CHAPTER 11 #3
As we squared off, I felt the weight of every eye in the room.
Colton lunged first, a wide, cocky swing meant more to impress the onlookers than to hit me.
I slipped sideways, the dagger cutting through air.
He came again, faster this time, but I kept ducking, pivoting, and forcing him to chase shadows.
Each dodge drew more laughter from the sidelines, like I was nothing but a sparring dummy too scared to stand her ground.
My patience snapped.
When he overextended on a thrust, I twisted in, driving my elbow hard into his ribs. The satisfying grunt that left his throat silenced the room for a heartbeat.
I didn’t waste it.
My vampire speed carried me forward and closed the distance. In a blur, my hand clamped around his wrist, wrenching the dagger free. His eyes went wide as I shoved him back.
That’s when an arrow tore into my side, buried deep in the flesh just above my hip. I staggered, shock stealing my breath as I whipped toward the sidelines.
Colton straightened, chest heaving, something like disgust creeping onto his face. Around us, no one moved to help me.
“Disarming him is below the belt,” Jasmine said, bow in hand.
I winced, pulling the arrow out of my side. “I wasn’t going to use it.”
“The rules were clear. Weapon for Colton, limbs for you.”
The door crashed open, the deafening bang making everyone freeze in place. Lexa’s eyes swept across the scene as she strode in, taking in the arrow on the floor, the blood on my side, Colton’s stance, and the circle of spectators in seconds.
“What’s going on here?”
No one spoke at first, their silence stretching under the weight of her gaze. She was one of the highest-ranking slayers, after all, earning at least some form of respect.
Eventually, Jasmine stepped forward, her chin raised. “Just a training exercise that got out of hand.”
Lexa’s gaze shifted to my wound, then to Jasmine’s bow. “This is what passes for training now?”
“She was fighting unfairly,” Colton countered, his confidence faltering under Lexa’s cutting stare.
“Unfairly?” Her eyes darted from the crowd to Colton.
“What I see is a room full of slayers with no remorse for the injured, and a failure to respect your partner. I bet you would quiver in the mere presence of a real vampire. They won’t show you mercy, nor will they fight fairly.
” Her expression hardened, cold as a tomb.
“So, instead of working hard to refine your craft, you inflate your ego with such petty wins? These victories are nothing but a testament to your poor character. It is truly disgraceful at best.”
Shame crept onto some faces while others maintained defiant glares.
“Training isn’t about proving who’s stronger. It’s about learning, surviving, and keeping each other alive.” She moved to stand between me and the others. “Clear the room. All of you—before I report this to the general.”
Everyone dispersed quickly, muttering under their breaths. Colton threw me one last hateful look before slamming the door behind him.
Lexa turned to me, her anger giving way to concern. “Let me see that.”
I lifted my shirt, revealing the wound that had already started to close.
“It’s fine,” I said, though the sting suggested otherwise.
“It’s not fine.” She helped me to my feet, steadying me as I swayed slightly. “None of this is fine.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. She was right, of course, but admitting it felt like surrender.
“They didn’t trust me,” I eventually said. “After what happened…”
“That’s no excuse. They’re letting fear cloud their judgment.” She examined my wound again, satisfied to see it had nearly closed, before retrieving my dagger from the floor where it fell and handing it back to me, hilt first. “You need to stop holding back in training.”
“If I don’t hold back, they’ll just have more reason to fear me.”
“Yes, but they’ll respect you, too. Now, they see your restraint as weakness. Something to mess with.”
I slid the dagger back into its sheath, considering her words. “I don’t want to be feared.”
“But they want to be slayers, so it’s their responsibility to overcome their fear, not yours.”
“I guess you’re right.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Spar with me.”
“Now?” I glanced at my side.
“It’s almost healed.” She shrugged off her jacket. “Come on, just like the old days. Fair and square.”
That was the thing about Lexa: never backing down from a challenge.
In fact, she sought them out as a means to improve.
Bravery was one way to describe it. Inspiring, that’s how I would.
She would carve herself raw if it meant coming out stronger.
My dhampir nature, therefore, served as an asset rather than a liability to her, and I admired her for that—for seeing strength where others saw only danger.
I still do. Which is why, to this day, she remains one of the few people I genuinely respect.
The transport begins its descent toward Penn City’s medical center, the same one I broke Max out of hours earlier. My stomach knots at the thought of facing the consequences of that decision. Oh, well.
It touches down with a gentle thump on the roof, where a team of officers and medical personnel await us.
Max is transferred to a gurney, still unconscious, though his color has improved.
He’s then wheeled away to a specialized vampire rehab facility where they’ll monitor him until they can determine the extent of his sire’s influence and further help him adjust to his new physiology.
General Lee steps into view at the rooftop door, his expression grim as he approaches. “Miss Rosen,” he acknowledges before turning to Lexa. “Well done, Captain Ventura.”
“Thank you, General,” she says with a fractional bow, then turns to me. “I guess this is goodbye.”
I give the general a look, hoping he’ll grant me and Lexa a moment of privacy before escorting me to my punishment.
“Five minutes,” he says, walking to wait at the door.
“For now,” I tell Lexa. “We should catch up sometime.”
Lexa shifts her weight, her hand resting on her weapon holster—a habit I remember from our academy days. “When you aren’t being hunted or bleeding out? Sounds like a plan.”
A ghost of a smile touches my lips. “That might be never.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to make time between disasters.” She pulls a sleek black card from her pocket and presses it into my palm. “My private line. Use it if you need anything.”
I turn the card over, noting the absence of the Redmoore insignia.
This isn’t official. It’s personal.
“Why would you help me? After all this time?” I ask.
Her expression softens, momentary vulnerability cracking through the mask of her professional veneer.
“Because we never know when someone’s time is up.
We should try our best while we still can.
” She steps back as the rooftop winds whip around us, composure returning as quickly as it slipped.
“Take care, Seraph. And keep a close watch on that boyfriend of yours. First few weeks of transition are unpredictable.”
“You too, Lex. It was good to see you again.”
She nods once before turning to join her team, straight-backed and imperturbable, just as she was at twelve. Only once do I look back while making my way over to the rooftop door where the general is waiting for me.