Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
The air grew warmer, tinged with the scent of earth and growing things. We passed arched doorways, each leading to rooms half collapsed or tunnels choked with roots and crystal.
“How big is this place?” I asked.
“You’ll know it all in a year or two,” he promised.
Then, suddenly, the corridor opened into something vast and luminous.
It looked like a temple that had been claimed by the wild growth that surrounded the Fae. Ivy ribboned its way up stone pillars, and flowering vines choked the walls in cascades of pale blossoms. Pools of water mirrored the faint glow from crystals embedded in the ceiling.
“This will do.” Fieran stopped on the center of a bridge over one of those pools.
I blinked at him. “For what, exactly?”
“For burning off that raw rage of yours. Show me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What? You want me to punch you?”
His mouth curved into a slow, dangerous smile. “I would love for you to punch me.”
He beckoned me forward. His confidence was infuriating, his every movement easy, fluid, and predatory. The faint glow from the pools painted his skin in shades of gold and shadow.
“Aren’t you going to teach me?” I demanded. “If I try to hit you, we both know I’m just going to embarrass myself.”
“But you might manage to hurt me. And we both know you’ve fantasized about doing just that since I took Lidi’s magic.”
Lidi’s name hit me like a slap. How could he say those words so lightly, as if my sister’s magic were a joke?
I charged at him.
Fieran moved like smoke. I spun, catching my balance on slick moss, and paused to study the situation before I could launch myself at him again.
I was alone on the bridge, and he was standing on a marble base. The god-statute that had once inhabited the base—though it looked a little scrawnier than Fieran—was sprawled at his feet.
“You’re clever,” he told me. “You can do this. “You can hurt me all you want, Cara. All you have to do is catch me.”
I glanced around the room, looking for an angle to approach that would give me a chance. When Fieran followed my gaze, I charged.
The sound of my boots on the stone floor echoed through the chamber, birds fluttering from their nests in the rafters.
I swung again and again, more desperate each time.
He evaded me without effort, his movements all sharp grace and lethal restraint.
He wasn’t fighting me. He was dancing with me, letting me burn myself out.
I dove low, trying to tackle him around the waist. My foot slipped on a patch of moss, and I pitched forward. Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground. My cheek collided with his chest, hard muscle and heat and the faint scent of smoke and sea air.
He didn’t let me go.
My pulse thundered in my ears. I was furious with myself for trembling, furious with him for noticing.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I snapped, breathless.
“Like what?” His voice dropped low, threaded with amusement.
“Like you thought I’d be better.”
His expression softened, the smirk fading. “You already impressed me. That’s why you’re here.”
My heart slammed against my ribs. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
This asshole was the reason I was here, and the thought that I’d impressed him with my bravery and fight as a mortal—for a mortal—was suddenly a bitter one. For a few moments, before he ruined my life, I’d been proud that he seemed to think I was special. I was so stupid.
He’d seen something in me worth dragging me into his world. If I’d shrieked and run into the schoolhouse with Lidi, abandoning those other boys to their fate, my family would be alive. The sheer cruelty of my capture overwhelmed me.
“Let me go.”
He did immediately, though his gaze lingered, heavy enough to feel like a touch.
“Why are you willing to fight for everyone else, but not yourself?” He backed away from me, leaping lightly back up onto that marble dais. “I say Lidi’s name, and you’re full of fire.”
“Keep her name out of your mouth,” I warned him. He’d been wise to back away. I cast a glance around the temple, looking for weapons. The vines hanging down might be useful to strangle him, but he was too tall for me to reach his neck unless he helpfully bent down at my request.
“You take care of everyone else, but not yourself,” he noted. “Why is that? Do you despise yourself?”
“I despise you.”
“And yet.” His tone carried that infuriating calm again. “Well. You’ll figure it out eventually. Until then, let’s try not to get you killed.”
“Teach me, wise one.”
“I thought you’d never ask. Your height—or lack thereof—can be an advantage. Your center of gravity is lower than everyone else’s. If you can pick up some speed and agility, you can trip them up.”
He was not just an asshole, but an optimistic asshole, which I found even more unforgivable. “Like a little yappy dog racing around underfoot?”
He gave me an unamused look. It was a nice change from his smug smirks, and I decided to piss him off more.
“Soon, you’re going to fight other shifter recruits who are ready to be claimed by a clan. Maybe when someone tries to take your head off in the arena, you’d prefer you don’t fall on your ass in front of half the realm.”
“I’d prefer that I hadn’t been kidnapped by some know-it-all dickhead dragon shifter.”
His brows lifted. “Maybe you can just sarcasm your opponents into submission. Do you think that will work well for you?”
“I think everyone I fight is going to be much taller and stronger than I am.”
“Definitely,” he agreed. “That’s why I was just hoping you can stay on your feet for a minute or two.”
“And then what?” I asked, still curious if he planned to claim me.
If he’d brought me here for some grand and evil purpose, he was certain to keep me close.
But he claimed he’d brought me here to save my life, in which case, maybe he’d feel he’d served his commitment.
“Maybe I’ll survive long enough for one of the clans to claim me… last?”
I’d already had this experience in school, playing ball.
Anayla had explained that every new shifter fought to demonstrate their abilities, but every clan had already decided their top recruits to bring into the clan.
Every new shifter but me already had a reputation, and well…
one glance at me would seal my reputation.
It wasn’t just the new shifters that would fight. Later on, the clans would also fight for dominance, to determine the order with which they chose recruits. Clan leaders would fight over select recruits. And even then, we’d have to be selected again by the dragons themselves.
Be claimed…or burn.
“And then? You need to worry about now. Your balance is off. Feet apart. Lower.”
I followed his directions, scowling. “You’re a know-it-all.”
He arched a brow. “You’re welcome to keep flailing creatively instead. But I thought you wanted me to teach you.”
I wasn’t going to respond, but he was clearly willing to wait me out. “I do.”
“Then bend your knees. Don’t plant your feet, you’re going down if you get punched anyway. You need to get faster.”
Grudgingly, because I did want to learn but I wanted a different teacher, I did as he asked.
He stepped behind me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body. With one tap of his boot, he adjusted my stance. Then his hands came to my hips, steadying me. The contact was brief, almost clinical, but it left my pulse a mess.
He feinted—slow, testing—and I blocked. Barely. Then again, faster. The rhythm built, my movements sharper each time. I stopped thinking, started feeling the flow, anticipating his lightning-fast movements, so I was stumbling along just a beat too late.
My arms ached, my hair stuck to my neck, but I was so close. I didn’t want to stop, even though every muscle screamed.
Fieran’s eyes followed every motion, focused, intent. “Better. Again.”
I struck out. He caught my wrist midair, spinning me before I realized what he’d done. My back hit his chest. His breath brushed my neck. “You are incredible.”
“No.” I pushed away from him, turning on my heel to face him. Fury blurred my vision. “Don’t fucking compliment me.”
He raised his hands in supplication. “I’m merely impressed with myself as your teacher. You are learning incredibly fast. I must be quite impressive.”
“The dragon mark. You think…” I trailed off. I didn’t want to believe I was special, and I certainly wasn’t special enough to make up for a decade of lost training. “I’m going to get my ass kicked.”
“Yes,” he admitted. “There’s no way around that. But still. Seeing you among us, fighting bravely, will change how the mortals in the stands see themselves. Mortals don’t have to see themselves as less.”
“Is that why you brought me here?” I demanded. “Because you thought watching me get beaten to death would inspire mortals? Why do you even care about mortal sentiment?”
“There are consequences to not coming forward when you’re dragon-marked.” His voice was maddeningly calm. “You were a dead girl who hadn’t stopped breathing yet. Taking a bit of a beating in the ring in a few days isn’t so bad in comparison.”
“Why would anyone have ever known? Look at me. I’m mortal. I’m not supposed to have this mark. I’m not supposed to be a dragon shifter.”
“Who’s to say what’s meant to be? Fate’s the ultimate trickster.” His gaze caught on me, his lips tilting upward. “Maybe you’re the little mortal who will burn this twisted Fae kingdom to the ground.”
His words were so mocking. I felt myself flush hot.
“Come and hurt me, Cara,” he said with a smile.
But of course, I couldn’t.