
“It’s not going to come to that,” Zadyn assures her.
Placating is still his first line of defense when it comes to her. What he should be doing is trying to talk sense into her. Scaring her. Because apparently she lacks the sense to be scared on her own.
“What if it does? I’m the only one who’s going to get close enough to him to do this.”
The thought of her going anywhere near Kylian again is enough to boil my blood.
“Kylian’s power is strong—strong enough to shred the minds of the Guardians. Strong enough to put out my fire. And he has shadows. They looked like mine, only he didn’t use them to walk. I could feel them. They were more solid.”
Great. Another problem to solve. I decide to stick with the one thing we might be able to manage.
“You need to work on shielding your mind,” I tell her.
“How do I do that?”
“Well, first you need to fix your face. It’s a dead giveaway of every thought passing through your head.”
She frowns, further proving my point.
“You’ve done it before,” Zadyn says.
“What do you mean?”
“You shut me out all the time.”
“I do?”
He laughs. “Without meaning to, but there are times when your mind is wide open and others when you’ve got it sealed like a vault.”
They can mind-speak?
“I didn’t realize I was doing that,” she admits.
Shaking off my surprise, I settle on the ground, waving a hand for them to proceed. “Practice makes perfect.”
“You want me to try it right now?” She arches a brow.
“Do you have some prior engagement?”
“Yes, I’m due to punch you in the face in about three seconds.”
Gods, she’s infuriating. That smart little mouth never fails to turn me on. But hell if I’m going to show it.
“Just do it, witch.”
She tosses me a dirty look before angling herself toward Zadyn on the bench. “Okay, try to guess what I’m thinking.”
I watch them stare at each other wordlessly.
“I was not thinking that!” she bursts. He breaks into a giggle.
“I heard it very clearly.”
“You know what? I don’t like this game.” She springs to her feet, but I grab her wrist, yanking her down beside me. Her mouth pops open.
“It’s not a game,” I say, ignoring her seething. “It’s an exercise. And we’re not leaving here until you’ve figured out how to shield.”
Wrenching her arm away, she scoots in front of me to face Zadyn, deliberately giving me a view of the back of her head.
“Could you be more of a child?”
“I can do anything I put my mind to.” She sneers at me over her shoulder.
“Then maybe you should put your mind to shutting up and getting to work.”
“You know, you really don’t have to be here for this.”
My eyes snap to Zadyn. “Are you dismissing me, dog?”
“Don’t call him that,” Serena bites.
Gods, they make me want to spear myself on my own sword.
“You two are insufferable.”
“You can either sit there and pick useless fights with her or you can let me deal with this. I think you’ll find the second option will prove to be more effective.” He flashes me a smug smile.
Who does he think he is, her handler?
My palms twitch with the desire to pummel the ever-living fuck out of him. But I loose a tight sigh, clenching my fists until the simmering rage has settled.
Serena closes her eyes, making an effort to concentrate. After a moment, she tenses, her dark lashes twitching every so often as they carry on their wordless conversation.
“Imagine you’re stacking bricks one at a time, building up a literal wall in your mind,” Zadyn murmurs, watching her. “Good. That’s much better.”
The strain on her face grows more pronounced, her jaw grinding, her breath coming in short, rapid bursts.
“That’s it. You’re doing it,” he encourages.
A small whimper escapes her lips. I jolt forward, moving in front of her. Serena’s fingers are curled around her knees like talons, her nails threatening to puncture the leather and her perfect skin beneath.
“That’s enough,” I mutter. But Zadyn’s eyes are fastened to hers in an unbreakable hold. I grip Serena’s shoulders. “That’s enough.”
Her eyes fly open with a loud gasp. She blinks a few times, disoriented.
“Are you alright?” I demand.
“I’m fine.” She winces and clutches her temples. “Fuck, my head hurts.”
“It takes a lot of concentration to continually block someone out. That was great for your first real try,” Zadyn says, reaching out to brush her hair off her neck. I zero in on that move, scowling as he stands and offers her a hand. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up. We can try again later.”
She allows him to hoist her up, and we make our way back toward the hall.
“Zadyn?” Serena asks. “Why are you able to read my mind?”
He hesitates, as if debating how to answer. “I’m your familiar.”
“Oh.” That single word carries a slight air of disappointment. Serena stares at her feet as we enter the keep. “But Kylian’s not.”
“If he could get into the minds of the Guardians, I’m guessing it would be nothing for him to waltz right into yours,” I supply.
“Damn.”
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just—I was hoping maybe I would be able to crack into his mind the way he can with mine or that I could hear him like I do Zadyn. I could be one step ahead of him and he’d never even know.”
“Yeah, that would have been nice.” I steal a quick glance at her. I’m going to regret asking this, but, “Have you ever tried to hear someone other than Zadyn?”
She peers up at me. “No. It’s not like I actively try to hear him, it’s just like this…channel between us that’s always been there. I never had to work for it.”
They share a look, and suddenly my presence feels so redundant. I could self-combust beside them, and I don’t think either of them would notice.
And that makes my gut twist.
She’s moving on. And all I can do is watch.