by K. C. Hamby
“Oh?” She lifts her head and raises one of those brows at me.
A growl rumbles in my chest in answer and her lips part, allowing measured breaths between them.
Every thought leaves me when her lavender vanilla scent brushes across my face. All remnants of my pending responsibility, my inevitable fate and immortality, disappear.
The only feeling I have is primal, wanting what’s mine.
I roll on top of her and pin her wrists above her head, pressing my lips on hers with force telling her exactly what I need. A moan escapes her and that’s all it takes for me to throw off every bit of clothing we have on and press myself against her; every inch of skin is touching as much as possible. Her breathing quickens against my neck.
“I love you,” I whisper, biting her earlobe with a wicked smile.
“God, Fal.” Her back arches when I move my lips to her neck. “I love you.”
She pants as the tips of my fingers slide over her freckled stomach and brush against her hips. When they squeeze her thigh, she bites her lip.
Her chest rises and falls faster with every second and I smile against her neck. I move my lips to her open mouth and gently tug on her bottom lip with my teeth.
“What do you want?” I whisper, releasing her lip and kissing the corner of her mouth.
“You. Always you.”
Chapter 3
Nina
My breathing is hard. I’ve been doing this for hours now.
A large fist flies past my face as I dodge to the side. I can even smell the salty sweat on their skin. But I stay focused, trying to keep my breathing even.
I slide between their legs quickly, scraping my bare knees on the hard ground, and use my speed to my advantage. My elbow throbs when it smacks them in the back of their huge knee.
“Ow, Nina,” Ash groans as he hits the ground.
I jump on his back and wrap my arm around his neck. I brace the other behind his head and squeeze—only a little—until he gasps.
I smile, but immediately realize my mistake. Fal always tells me cockiness is the easiest way to get my ass handed to me.
Ash flips me over his head when I think I’ve won, and I land on my back. The concussive smack has my breath fleeing from my lungs and my spine vibrates with the blunt force of the hard ground.
“Ash,” Fal growls from somewhere out of my line of sight.
“I’m okay,” I rasp, sucking in a fleeting breath. My lungs scream as they spasm in my chest. I kick myself off the ground. The pain makes me dizzy as I make it to my feet, but I’ve been hit harder before.
I duck when Ash tries to hook me in the face with his left fist and my foot strikes out, slamming into his shin. He stumbles but recovers quickly with a twist and an attempt to spinning heel kick me in the stomach.
I slide backwards and his thick boot barely misses. It throws me off balance a little, setting Ash up for a perfect punch to my face.
His knuckles are aimed right for my nose.
No!
I hold my hand out and my energy surges forward. Right before his fist connects with my face, it rams into an invisible barrier and stops his advance.
“Holy shit,” Ash hisses and backs up, shaking his hand of the pain.
“Nice,” Fal praises from her lounging spot on the grass and claps a few times. “How did you do that?”
“I…” I stare down at my hand and smile. “I don’t know. I just really didn’t want to get punched in the face and my energy came to the rescue.”
Ash curses colorfully under his breath, still shaking his hand. “Yeah, that was good. Your technique is always great. Whoever taught you to fight was a smart fucker when they told you to use your speed. You’re fast. But goddammit, I think you broke my hand.”
“Ach, come here,” Eddie calls from her place on the ground beside Fal.
Ash trots over to her and she reaches for his hand.
She snorts. “Aye, lass. You definitely broke a few bones in here.” She winks before her eyes fall on a squinting Ash. “There, mo chridhe. All better.”
“Sorry, Ash. I didn’t even mean to do it,” I mumble, biting the inside of my cheek.
“Don’t be sorry. Getting hurt is why we have Fal and Eddie here to heal us. Besides, it’s a good trick to have. You should figure out how to use it more often in combat. It’s like a shield. I swear it felt like I punched a foot-thick steel wall.” He raises a brow, smirking a little.
I’ve impressed him, I guess.
Ever since I was taken advantage of when I was younger, I told myself I would never let some asshole get the jump on me. Not without a fight. After I tried to end my pain and got help for it, I started taking self-defense and kickboxing classes. It wasn’t a lot, but it made me feel a little safer.
And now Ash trains me all the time, building upon the foundation my classes created. We do his lessons at least three times a week between his missions and band practices and I’ve learned so much. I kind of feel like I could hold my own against a trained Lupi now and that’s all because of Ash. He likes teaching fighting techniques and is super smart when it comes to strategy. Fal and Eddie help sometimes, but they both know how happy it makes Ash, so they mostly watch and comment on my form when it’s needed.
“Now the lass needs a weapon,” Eddie states, standing up from playing with blades of grass, and brushes off her usual black joggers and sleeveless crop top. “Imagine if you had that fancy trick and could stab a bastart in the same second.”
I squint at her and tilt my head. Surely, she hasn’t forgotten about my bow. “I mean, I have a weapon…”
“No, you need a close-range weapon other than your energy.”
I look to Fal for backup and find her thoughtful. “I mean, she’s right. There isn’t much you can do with a bow and arrow if someone is right in your face. Your energy is helpful, yes. But if you are caught off guard and can’t access it?” She leans back and watches me with calculating, mismatched eyes. “I would rather you be able to take a fucker out quickly and get to safety instead of fighting them off with fists.”
A knot solidifies in my throat.
“I have no idea how to fight with a weapon, though. And what weapon would I use anyway?” I wring my fingers together to keep them from shaking. This is making me way more anxious than it should, I know. But adding something deadly and sharp to my hand-to-hand fighting…
“A sgian dubh,” Eddie announces with a wicked gleam in her eye.
“A skeegan what?”
“It’s a hidden blade,” Fal tells me, smug when Eddie raises a brow at her. “What? I know all about knives. Even the Scottish ones.” Fal shrugs and looks back to me. “It’s pronounced like ski-an doo. It’s a small knife kept in a place where it is easy to access, but hard to see.”
“Oh, like your boot knife?”
She chuckles and brushes thick, black hair from her forehead. “Yeah, kind of. Just smaller. Better for your hands.”
I look down at my small hands and slim fingers, growing more callused by the day.
“Here, lass.” Eddie pulls out her…sgian dubh from her boot, sheath and all, and hands it to me. The leather sheath is warm from being pressed up against her leg.
“This is pretty,” I tell her as I study the handle. Celtic knots are intertwined around a small, silver crest. The Barclay Clan crest. When I pull the knife out, the tiny tip of the blade pokes me in my hand. “Ow.”
“Nins,” Ash scolds and rolls his eyes.
“You have to be careful, babe,” Fal says and glares at Ash as she stands. She walks over to me and grabs my hand gently. The bleeding cut disappears with her warm, healing touch.
“A’rite. Get to learnin’,” Eddie pushes, sitting back on the ground and waving her hand. “You can use my sgian dubh until Falen here can get you one for yourself.”
“Wait, but I don’t want to practice with this.” I look over to Ash with wide eyes and a racing heart. “It’s sharp.” I gesture at my healed hand for emphasis
.
He snorts. “Like I said, we both have ways to heal with us, Nins. I have Eddie and you have Fal. Not to mention, knife fighting is dangerous, and you’re bound to get cuts. Worse ones than you just gave yourself. Might as well get used to it.”
My frown deepens. I don’t like this one bit. Just because we have ways to heal doesn’t mean we should just...stab each other.
“Can we at least try with something else for the first time? I don’t want to be terrified while I’m trying to learn.” I bite my lip harder than I should and stare at the ground.
“Hey,” Fal murmurs and pulls on my hand before glaring at her brother. “Ash, she wasn’t born with a knife in her fist like we were.” She pushes her lips together to minimize the humor on her face and stares right in my eyes. “You’re fine. I’ll go get the rubber knives for your first time. And Ash will be easy on you because, if he isn’t, I’ll kick his ass.”
“You can try,” Ash snaps and wiggles his brows, flexing his large muscles for intimidation purposes.
I nod and smile a little at Fal before she runs off in a blur to the armory.
“Dinnae fash, Nina. You’ll do magically.”
“Thanks, Eddie. I appreciate you guys teaching me. It’s intimidating being around people who have held a weapon in the womb.”
Ash snorts at my description.
“I know it’s smart to learn how to use a knife because I do sometimes have trouble reaching my energy when I get super stressed. It’s just scary.”
“Aye, but you’re tryin’ anyway. Like I said a long time ago. That’s what warriors do; they feel the fear and continue on despite it.” She smiles up at me and the scar trailing over her lips to the bottom of her chin blanches white with the movement.
“Okay,” Fal breathes, stopping from her blurred run beside me. “Here.” She hands me a small, rubber knife and throws the other at Ash’s head.
He catches it, of course, but not without an offended sneer.
“If this knife were real and I didn’t catch it, you’d feel like an ass if my eyeball got poked out,” he grumbles at his sister.
She turns and smirks in that sexy way she does.
“No, I wouldn’t. It would definitely not be my fault if your butter fingers caused a flying knife to maim you. That would be all on you, brother.”
“I’ll teach you something about maiming,” he snaps and takes a step toward her.
Fal rises to the challenge with a raised brow, but I step between them and hold up my hands.
“Don’t make me use the shield again,” I threaten.
Figuratively, I mean. A threat is all it is because, no matter what I try, I can’t get the shield to come back. But it got Ash to stop his pursuit, at least.
“Can we just get on with it? You two can kill each other later,” I reason.
Fal’s eyes are bright when she presses her lips together, trying her hardest to hide an amused smile as she plants herself back on the grass. “Of course, babe. You hear that, Ash Trash? Later.”
I place myself in front of Ash before he can reply and hold the rubber knife. “Okay, so…” I grip the handle with the blade facing down like I would if I were walking with scissors. Safety first, right?
“Flip it around.” He shows me the grip with his own rubber knife. “It’s really hard to cut someone with the blade down like that,” Ash tells me after flipping back into teacher mode and switches the grip in my hand to match his. “This is called proper holding. This way, you can easily shove the blade into someone.”
“Unless you’re going for a kidney stick,” Fal interjects with a click of her tongue.
Fal, I scold her interruption through our Mate bond.
Ever since we fought Klythios, we have been able to communicate this way and it’s super convenient.
She glances up at me and winks once.
“Right, okay. I guess that’s a better one to teach first since Nina’s main problem would be if someone got her on the ground.” Ash looks over to me, trying to keep up with Fal’s suggestion instead of his original plan. “Switch the blade back.”
I do and watch the blade anxiously as it points to the ground even though it’s only rubber.
“Okay, you know how to give a kidney shot, right?” Ash asks, pulling my attention away from my growing anxiety.
“Yeah. Hit the person really hard on one side of their back.”
“Aye, that’s a lass,” Eddie nods and watches with her gold eyes alight.
Ash nods at her and those dark amber eyes fall back on me. “It’s basically the same thing, but instead of hurting the person and potentially making them piss blood, you’re going to penetrate their kidney, bleed them out, and kill them so you stay alive.”
I gulp. “Oh, okay.”
Easy enough…I hope.
“Fal, wanna be the villain?”
“Always, brother.”
She stands and walks right in front of me, lifting a lip to show her sharpened teeth. It would be scary if she weren’t waggling her dark brows at the same time.
Ash stands beside us, towering as he does. “Normally, you won’t be making a stab for the kidneys unless you’re on the ground and someone is on top of you…”
“Or for an assassination,” Fal interrupts with a smirk.
“Shut up. This is my class. Anyway, I want to make sure you have the proper mechanics down before we do that.” Ash circles around us until he is right behind Fal. “Okay, Nins. Go for it.”
“Um, okay.”
“Here.” Fal places her hands gently around my throat and pulls me right up against her. “Try now.”
My eyelids flutter when her scent washes over me. The warmest cinnamon. I clear my throat to get my mind back on track.
You can keep your mind on me if you want, she purrs over my thoughts.
Fal! You’re not helping.
Shoving the thoughts of her sensual words to the back of my mind, I grab her right shoulder and swing my right arm around her back.
Just like a punch. But with a knife.
When I’m about to make contact with Fal’s back, Ash says, “Okay, stop.”
I freeze my movements and let out an anxious breath as I watch Ash’s eyes study my grip and aiming.
“That’s actually pretty good, Nins. Just make sure your grip is tight.” He wraps his hand over my fingers and pushes them tighter on the hilt of the knife. “It would be counterproductive if the knife flew out of your hand when you hit them. Let’s try on the ground.”
I lie down on the grass and Fal climbs on top of me with a devious gleam in her eyes.
“Stop that,” I whisper, playfully hitting her shoulder, and she chuckles.
“Okay, Fal Pal. This time…don’t treat her like a flower,” Ash grumbles.
“Never,” Fal answers and winks at me.
She shoves herself down on me with a significant amount of force and pushes herself in between my legs. It gets her close enough for me to grab her shoulder and swing my arm around her, landing the tip of the rubber blade right where it would pierce her kidney. The blade obviously bends when it hits her, but it makes me nauseous all the same.
“Magic, lass. That’ll make sure you can get knocked on the ground and come out alive.”
“Thanks, Eddie,” I murmur and grunt as Fal pulls me off the ground. “I hope I won’t have to use it, though.”
“You will,” Ash tells me with a shrug.
I glare at his nonchalant demeanor.
“He’s right,” Fal agrees and pushes her black braid over her shoulder. “With how much danger we all deal with, you’ll most definitely have to use it. I’d be shocked if you didn’t.”
“Oh,” I whisper and Fal pulls me into her side with a strong arm. “Great.”
“Come on. Let’s go walking. I think you’ve practiced enough for one day,” Fal tells me with her crooked smile I love so much.
She always knows when I need to talk.
She grabs the knife from my hands and
flings it at Ash without even a glance at him.
“Goddammit, Fal,” Ash curses after the rubber weapon smacks him in the head. He grumbles a few more curses under his breath before turning back to me. “Yeah, Nins. We’ve been going at it for a while. Class dismissed. Eddie and I have to get to band practice anyway.” He nervously bites his lip and Eddie chuckles.
“What you really needtae do is practice gettin’ rid of your nerves, mo chridhe,” Eddie jokes and grabs his hand. “See you lassies later.” She waves with her free hand and they head in the direction of the armory basement they made into their practice room.
“So, tell me how you really feel,” Fal urges, brushing my hair from my sticky face. She pulls me in the direction of the beach with her other warm hand in mine.
We’ve been frequenting a spot along the water on Olympia where trees hang over a beached log. It’s a nice place to get away from everything and pretend we are normal for a while. I found it when I was looking for seashells about a year ago and now it’s our favorite place on Olympia to spend time together.
“Well, I get it. I do need to learn how to use the knife if I get too flustered and can’t reach my energy or you can’t save the day like you usually do.” I twirl a loose hair around my finger when she gives me a roll of her eyes. “It just scares me a little, I guess. Or a lot. It’s really personal to...like…stab someone.”
“Yeah, it is. And you haven’t had to be close to anyone like that. You’ve always shot your bow and arrows from a distance. And you don’t even touch people if you use your superpowers.”
I nibble my lips, thinking of shooting Daniel with all those arrows as I was standing right in front of him. But he was already dead…
“Right, so it’s like I can distance myself from the killing part.”
My feet sink into the sand and I reach down, taking off my shoes and socks so my toes can dig into the grainy warmth. I shove my socks into the shoes and Fal takes them from me, tugging me forward with her free hand.
“I get it. You won’t have to kill anyone unless they intend to kill you first, though. You won’t be assassinating anyone like I do. Just try to see it as survival. If you don’t get them, they’ll get you.”
