Chapter Thirteen
A dewy fog haunted the training ground, the air sharp with a tempting chill. Eclipse Hollow warriors were dotted around the grass, sparse from bouts of fighting. I followed as they stretched and the buzz of anticipation sizzled and cracked in the air.
Joint training was pitched as part of the 'Unity Initiative'.
The name felt unnecessary, but the Council loved tossing around something catchy.
It was meant to prepare packs for different tactics and fighting styles but as members of the Council stood around the edges of the training ground, it felt like that wasn't the only purpose.
I had expected Dax, seeing as I was training with his pack, though I thought he would join.
Instead, he stood along the sidelines with the rest of the unexpected mix of twenty to thirty Council members and other delegates. And right by his side, as usual, was Lyra.
She glowed as his opposite, all golden rays of sunshine and charming smiles against his brooding, midnight scowl. Where he watched his pack with stony scrutiny, she wooed and sweet talked her little gaggle of swooning cronies.
A sharp bark of orders snapped me back to warriors that were starting to circle, falling effortlessly into formation.
One of the men made eye contact, his lips curling into a cold smirk as he dropped into stance and cocked his head in a silent challenge.
He didn't waste time trying to size me up or intimidate me and dove straight in with a punch aimed at my jaw. My body whipped to the side, the dodge not a conscious choice as I pivoted around him.
His scowl darkened as he whirled back to face me. My muscle stayed loose, eyes shifting as I watched him flex his hands as he searched for another opening. The leg flew towards me, the force too much for a block but enough to catch and redirect.
I nearly stumbled as I caught onto his leg, moving with the momentum to drop under his leg and sweep the other from under him.
He tumbled to the ground with a crash and I danced a few steps back.
Not fighting was probably more tiring than trying to actually fight, not in body but in will.
But I was painfully aware of the eyes on me, the way the Council craned their next to get a better look. There was something else going on, something that threatened to fatally divide my attention.
The man stood up, his deadly glower trained on me. "Come little ice queen, are you too scared to really fight?" he taunted with a sneer.
My brows pinched together as he returned to his stance, beckoning me forward with a wave of his hand.
A familiar voice hummed behind me and I glanced back just long enough to see Lucien had joined the throng of spectators. His shaggy hair looked as though he had just gotten out of bed but the crisp lines of his pants and slightly open shirt said otherwise.
"This isn't training," he murmured low enough to vanish under the grunts and growls. "This...This is pure theatre."
I didn't have a chance to look at him or ask him what he meant.
The air whipped as my opponent shot back to the fight. His fights flew in a furious flurry, the strikes coming almost too fast to block. My forearms stung from blocking the blows, only throwing a few jabs in return before we split.
I refused to break eye contact as we circled. His fingers twitched, eyes darted to take in every move I made.
But he still faltered when I lunged.
My fist met his nose with a satisfying crunch and he stumbled a step. His eyes flashed amber and we met in the middle, each hit reverberating through my spine. My leg caught his knee and he dropped to the ground.
I moved for another kick, leg raised, ready to knock him to the ground when his leg swept through the grass.
My ankle was pulled from beneath me and the breath was stolen from my lungs as my back hit the ground with a crack.
I twisted, pulling my body to stand up but he was on top of me before I could. His knees pinned hips and I raised my forearm to block the blow as his arm reared back but there was no punch.
His lips contorted into a painfully satisfied smirk and his hand curled under my arm jerking it away while the other found my neck.
I gasped for air under his crushing grip, each pull of breath burning and stinging. I drove my knee up and twisted my hips, trying to buck him off. My fingers dug into his hand but it only managed to tighten it as he pressed his weight into my neck.
The icy chill pricked my neck but I was too busy fighting for air to push it down this time.
Frost crept along the ground beneath me, icy swirls spreading along the ground and up my attacker's hand.
The fog circled, frozen crystals hanging in the air as he formed a ring around me and my opponent.
"What the fuck?" he shouted, slipping and flailing on the sudden sheet of ice. He held his hand in front of his face, trying to move his fingers but the frost coating him meant all he could do was tremble.
Silence flooded the arena, swallowed by fog weighing thick with ice.
The other sparring pairs had stopped, their breath coming out sharp in cold clouds.
I rubbed at my neck, the burning still ringing my throat as I pushed to sit among the crunching grass.
"Get the healer," someone shouted, though no one dared to move towards the man who cradled his frost-burned hand.
"I guess the 'little ice queen' isn't scared of a fight," Lucien teased, a shit-eating grin on his face as his fangs glinted in the cold light. "At least not with enemies like you."
Murmurs broke through the audience, wolves and shifters still crowded together as they looked on with widened eyes.
"How did she do that?" someone asked, their voice carrying across the field.
"She's arctic, that's what they do," another sneered, words dripping with disdain.
I stood, each movement slow and deliberate as though anything too fast would leave them spooked. Though I suppose I couldn't blame them after the show I had given.
"We knew what they were capable of when we decided to enter into treaty talks," a woman said, her voice strong but warm and familiar. Alpha Benuit, an almost ally. "Don't we want this on our side against the enemy?"
"Until they decide we're the enemy again."
It always came back to the war. It had been decades of isolation and peace but they still held their fear over us.
"We're here to help, for peace," I said as I tried to fight the wave of cold back down, back inside.
No one listened. No one cared.
The arguments continued as people split into smaller groups, shifting away from the training.
Lyra looked up at Dax, her eyes quivering as she clung to his arm before she moved away with a group of women. They kept glancing over their shoulders as though I would shoot them with ice as soon as their backs were turned.
Dax stayed silent, stuck in place as he watched the healer race across the field to the man shouting and cursing me and the wind.
I didn't wait around for the inevitable disappointment at his silence to hit. He'd proven who his mate was, where his heart lay.
The forest was quiet, peaceful, free from prying eyes and insidious whispers of my dark, evil powers.
I wasn't special or strange among my people, only strong.
Our stories said it was a gift given to us by the Goddess, a blessing of being in tune with our nature as wolves.
It was an ability that lived among those in Northern Circle and was the reason, despite our much smaller numbers, that we were able to hold our own against the southern packs during the war.
A rustle behind me had my head tipping to the side.
"They're scared of you now," Lucien said, his voice breaking through the gentle quiet. "That's a good thing sometimes."
I turned to see him leaning against a tree a few feet away from me. His stealth was impressive but not uncommon for vampires, at least from what I had heard.
"And you?" I asked, keeping my face icy as he watched me with those penetrating, crimson eyes.
"Am I scared of you?" He asked, humour ringing his words before he let out a soft laugh. It was a cold sound that whispered of something genuine, as though he hadn't allowed himself to have a real laugh in a long time.
"Well, Snow Queen, I've been dancing with monsters since long before you were born," Lucien answered, shifting his folded arms. "But you do make the dance floor much prettier."
He pushed away from the tree and slid his hands into his pockets. "They'll either recruit you or neutralise you," he said, all trace of humour gone. "Funny thing about their games... they only like the rules when they're winning."
Love Kiera getting to really show her true strength here.
But do you think it'll help or make her even more of a target?