Chapter 28
Iwake to find Knox out cold beside me instead of Cyrus, his arms wrapped around me and his body tangled in mine.
My eyes trail over his tousled hair and gorgeous face, down his thick, dark lashes, likable dimples and sharp jawline to his broad, defined shoulders and body. My body instantly heats remembering a few nights ago when he held me up against the tree and fucked me senseless.
With the thought of round two, or three if I’m counting last night with Cyrus, I reach out to slide my hand down his chest when something niggles at the back of my mind and stops me.
I pause with the feeling of something I’m supposed to be doing today. But I can’t remember… I freeze and my eyes widen when I realize what it is.
Shit. The royal guard trial is today.
With a disappointed sigh, I slowly untangle myself from Knox and make sure he’s still asleep before stealing his discarded trousers and top and sneak back to my dorm.
Relief fills me when I find the girls still asleep, so I head to the bathroom, take a quick shower, and throw on some clothes.
By the time I’m done, the girls are up and rushing around getting ready.
I can feel the tension and nerves in the air, so I decide to stay quiet while they finish getting ready.
We head out and I follow Ember—not having a clue where we’re supposed to go—to a large field to the left of the senior camp. There’s a group of older men who appear to be in their early thirties, all clad in black from the neck down and looking like they’d rather be anywhere else.
There’s one other group lined up in front of them. All younger males around our age. And all seem just as annoyed about our arrival.
Everyone watches us as we make our way down and line up beside the younger group of males.
“There will be three tests in total today,” an older male with a shaved head a long scar down the left side of his face says.
He stares down each one of us before pacing up and down the line of the two groups.
“If you make it through all three and show us you have what it takes, then you will earn a place to train with us. And if you work your ass off for another few years, you might actually become one of us. But that’s a long way from where you are now.
” He smirks when he finds a few of the group wearing disgruntled frowns.
“Follow me,” he says, and I share a ‘I guess this is it,’ look with girls before following him.
It takes a few minutes, but he brings us to the center of a training field. It’s divided up into four sections with an arrow and blade target practice area, and a sword and spear section.
“First test is tactical weapon training. You do not get to choose the weapon. We do. If you don’t pass this test, don’t even bother trying out for the next.” He signals one of his men and they grab a few weapons and start handing them out.
“Also,” the male with the scar says gaining our attention once more. “We’ve added a rule to this year’s trial. As you entered as a team, you must also pass as one. So, that means if one of you fails, you all fail.”
Remi and Ember look like they want to throttle him, while I internally grimace. I was hoping to duck out of this shit after the first test, but it looks like I’ll have to actually try.
The male with the weapons comes over to us, handing Maia a spear, Remi a sword, Ember two daggers and me… a bow and arrow.
Shit. There’s no way in hell I’m going to pass this. I’ve never used a bow and arrow in my life. Give me a knife or blade any day. But this…
I share a worried look with Maia, but she tries to give me an encouraging smile as they move us into our section.
The male team goes first, each having a different weapon like us.
They take their place and aim, each landing their weapon on or near the target and all wearing smug smiles when they pass. They’re given three shots and then marked before stepping to the side.
I glance over at the girls as we take our places, hoping they won’t hate me too much when I fuck this up for them.
Lucky me, the scarred male takes position beside me, watching me like he’s waiting for me to mess this up.
I take an arrow from the small container and peek over at the others. They’re all doing well, hitting the targets over and over again.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Problem?” The dick behind me says with a knowing smirk. My blood boils at the cocky look he gives me.
I try to line up the arrow, feeling nothing but frustration and anger when a rush of familiar energy sweeps over me and flashes of images of using a bow and arrow flood my mind.
But they don’t just flood my mind, they take over my senses and memory, settling into my body as if I’ve learned each move and technique myself.
Keeping my smile to myself and silently thanking my Alita side, I move into the proper position, and the male beside me frowns. I nock the arrow as if I’ve done it thousands of times before, draw and anchor the bow and aim at the target before letting the string fly.
The arrow hits dead center, shocking me and the male beside me. I don’t let myself think too much on it before grabbing another arrow, assuming position and following through with the second shoot.
It flies forward and slams directly through the first arrow, cutting it in half while hitting it dead center once again.
I feel eyes on me and catch a couple of shocked expressions, but I block them all out and take my third arrow, move into position and shoot again.
Just like the last arrow, it slams into the center of the second arrow, cutting it in half to land dead center once more.
I finally allow myself to glance over at the girls to find them all smiling like crazy.
My gaze falls on the team of males beside them and my smile widens when I see that all of them have lost their smug little grins.
I turn to hand my bow back and find the scarred male staring directly at me, his cocky smile completely gone and replaced by a look of intrigue.
I reach up and finger my pendent, making sure it’s still in place before moving over to the girls as we move to the next field where a dozen black mats line the flat ground.
“Next test is hand-to-hand combat,” the scarred male says just as Levington walks onto the field.
I immediately tense up but remind myself that I’m supposed to play along as if I know nothing of his lies.
But the rush of anger flooding my body tells me it’s going to be a lot harder than I originally thought it would be.
“Brooks,” Levington says to the scarred male, and Brooks pauses his speech to greet Levington before striking up a quiet conversation.
Levington stares over at us and stills when he spots me. I narrow my eyes on him and clench my fists to stop myself from going over there and knocking the fucker out.
I know me being here is funny as hell, but he overlooks my true anger and glances at me like he thinks I’m amusing him while trying to contain his chuckle.
“Ah, I see you have a few new recruits,” Levington says to Brooks.
Brooks nods. “We’re just about to move onto the second test.”
“Well, don’t let me keep you,” Levington says as he makes his way over to us.
“Good luck,” he says to everyone before his gaze lands on me.
I bite my lip and fake a smile. He seems to buy it because he heads off, keeping his amused look intact.
“Hand-to-hand combat is your next test,” Brooks says again, and he signals one of his men who pairs us up with one of the males from the other group.
Thank fuck. I need something to release this build-up of frustration after seeing Levington.
“Where are you?” Knox asks. I hear the pout in his voice, and it makes me smile.
His and Malakai’s bond brush up against my senses, letting me know they’re listening and watching.
“I forgot about the royal guard trial,” I tell Knox. “I wouldn’t have left otherwise.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t wake up when you left,” he says now sounding frustrated.
“You were tired,” I tell him, letting him know it’s fine. Besides, if I had woken him up, I’m nearly sure I wouldn’t have made it to the trials.
“Sliding down your body and eating you out would have woken me right up,” he says huskily and a full body shiver slides over me.
No… I definitely wouldn’t have made the trials.
I eye my roommates, thinking about the sacrifices I’m making for them. But I’m quickly distracted when a large, bulky male steps in front of me.
“I’m Bain,” he says before dipping his head to me and getting in position.
“Malakai says Bain looks like a dick,” Knox says. “Knock him the fuck out and then come back, and we’ll have some fun.”
Malakai’s connection slams into me and seconds later I see through his eyes only to find his line of sight directed on me.
“If that fucker lays a finger on you,” he says out loud so I can hear him through our connection. “I’m going to rip him apart until there’s nothing left of him,” he warns.
I bend down to feign tying my boot lace, ignoring Bain’s sigh.
“You’re watching?” I whisper and try to see where he is and find him a minute later across from us concealed by the trees and his shadows.
“I’m watching,” he replies with the hint of a warning in his voice.
Standing up, I try to drown out Knox’s and Malakai’s bonds. Even when they brush against my mind, demanding I listen.
But I’m only going to end up getting get my ass kicked if I don’t focus.
Bain dips his head to me before getting in position. I step up in front of him, and just like with the arrow test, a rush of energy slides over me. Instead of a rush of memories flooding my brain, my Alita side awakens, and I relax knowing this fight will be over soon.
Bain tries to rush me, but I see the move he’s about to make before he makes it and dodge his attack before striking hard and punching him in the side. Before he gets the chance to make a move against me, I spin and slide his feet from under him, knocking him on his ass.
He grunts in pain but doesn’t stay down long. Something in his eyes shifts and I spot the moment he decides I’m more of a threat than he realized.