Chapter 31
Straightening out my black attire, I rush onto the field where Remi, Maia, and Ember are waiting.
We’d all been called to meet here this morning by the royal guard, but because I’m secretly staying with the guys since the dream attack, I didn’t hear about it until about half an hour ago.
I make it just in time for Brooks to walk onto the field to give me a little smirk and shake his head.
The fucker knows exactly who I am. But luckily, he’s decided to keep it to himself.
I’m sure he also finds it funny as hell that if he accepts us onto his team, I’m technically training to protect myself.
But I guess a girl can never have too many skills.
“Since you were all able to hold your own against true Terrigons, we have decided that you all deserve a place to train with us.”
Ember tries to contain her excitement, but a little squeak slips out.
Brooks chuckles, his eyes growing soft. “I can only imagine the amazing warriors you will become one day if your skills from the trial are anything to go by.”
He turns and shouts over his shoulder, “we’re working on sparring today,” he says and gets moving. We follow him over to a large patch of mats before he partners each of us with one of his men.
A male with light brown hair and deep gray eyes steps in front of me.
“I’m Harley. Saw you at the trial. Nice work,” he says before dipping his head and getting into position. A little taken aback, it takes me a minute to get my head in the game and focus.
We’re about to start sparring when Brooks calls out to someone from behind us.
I glance around and shock hits me when I find Dakson heading straight for us.
He appears a little worse for wear, as if he’s been through hell and back. He heads straight for me and gives Harley a look. “I’ll train with her,” he says, and Harley immediately dips his head in respect before moving off to another partner without a word.
My gaze finds Dakson and I raise a brow in question, wondering who the hell he really is.
“I’m also with the royal guard,” he replies while his eyes scan me from head to toe. “I heard about the trial and the Terrigon attack, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine,” I tell him as I get into position on the mats. “Where’ve you been all this time?”
He steps across from me. “I’ve been in the War Camps keeping an eye on Talos and the Shadow Academy.”
His words send a bolt of shock through me. I thought he was just running some errands like Levington said, not…
“How are things there?” I ask, hoping Robin and everyone else are okay.
He gives me a hesitant look like he’s afraid to say anything and my stomach drops.
“It’s been… tense,” he finally reveals. Something catches his attention from over my shoulder making him frown.
I glance over to find Brooks giving him a strange look.
“Let’s spar,” Dakson says. I turn to him and move quickly, striking him hard in the side. He grunts and quickly dodges my next move before spinning out of my way.
The next couple of minutes we go back and forth. I get a hit or kick in, but he doesn’t even attempt to attack.
Instead of fighting me he’s only defending. But what was the point in him coming over here and taking Harley’s place if all he was going to do was dance around me and take a few hits?
I push harder trying to force him into actually sparring with me and let my frustration get the better of me. I miss his move, and he side-steps me about to strike my left, but he pulls back at the last minute only leaving me frustrated.
“Stop holding back,” I tell him, and he stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“This is not the Shadow Academy, Sena,” he says with a condescending tone that makes me bristle. “We’re sparring, not maiming one another.”
I step back from him and bite my damn tongue.
For some reason I’m feeling a little defensive of the Shadow Academy. It wasn’t perfect but there were plenty of people there that made it special.
A couple of the males from the royal guard come over, distracting me from my wayward thoughts. The one with bi-colored blue and green eyes dips his head to me.
“I’m Emmett. I saw your skill at the trials and want to see what else you’re capable of,” he says before looking over my shoulder at Dakson. “I’ll take this session,” he says.
I guess Dakson doesn’t have all the power here after all.
I glance back at Dakson to find him glaring at Emmett. But I ignore him and whatever is going through his head to step in front of Emmett.
We size each other up but he’s the first to make a move, probably thinking he can get one up on me. But the only thing he has going for him is his brute force.
I quickly twist out of the way before jabbing him in the back.
He hisses and whips around, giving me a little glare that makes me smile. He rushes forward, trying the same old trick he used a moment ago, but I dodge him, avoiding his less-than-refined skills before landing a punch to the side of his face.
He whips around, really pissed now, and moves a little sloppier.
I duck his hit and bend forward using my body weight to backward kick him. It’s not hard enough to take him down, but it’s enough to distract and move around him to strike his sides and back.
He grunts in pain but strikes when I don’t realize and manages to get a hard hit to my side. I wince but spin out of his way.
Before I get the chance to strike back, something rushes past me and takes Emmett to the ground.
My eyes widen when I realize it’s Dakson laying into him and not letting up for a minute.
Shock leaves me horrified for a moment before I finally come to my senses and quickly move to pull him off Emmett. But Brooks reaches us before I do, shoving Dakson off him before checking Emmett over.
My stomach drops when I spot Emmett’s face. Or what’s left of it.
His face is completely ruined with a red swollen jaw, two black eyes already forming, a broken nose and a busted lip.
Brooks glares at Dakson but Dakson doesn’t seem to notice or care as he makes his way over to me.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask him, still horrified.
There’s not an ounce of remorse on his face as he leans down to me and drops his voice. “You’re our future queen, Sena. He’s nothing,” he says.
“My life is not more important than anyone else’s here,” I tell him while trying to figure out what the hell his problem is.
Dakson gives me a look that makes me want to move the hell away from him.
“Without you, none of us will exist longer than a couple of decades,” he says.
I open my mouth to tell him how fucking wrong he is when I hear a familiar voice.
Theon comes up behind me and drags me back into him and I immediately relax. “If you wanted to train, babe, all you had to do was ask,” he says while dipping down to press a kiss to my head. “You don’t ever have to suffer through training with these winged douchebags.”
“Dakson? What the fuck are you doing here?” Malakai snarls.
Dakson gives him a deadpan look, “I go to this academy.”
“I haven’t seen you around,” Knox says. “I was hoping a Terrigon took you out. That or one of our own.”
Dakson ignores them to stare at me and Theon stiffens.
“I’ll be around if you need me,” he says giving my men a dark look before heading off.
“Need you?!” Knox’s eyes widen and he starts after him. I quickly step in front of him stopping him from doing something stupid like getting kicked out of the academy.
“What the fuck would you ever need that long-legged insect for?!” he says staring after him even after Dakson has disappeared through the forest.
“I don’t,” I tell him, and he nods, before finally looking down at me as if realizing I’m here. “Give me a kiss or I’m going to go after him and kick his ass.”
I bite my lip and attempt to glare up at him. “Are you—”
“Everything alright?” Brooks says as he moves over to us, and I sigh before turning around to him.
He’s watching my men like he doesn’t know whether he should come over and drag me away or clap them on their backs for getting rid of Dakson.
“They’re my mates,” I tell him, and the guys whip their heads to me in question.
“He knows who I am,” I tell them. “He figured it out after the last royal guard’s trial.”
Brooks smirks at them before dipping his head and turning back to head over to his men.
“Don’t worry, we won’t have a problem with him,” I tell them.
“I already have a problem with the way he’s looking at you,” Knox grits out while glaring over at Brooks and his men.
In fact, all four of them are staring at him with new eyes. Like they want to remove his and everyone else’s here.
Rolling my eyes, I silently pray for patience. “That’s enough male testosterone for one day,” I tell them before dragging them away from what will more than likely be another fight.
KNOX
Sneaky, sneaky little insect.
Moving through the darkness, I follow the little dickhead Dakson only to find him doing a double trek back around and stopping outside the shack Levington placed us in for our bad behavior.
Levington is another fucking cockroach I’d love to tear apart.
But he can wait. For now.
This fucker, Dakson, on the other hand is… What the—The dick is… burying something?
It’s not large enough to be a body. Unless he chopped the fucker up. But I very much doubt the dick would dirty his hands when he could get some other fucking lackey here to do it for him.
I was going to shank the fuckwad, but he’s piqued my curiosity. I guess he gets to live for another day.
I wait a few minutes until he leaves, making sure he’s completely gone before heading over to the spot and digging up whatever he buried, only to find a small glowing oval object made from glass.
The glass pulses and a rush of weird energy slides over me making me feel off.
Narrowing my eyes on it, I squeeze it hard, and it breaks in my hand and the little white glow instantly dims.
The strong energy immediately dissipates so I drop what’s left of the glass into the hole and cover it before heading off in the direction Dakson went.
The fucker is definitely up to something that involves us all. He thinks he’s smart, playing his little games, but hell will freeze over long before I ever let him get the chance to fuck with us.
It’s time to beat them at their own fucking game.