A Rematch
Jayce
I’m strong, and so is he – exceptionally strong, and yet I don’t fucking know what he wants from me. These run-ins are becoming far too common to put down to coincidence.
I need you to reveal me, but keep yourself hidden and out of sight, I say to Sienna through the mind-link.
Jayce, I can help; please let me, she replies calmly, not pushing me but also urgently reminding me that she is strong enough.
For now, remain hidden. We need to assess if he’s alone or has others here, I respond before I step forward, calling on my powers, awakening the power of Zeus. My wolf snarls in my mind as my gauntlets, helmet, and shoulder plate materialise.
Fine… I’ll scout the area and see what we’re dealing with. Are you sure?
Yes. Take care of yourself, I say, keeping my voice level despite the worry eating up at me inside.
Be careful, Sienna says softly. I nod before I step forward and feel her magic ripple around me, and I’m no longer concealed by her magic.
Vincenzo stands metres away, and he now turns in my direction. So, he didn’t know exactly where I was.
“It seems you always like to seek me out. What do you want, Vincenzo?” I ask.
He stiffens for a fraction of a second, and my mouth curls into a cold smirk. “Of course… Jayce.”
“Now that we know each other’s names, shall we get this over with?” I ask.
“You fought a god, or so I’ve heard, but this time you’re alone – or almost alone.” He smirks as he glances around. So, he knows someone else is here.
The wind howls loudly, and he steps closer. I stay ready just in case he tries something. “And if I did? What has that got to do with you? What do you really want?”
He doesn’t respond and instead observes me.
“Well, to think it was right in front of me.” He takes a step closer, his eyes darkening dangerously.
“For years, it said the Deimos bloodline held the power to some of the greatest secrets. Treasures that I desired greatly, assuming that in those tomes I’d find the answers I seek. The answer to great power.”
I don’t reply as he continues slowly coming closer through the storm, but I’m ready, my aura simmering around me.
He observes me intently, his eyes flickering over my armour to the power that crackles around my gauntlets. The power of Zeus running beneath my skin.
Then he laughs quietly. “You’ve become stronger.”
“Disappointed?” I ask icily.
“No. Quite the opposite.” Something about the way he says it puts me on edge.
“I’m sure you didn’t come all this way to compliment me.”
“Of course not.”
The wind howls between us. For a moment neither of us moves. Then his gaze drifts briefly past me.
My wolf instantly snarls, and I see the triumph in his eyes.
Fuck. He knows Sienna’s near.
“As I said, I believed you were the answer,” he murmurs, his voice cold.
“To great power?” I ask mockingly.
“Yes. The Deimos Temple and what was within it… The tomes.”
My eyes narrow.
“You spent a lot of time chasing things that didn’t belong to you. Only those tied to the Deimos bloodline can even read them.”
“I did.” The admission surprises me. “I thought the answers were hidden in your family’s history.” His gaze slides past me again, and my hands curl into fists. “When the greatest treasure was standing beside you the entire time.”
Lightning crackles around me. “Careful.”
His eyes flick back to mine. “How one gets so riled up when their loved ones are threatened.”
“What do you want with her?”
For the first time, his amusement fades. “The same thing I’ve always wanted.”
“Which is?”
He looks in the direction of the dome. “Control.”
Unease settles in my stomach.
He means the dome, Sienna murmurs.
“The Will chooses its master,” Vincenzo continues.
My jaw tightens.
“And?”
His eyes return to mine. “And if I had known then what I know now...” The smile disappears from his face. “I would have taken her the first day we met.”
Rage surges through me as my wolf takes control; he exudes power as lightning cracks through the sky, the snow beneath my feet blasting in all directions.
His eyes narrow before they glint dangerously.
Two years ago, that look would’ve filled me with dread.
It would’ve reminded me of standing broken on that road, watching him walk through everything we threw at him as if neither of us mattered, as if our strongest attacks amounted to nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
I can still remember the helplessness. The rage.
The overwhelming realisation that no matter how hard I fought, no matter how desperately I pushed myself, I wasn’t strong enough to protect her.
But I am not that fucking boy anymore.
Lightning crackles around me, and I launch forward, the frozen earth exploding beneath me. The distance between us disappears almost instantly, and I drive my fist straight towards his jaw, thunder cracking overhead as immense power surges through my veins. The impact echoes across the blizzard.
Vincenzo’s feet drag deep in the snow as he tries to brace himself, creating trenches through the snow before he finally regains his footing. And when his head slowly turns back towards me, there is no amusement in his eyes.
Good.
I don’t give him a chance to recover.
I drive forward again, twisting into another strike before following it with a kick aimed at his ribs.
He blocks the kick with his forearm, but the force still pushes him sideways.
I follow immediately, refusing to allow him space, my fist colliding with his shoulder before I drive my elbow towards his jaw.
Tearing through his coat and into flesh, a vicious satisfaction burns through me.
Two years ago, I couldn’t even touch him. Now he’s forced to block.
Adrenaline surges through me as lightning wraps around my arms and shoulders, illuminating the storm around us in violent flashes of white and blue. Every heartbeat seems to pull more power from the heavens, every strike carrying enough force to crack the ground deep beneath the snow.
Vincenzo absorbs the assault for several seconds before his hand suddenly shoots forward at incredible speed, but I catch his wrist before he can grab my throat.
The collision sends another shockwave tearing across the battlefield.
For a moment, we remain locked together, neither giving ground as snow whirls violently around us. Darkness begins spilling from his body, black tendrils twisting through the air like living smoke whilst lightning crackles around my armour.
His eyes study mine. Not with curiosity or amusement. This time, he’s assessing me; the way I can tell he’s frowning beneath his dark hair is proof that he wasn’t expecting me to be able to hold my ground.
You got this, Sienna murmurs softly. So far, I can’t sense anyone close. Want me to join?
Not yet, I reply firmly.
His body tenses, and I feel the pressure instantly increase. The ground beneath us rumbles as deep cracks form and snow collapses into them.
And suddenly, the darkness pouring from him surges. His immense aura is suffocating me. The air itself seems to distort around him as black energy pours outward, consuming the snow and rocks around us. Wherever it spreads, the ground darkens beneath its touch.
I snarl as I instinctively call on more power, my aura surging.
The collision between our energies shakes the mountain hard enough to send snow cascading from nearby cliffs. The force tears us apart, and I skid backwards through the frozen earth before digging my heels in.
Blood drips from the corner of my mouth.
I wipe it away with the back of my hand and smirk.
“Not what you were expecting?” I remark mockingly.
For the first time since this fight began, his expression hardens. He wasn’t expecting it. As if realising in this moment that I’m not the same boy he left bleeding on that road.
The storm overhead responds to my emotions. Lightning tears through the clouds whilst thunder rolls across the mountains. The power of Zeus hums through every part of me, crackling beneath my skin as I launch forward again.
This time, Vincenzo meets me head-on. His fist crashes into my ribs, causing pain to explode through me. I answer with an elbow to his jaw, but he catches my arm.
I twist through the hold and drive my shoulder into his chest.
The impact sends both of us crashing through the snow, and we barely hit the ground before we’re moving again.
A blur of blocks, counters and attacks.
Each movement flows into the next as we tear through the storm. The dome pulses in the background, and I can sense Sienna as she watches intently. Waiting, in case I need her.
I can sense her hesitation as she fights herself not to jump in, and I know for a fact that if she weren’t pregnant, she would have.
Neither Vincenzo nor I give in, and I can tell he’s getting angry.
His experience shows through in his fighting; every time I gain an advantage, he finds a way to recover. Every time I force him backwards, he adapts. There are no wasted movements. No unnecessary attacks. Everything he does is calculated, precise, and brutally effective.
But unlike two years ago, I can keep up.
Not perfectly. Not fucking easily, but I can. I know if we fight this out, he will be stronger, but I plan to end it before we get to that point.
I block another attack and slam both fists into the ground.
Lightning mixed with my blue aura crackles dazzlingly before it shoots through the sky and tears through the ground. A massive crater erupts around us, forcing Vincenzo backwards through the snow.
He recovers swiftly. The snow around him begins rising into the air, drawn towards the darkness coiling around his body. It twists around him like a living thing, swallowing the light from my lightning and turning the battlefield unnaturally dark.
Then he moves. For the first time since this fight began, I almost lose sight of him – almost.
His fist collides with my stomach before I can fully react, the force launching me through the mountainside. Stone explodes around me as I tear through it, pain ripping through every part of my body before I force myself upright.