61. Summer #2
Max growls as he sends another bolt, but this one seems to track me, and I have to tuck into a roll to avoid it hitting me.
Over the next thirty minutes, he fires those green bolts at me again and again.
I manage to evade all of them except the last one, which hits me in the side, the force of it slamming me back against the wall.
I gasp on impact, but then frown when I bounce slightly against it.
It appears to be padded, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t before?. .?.
“Good dodging. Got to be ready for the unexpected,” Max says, rolling his massive shoulders. His body starts to shrink, though he still towers over me even in his human form. He shakes out his limbs as if settling back into his own skin.
I roll my eyes and walk to the wall to put my sai away.
“Giving up already?” he asks, smirking.
“I have more training today.”
Max arches a brow. “You’re cheating on me? I’m hurt.”
I flip him off. “The headmaster insisted, so I can’t push myself too much today.
” No fucking way am I going to mention the training with my stalker.
The stalker who stitched my arm back together with thread imbued with his own blood, whose power still flickers inside me when I think of him.
Was it intentional? To get me to think of him more?
“Lame,” Max says.
“Since when do you think training is lame?” I ask, pointedly looking at our surroundings.
“I was having fun,” he says with a shrug and a roguish grin.
“So glad to be here for your amusement,” I quip.
“It’s rare that I get to use magic in sparring.”
What is rare is that a berserker can harness runes at all. It is not suited to their natures, and the discipline required for Max to wield that kind of magic in his berserker form is truly impressive.
I roll my eyes, frustrated that he’s actually made me feel for him without even trying. I sigh and grab my sai. “Okay, fine, but just a little bit longer. Let’s go.”
Max smiles and gets back into position, his body growing again. “The sai are enchanted. You can block the spells too. If you focus, you can even respond to my own. They are a weapon conduit.”
I look down at the sai, and they seem to glow a little with the prospect of being charged with power.
I look back at Max, and he shows me his wrist, revealing the runes he has drawn there along with the trail of blood that appears to trickle continuously down to the sword.
It is a hallowed attunement rune that imbues the weapon with magical power.
The sword glows, and when the blood hardens in the shape of an X with a line through it, the magical convergence is completed.
Max swings his sword, and the rune’s magic flies at me.
I lift my sai to block, and the power sparks against the metal as it makes contact.
The force behind the bolt pushes me back, my feet sliding over the floor.
While the impact feels stronger than when Max slams his broadsword against them, it also doesn’t move through my body the same.
It’s absorbed by the metal, and the sai flash as they feed on the power.
I look from my weapons to Max. He nods once, his grin barely this side of unhinged as he bears down on me, swinging that massive length of metal at me.
Instinctively, I shove the sai up to meet it.
They meet with a clang and the familiar aching resonance through my bones, but this time I feel the tingle of magic as well.
I stare up at Max with wide eyes, unsure what to do now, how to counter.
“You got this. You are a badass. I am a brute. Kick my ass,” he says, excitement flashing in his green eyes.
I concentrate on the kernel of magic I can feel in the sai and shove him back, slashing at his waist.
Max blocks with the hilt of his sword, locking my weapon in place. He smirks and leans into the hold. “Faster,” he growls.
I pull my sai back and strike again, faster this time.
His sword glows again, and when it slams into my sai this time, it sends me flying back.
I land in a crouch and use the momentum to spring right back at him.
Max isn’t expecting it, and I’m on him before he can block in time.
He pushes me back, but not before the sai slides across his biceps, flashing green as it bites into his flesh.
I smell his blood as it drips down his arm, but he just grins and comes at me again.
His skin is practically glowing with his joy at being able to use all his abilities in combat.
We’ve been sparring for around an hour when Max’s head suddenly snaps up, and he lifts his hand to stop me from launching into an attack.
I take advantage of his distraction to take a breather and get a drink of water.
Max is tense, his eyes locked through the full windows of the sparring room.
I frown and shift a little to see what he’s looking at, and my gaze meets the green eyes of a female standing at the desk.
“I think we’re good for today, Sum,” Max says distractedly.
Max drops his broadsword on the ground dismissively and heads for the desk.
I watch as he approaches her. She’s pretty but disheveled, and she looks like she’s freezing cold.
Her whole body shivers, and her frame looks painfully slight beneath her baggy, worn clothes.
I pick up Max’s broadsword and return it and my sai to the wall before leaving the sparring room.
“It’s the last time, Max. I promise,” she says, her voice louder than I would have expected. Now that I am closer, I can see a slight resemblance between the two of them.
“I’ve heard that before,” Max says defeatedly, but he grabs a box from behind the reception desk and pulls out a roll of cash, holding it out to her. “I spoke to someone at Elysian. They might have an opening soon.”
“We can’t afford it,” she says sharply. “I can shake this. I promise. It’s not a problem. ”
“Max?” I interrupt, wanting to help however I can.
“I can make it work, Beck.” Max ignores me, still focused on her, but he shifts more to block my view of the woman.
She looks down at the roll of cash and releases a shaky breath. “I need a little more to get through the next few weeks. You know this time of year is hard on me.”
“I know,” Max says, pulling her into a hug.
She hugs him back, but it is stiff and awkward. “Just a little more, Maxus? Just a little more money.”
“That’s all I have. Sorry.”
She shakes her head. “You’re lying. Just a little more. Please.”
“What’s going on? Are you in trouble with someone again?”
“You don’t even fucking love me,” she practically spits at him before shoving the cash into her pocket and storming out.
Max stands there, and for the first time, he appears defeated.
“Max?” I say, moving closer and gently placing my hand on his back.
He straightens and clears his throat. “It’s fine, Sum. Can’t fix everyone.”
“Your sister?” I ask, stepping around to look up at him.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, wrapping my arms around him.
“It’s whatever,” he says, not hugging me back.
“Hug me back, asshole.”
He huffs but wraps his arms around me.
“I may be a mess, but I’m here for you,” I say, pulling him close.
He snorts, leaning down and sucking loudly on my neck. “I know.”
“Max . . . this isn’t the time,” I moan.
“It never is,” Max says, releasing my neck. He steps back, rubbing his thumb over the mark I know he has left on my delicate skin. “At least you have a little memento now.”
“Memento?” I ask, looking up at him.
“We can’t end a workout without a last-time moment.” He winks at me and slides his hand into mine, pulling me toward his office.
I dig my heels in. “As tempting as that sounds, I have a training session with Headmaster Emrys that I’m already late for. I’ll text you?”
“Right. See you,” Max says, his eyes flashing green.
I lean in and kiss his cheek before hurrying out of the gym.