Hunted tgl-3 (15 page)

We stopped for a water break and a change of weapons. Bran’s gaze shot to mine as he reached out to take his dagger from my hand. I had kicked his butt in the last round.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I promise to go easy on you this time.”

Smirking, he took the dagger and flipped it around. The blade gleamed as it whipped in the light. He flung it in the air, then grabbed it backhand and lunged for me, the blade directed at my throat. I batted his arm away and surged toward him.

He used my weight and threw me over his head, but I teleported and reappeared on his side. He was waiting for me and I barely managed to block his attack. Another bout of strikes and counterstrikes followed and it seemed like forever before I tackled him and had him at a disadvantage. I loomed over him, my pulse quickening.

“You are enjoying this?” he said.

“Oh, you have no idea.” I pressed the edge of the blade to his skin, loving the way his eyes widened. I could never hurt him and he knew it. Still… I nicked him. He sucked in a breath.

“You’re playing with fire,” he warned in a voice gone suddenly husky.

Heat pooled like warm honey low in my belly as I responded. “What are you going to do about it?”

He grinned.

“This.” His free arm looped around me and pulled me on top of him. Eye locked with mine, one hand skated along my arm while the other reached for my face. He pried the dagger from my hand before I realized his intention, then he pressed both blades against my neck. “You are dead.”

“You don’t play fair,” I protested.

“You lost focus.”

“You cheated.” Giving him an annoyed look, I jumped up and went to get swords. I handed him one and willed a second one from the wall. Using a move Master Haziel had taught me, I focused on the powers inside me, willing them to move.

Heat shot from my lower back, up my spine and spread through my core. The ancient words raced to my hands, making them tingle. I grinned. We’d practiced controlling the Kris Dagger’s powers, but I didn’t know I could bring the powers forth without being attacked.

“How was that?” Bran asked.

“Effortless.” I removed wet strands of hair from my sweaty forehead. “Should I be worried? I don’t want to get comfortable with them.”

“I’m sure the headaches will continue to remind you they don’t belong inside you. Ready?” He attacked.

We moved across the floor, thrusting, cutting, and parrying. Bran was a better swordsman, and he didn’t cut me any slack. He pushed me hard, landing blows several times when I messed up, but I got him several times too. Luckily, the carbon steel training swords didn’t have sharpened edges despite having the balance and weight of real swords.

“Slowing down your teleport has made you a better fighter,” he said during another water break.

“Praise from the master, yippee.”

He rolled his eyes and looked at his watch. “It’s six-fifty. Do you want to stop or move to hand-to-hand combat?”

Gutter fighting involved lots of body contact, which was both exciting and frustrating, because he distracted me way too easily. Not needing another lecture on self-control, I plopped down on one of the mat and stared at the crystals on the ceiling.

“Nope. I’m done,” I declared

He squatted beside me. “Come on.”

“No,” I said with a pout, then saw Master Haziel near the entrance. How long had he been watching us? “We have an audience.”

Bran followed my gaze, got to his feet and wished the trainer good morning.

“You could not sleep again?” His ancient face scrunched up with concern as he studied me.

I nodded. His scowl deepened.

“I wanted you to try something different this morning, but it can wait. Go home and rest.” He glanced at Bran. “Stay behind.”

“But I’m not tired,” I protested.

“You look tired, and your responses a few minutes ago were slower,” Master Haziel said. “Have you had time to read the book I gave you?” he asked pointedly.

“Uh, yeah. I’m out of here.” I jumped to my feet and teleported.

After a shower and breakfast, I curled up on my bed with the book on the Goddess. Boring couldn’t begin to describe it. Half the book was things I already knew. My eyelids grew heavy. I must have dozed off because the sound of my cell phone woke me up. The clock said it was quarter to nine and the streetlight fell into my room through the window. My stomach growled.

I’d slept the day away without having a nightmare. A quick scan told me Bran wasn’t in the valley, but Grampa and the Cardinals were at HQ. They weren’t alone, which meant they were still having the conference. Izzy and Kim were at the guys’ house.

I picked up my cell phone and chuckled at the text message from Kylie. She had an emergency and needed my help. I texted her back, promising to be at her place in a few minutes.

I got dressed and checked my cell phone again. Kylie hadn’t texted me back, so I slipped the phone in my pocket and headed to the kitchen for food. I chewed on an apple as I warmed leftover lasagna. I hated eating alone. Usually, I ate with Bran. Where was he?

I checked in with the others as I ate.
What are you guys doing?

Talking Guardian business
, Remy said.
Happy you are awake. Now get here ASAP, and bring Bran. We need his input
.

Guardians business always came first. Kylie would have to wait.
Bran is not in the valley
.

Then join us
, Sykes added.
We stopped by your place twice, but you were asleep. You looked cute, Red. No drool or anything
.

You watched me sleep?
I screeched

Just for a few minutes. You don’t snore, just in case you were wondering
, he teased.

I’m going to kill you, Sykes
, I vowed.

He chuckled and broke the link. I teleported to their place and was met by raised voices.

“Oh, come on,” Remy was saying.

“No way,” Sykes retorted. “I’m not changing my routine because of new roommates. I love free Sundays.”

“What’s free on Sundays?” Izzy asked.

“I am. It’s laundry day.” He saw me and waved me over. “Hey, Red. Rocking that Gypsy outfit. Did I mention you were smiling while you slept? Must have been dreaming about me.”

I shot him a mean look.

“Don’t listen to him. We stopped by your place but you were out. How are you feeling?” Izzy asked.

I shrugged. “Better, I guess.”

“Back to the subject,” Kim said, snapping her fingers in front of Sykes’ face. “Why are you free on laundry day?”

Sykes smirked. “Use your imagination, Goldie.”

“He walks around naked,” Remy said.

“That’s so…so…” Kim couldn’t think up a word.

“‘Liberating’ is the word you are searching for,” Sykes said, still smirking.

Izzy made a disgusted face. “Does he really?”

Remy nodded. “I usually just ignore him, which is not easy because he’s a morning person and often wants to recap everything that happened the day before while I make breakfast. Thank the Goddess for kitchen counters.”

I imagined the scene and laughed.

“Come here, Red.” He patted the seat beside him. “Knock some sense into their heads. Tell them it’s wrong and unfair to move in with us. I don’t want to watch chick flicks and forgive snippy comments at a certain time of the month.”

“That’s insulting,” Izzy said indignantly.

“Who’s moving in?” I asked, my gaze volleying between the girls.

“Izzy and Kim,” Remy said.

Sykes gave a mock shudder. “Don’t you mean Miss Rules and Miss Stuck Up? The things that go on in this house stay in this house. My women won’t, uh, you know, be themselves with you two around.”

“What women?” Kim said in a disparaging tone. “Don’t you mean the poor human
girls
parading in and out of here like it’s a cheerleading camp?”

“We can have our bedrooms upstairs,” Remy continued. “You girls can take downstairs.”

“We get upstairs,” Izzy corrected him.
“And
we get to redecorate the living room.” She and Kim laughed and high-fived each other.

“You two are actually thinking of moving in?” I asked, sitting on the bench by the TV. “With them?”

“My parents are bending the rules again to suit themselves,” Kim explained, a defeated expression settling on her pretty face. “When Cardinal Guardian trainees turn eighteen, which I did a month ago, they are supposed to get places of their own. My parents insist there are no houses available, yet Kenta’s house is empty.”

Kenta was our disgraced former master trainer. He had betrayed us by feeding my father information about me, and been banned from our Council.

“And even if his house wasn’t empty, it takes Guardians…what? A week to build a house?” Izzy rolled her eyes. “Hardly a reason to keep us under their thumbs.”

Izzy had lived with Kim’s family since her family moved back to Xenith. “You too?” I asked.

Izzy shrugged. “They can’t allow me to move out and refuse Kim, so I’m being punished too. Worse, they’re trying to find Kim—”

“Don’t,” Kim snapped and slapped a hand over Izzy’s mouth.

Izzy teleported and appeared beside me. “Amate.”

Kim growled. “You need to mind your own business, Isadora Salazar.”

I expected the guys to burst out laughing because it was absurd. No one arranged marriages anymore. But everyone went quiet, their expressions serious. Immediately after joining the Guardianship program, Izzy had told me something interesting about Kim’s family—the Larsons had a history of arranging marriages to produce powerful offspring and future Cardinals, which was why every generation of Cardinals included a member of their family.

“That’s messed up,” Remy said, frowning. “You can pretend to choose one of us to get them off your back.”

Kim smiled. “Thanks, Remy, but there’s no need for that. Can we discuss something else?”

“I second what Remy said,” Sykes added, his expression earnest. “It might mess up my rep with the ladies, but we’re friends and friends help each other out. So, yes, count me in for as long as you want me.” He stretched and pretended to check Kim out. “But if you want to upgrade it by adding benefits, I’m calling first dibs, bro.”

Kim laughed and leveled Sykes a mocking glance. “You couldn’t handle me.”

“Try me,” Sykes said, then he winked.

“So? Should we rearrange the rooms for you guys?” Remy’s glance bounced between Izzy to Kim as he spoke.

“Whoa, slow down, dude. We are still in the maybe-it-might-happen-depending-on-the-ground-rules stage.” Sykes pointed at Remy, then tapped his chest and indicated upstairs. “Let’s go.”

They disappeared upstairs.

“Are you guys
really
thinking about moving in with them?” I asked, not buying it.

“Do you have a better idea?” Izzy asked.

“I can talk to my grandfather. As the head of the Cardinals, his ruling trumps Kim’s father when it comes to Cardinal Guardian business. Because of him, you guys lived with your parents when you moved here from Xenith, instead of rooming with members of the High Council like the new students.”

Kim studied me with narrowed eyes as though thinking about my suggestion.

“There was no ‘Academy’ at the time and parents weren’t willing to send their kids to this High Council after the demonic raid, which, your father led, princess,” Izzy teased.

I stuck out my tongue. “It was just a thought. Don’t call me princess.”

Izzy shook her head, her ponytail whipping left and right. “Princess… princess…princess…”

She could be so annoying sometimes. I waved a hand, and a pillow from one of the gaming chairs shot toward her. She caught it and flipped it back at me. I stopped it before it reached me and sent it her way again.

“Stop it, you two,” Kim snapped, then nodded at me. “Do it.”

I blinked. “Really?”

Kim arched her right eyebrow. “You offered. Let’s see if Grampa really
is
putty in your hands, princess.”

With a lift of my chin, a pillow shot up and flew toward her. Air shot past me as the pillow reversed directions with a whoosh. The guys came back to find a pillow fight and giggles.

Sykes laughed. “Now this, I can live with. Saturday night strip poker and pillow fights are a must for roommates.” He ducked when four pillows flew toward him.

“We’ll pass for now,” Kim said. “Lil will talk to her grandfather about getting us our own place.”

“Now, or after this Tribe mess is over?” Remy asked.

Just like that, the playful mood disappeared. The discussion moved to the Tribe.

“They’re still discussing what to do?” Izzy asked, outraged.

“From what my grandfather said, the Cardinals would like us to face the Tribe head on, but the High Council prefers diplomacy.”

“I wonder what the CT has to say about all this,” Kim murmured. “Do they even know what’s going on?”

“It’s been four days since the attack and Academy students and their teachers are still in Xenith,” Remy said. “Someone must have explained their presence.”

“Meanwhile we train without knowing the Tribe’s weaknesses and strengths,” Izzy added.

“Master Haziel knows something but he’s being so close-mouthed,” Kim griped.