by Kant, Komal
Then he guided me through some basic hand-to-hand combat moves. That was the stuff that I was already good at, but wanted to be even better at. Loire’s abilities were definitely more advanced than mine. He was cleaner in his moves.
Sure, all mortals had advanced senses and fighting abilities, but not anyone could become SRECON that easily. I was lucky he’d agreed to train me.
“Do you want to change things up a little?” he asked.
I was exhausted by this point but didn’t want to show any signs of weakness. “Sure,” I said with a shrug.
Loire walked over to where he’d laid out his long jacket on the grass. We were out alone in the large field behind the gym. Several yards away was the edge of the forest that surrounded the school. If you continued deeper into the forest, you’d hit the wall that encircled the school, before finding more forest.
He came back carrying something very familiar. “My wakizashi!” I cried out in surprise. I hadn’t seen it in weeks ever since they’d taken it from me.
I held my hands out expectantly, but Loire simply stared at me. The edge of his lips twitched. “Promise not to stab me?”
“Ugh! I am not going to stab you! You annoy me most of the time, but I’m not going to kill you.” I tried to grab for it, but he was too quick. He threw the wakizashi up in the air and caught it in his other hand.
Damn show off.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his tone teasing. “I know you have a lot of unresolved feelings for me.” This was the Loire I was used to, not the serious one or the one who showed his caring side.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I said, with a roll of my eyes. “But if you keep stalling, I can’t make any promises.”
Grinning, he handed me the wakizashi and a sense of comfort immediately settled through me at the familiar weight in my hand. “You ready for a battle, Rookie?”
“What?” I asked, confused.
Without warning, Loire pulled out his short-sword and directed it at me in response. With lightning reflexes, I used my wakizashi to block the blow. The sound of metal on metal rang out, and my hand and wrist immediately hurt from the impact.
Jumping back, I watched the way he got into an offensive stance, legs apart and body leaning to the right. I mirrored his move as we both began circling each other, trying to find an opening.
Something in the air shifted, and Loire charged at me, his short-sword coming down on me heavily. Anticipating it, I blocked him again, but this time he didn’t back down and give me a chance. He continued to barrage me with blows and I continued to block them.
I was starting to get annoyed with myself because I couldn’t make the shift and go on the offensive. Loire’s skills were beyond mine; he was too powerful. There was an intensity and focus in his eyes every time he swung his blade. It was kind of hot, actually.
Then I faltered. Damn it! I’d let him distract me.
Sensing the weakness in my defense, Loire pulled out some fancy move where his short-sword seemed to almost entangle itself with my wakizashi and pull it free from my hand.
Cursing, I was just about to gab for it, but he kicked it away and held his blade to my throat. The very tip of it pressed into my neck, and I tensed up, knowing that I’d lost.
“Nice try, Rookie,” he said, lowering his short-sword and putting it back in the sheath that hung around his waist. “But we both know I’m way more superior than you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled, reaching for the water bottle that was in my backpack and taking a long drink.
I hated losing, especially at something I was usually good at.
Loire grabbed my wakizashi and put it back in some secret lining of his coat. “You kept up a good defense, but that’s not enough to win a fight. Work on finding your opponent’s weakness.”
Obviously, I already knew that. “I didn’t think you’d be that good,” I admitted grudgingly, splaying out on the grass.
Every single muscle in my body was burning in agony right now, even my butt. I had never worked out this hard in my life.
“Whoa! Hold on a second!” Loire sat down beside me, and I turned my head to find him giving me a look of disbelief. “Did you just give me a compliment?” He said that last bit in a whisper, like I’d said something that shouldn’t be repeated.
“It’s my first and last compliment to you ever.” I could feel the teasing smile creep onto my face.
I knew he could tell I was joking because he relaxed and lay down beside me. But when he was silent for a few minutes, I knew something was on his mind. His face was taut, but gave nothing away. Sometimes I wondered what it would be like to read minds, like Veritas did, and know what someone was really thinking.
“Is something wrong?” I dared to ask. We weren’t really friends, which was weird considering we spent so much time together, so I didn’t know if I was crossing some sort of line.
Loire breathed a sigh and turned his head so he was looking right at me. His gaze was penetrating, melancholy, his eyes as grey as I’d ever seen them. “You have no idea how guilty I feel about what happened to you last night.”
I propped myself up on an elbow, completely taken by surprise. I hadn’t expected him to say something like that. “Why do you feel so guilty about what happened to me?”
“Because it’s my job to take care of you and I failed.” There was serious Loire again. The cockiness, the arrogance, was all a mask. This was really him.
“Your job is to watch me, not protect me,” I pointed out, noticing the way his body had tensed up.
“Yeah, and I’ve sucked at that lately, too.” His face contorted and he looked angry at himself. “I want to be strong; I want to take care of the people I love.” His gaze flickered to me for a split second before he continued. My heart froze at the ‘L’ word. “I’ve watched you, Kat. You’re not a murderer, you’re a good person.”
“You think I’m innocent?” My mouth fell open and I could hardly believe my ears.
“Of course you are,” he said, his eyes clear with sincerity. “But what I think doesn’t matter. It’s the angels and demons who judge us, look down on us. They’re the ones who doubt you, not me.”
His words stunned me into silence and I forgot to breathe for a moment. It was so wonderful, so thrilling, to hear someone tell you that they believed you instead of the lies about you. Of course, Anna and Misha had always supported me, but they were different. They’d known me for years; Loire had only known me for a few weeks.
“Can I tell you something?” I asked, feeling like I could confide in him.
“What is it?” He sat up again and stretched his long legs out in front of him.
“I do have a way of proving my innocence,” I said slowly.
“You do?” Loire’s eyes widened and he leaned in so close that all I could focus on were his lips. They looked so soft, and in that moment all I wanted to do was press my mouth against his. “Kat?”
“Huh?” I snapped out of the inappropriate thoughts I was having of him and looked away. “My ex-boyfriend.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I was with my ex-boyfriend when Headmistress Melkane was killed.”
“What? You have an alibi?” Loire’s voice rose with each word. “Then why don’t you tell the Headmaster? Why doesn’t your ex-boyfriend say something?”
“He’s a demon,” I said, finally looking back at him, “from a wealthy and influential family.”
As my words sunk in, Loire’s face darkened. “The first morning you got back, when that demon girl threw eggs at you, that guy with her was your ex, wasn’t he?” When I nodded, Loire continued. “So he thinks you’re good enough to sleep with, but not good enough to let anyone else know that he was with you?”
I was silent as I tried to push away the anger that surged through me whenever Talon came up. What he was putting me through was disgusting. He could make all my problems go away in a heartbeat if he really wanted to.
“I want to kill him,” Loire
growled. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that was frightening. I would hate to ever get on the wrong side of him. “The superiority complex that some of these angels and demons have is disgusting, but when it gets in the way of someone’s freedom then it’s pretty fucked up. He’s going to regret his decision. I’ll make sure of it.”
Despite how angry he was, a warm feeling was unfolding in the center of my stomach at his words. He cared enough to want to defend me. I could hardly believe it. But it wasn’t his fight; it was mine.
“No, you don’t need to worry about him. This is my problem, not yours. Maybe one day he’ll realize how selfish he’s being and come forward with the truth. Until then I just have to focus on-” I bit my tongue, realizing that I’d let my guard down and had almost mentioned the Mortal Blade to Loire. “Um, focus on finding evidence to clear my name.”
Luckily, Loire didn’t seem to notice my slip up. His mind seemed to be elsewhere. “Tell me something off the record.” He tilted his head to the side, studying me. “When they said you were seen arguing with the headmistress hours before her death, what were you arguing about?”
For some reason, I wanted to confide in Loire about this. It was nice having someone to talk to who actually believed in my innocence.
“Headmistress Melkane saw Talon and I together one afternoon sneaking out of the garden.” I sucked in a breath. “Talon’s father is a representative in Parlum and she didn’t think it was appropriate for him to be engaging in a relationship with a mortal. You know, it could reflect badly on his dad. She called me into her office that night and berated me over it and I told her where she could shove it. She was killed a few hours later.”
“It’s so simple, yet so complicated. You can’t tell anyone the real reason because your douchebag ex won’t back up your story.” Loire let out a breath, shaking his head in disbelief. “So, then how did you end up finding the headmistress’ body? You were the first to find her, that’s why you became a primary suspect, right?”
“Yeah, it was the strangest thing,” I said with a nod, chewing on my bottom lip as the image of Melkane splayed across the ground came back to me. “I’d left my wakizashi in the garden after Talon and I had, you know.” I felt myself blush under Loire’s watchful eyes. “I went back to get it and I found her like that.”
“Wow,” Loire exhaled. “So it was just a matter of bad timing. That is completely screwed up. They’re happy to blame a mortal for this because they think we’re beneath them.”
He actually believed me; he understood me. I’d finally found someone I could relate to.
“I know.” It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders after telling Loire about that night. “But I’ve come to realize that our world is messed up like that. We have laws that make no sense and that only seem to benefit angels and demons. No one cares what happens to us.”
I didn’t want to be a part of a world like that, but I had no choice. This was what I’d been born into.
“One day there will be an uprising. Mortals will gain status. Angels and demons will be together.” Loire stared straight ahead as he spoke, like he was seeing something that was yet to happen. “Things will change and our world will be different.”
We both sat in silence after that, lost in our thoughts, and I hoped that his words would somehow become a reality one day.
Chapter Fourteen
Everyone knew that saying: speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. Well, in this case, we’d spoken of the demon, and the freaking demon ex had appeared. Just my luck.
Loire and I were heading back to my room, and I’d just finished sending Misha and Anna text messages asking them to meet us there, when Talon and Cedee came around the corner.
I was seriously considering turning around and hiding, but Loire placed his hand on my shoulder as though he’d sensed my thoughts. That familiar gesture was enough to keep me on our current path—and also send tingles running down my back from his touch.
I was ready to face that Cedee bitch. Bring it on.
Cedee had gone overboard with the fake tan—probably in preparation for prom—and was wearing a ridiculous looking fur coat that had splashes of red on it. As they stopped in front of us, her eyes shot to Loire, and she gave him a sickly sweet smile that made me want to throw up.
“Kat, you look so good today,” she said, in a voice as sweet as honey as she glanced at me.
Obviously, I looked like shit. There were bruises on my face, I was all gross and sweaty from training, and wearing this God-awful brown shirt. This wasn’t exactly me in top form.
“So do you,” I said silkily. “I really like what you’ve done with that dead squirrel. It brings out your cheekbones.” Her coat really did look like road kill.
Talon bit his lip as he fought the smile that was threatening to break out on his face. At least he still had a sense of humor.
“Don’t ever act like you’re better than me.” Cedee’s fake smile was replaced with a scowl. She really sucked at playing nice; it had lasted a grand total of five seconds. “The only reason they let you back in here is probably because your best friend’s uncle pushed for it. You’re nothing special, honey.”
“Well,” I said, keeping my tone light, “apparently I’m special enough to be accused of killing a powerful angel. Maybe you should watch out. You might be next.”
Cedee’s pale, green eyes went round, and she seemed flustered as she spoke. “You don’t scare me. You should worry more about yourself.” It was hard to feel threatened by her when she was such a ridiculous shade of orange.
“Okay, Oompa Loompa, whatever you say.” I studied her 5’1” frame in disdain and raised an eyebrow. “All you need is a green hairpiece and a pair of overalls and you’re like a Halloween costume gone wrong.”
Clearly, that struck a nerve with her, and she lunged forward like she was about to bitch slap me. But I knew it was coming. I knew what I was getting into when I’d provoked her. I was ready for a fight.
But the assault never came.
Surprised, I looked past Cedee and saw that Talon had grabbed her arms from behind and was restraining her.
“Let go of me, Talon!” she cried, struggling to remove herself from his grasp.
“No,” he said firmly, spinning her around in his arms. “I care about you, Cee, I really do. But you need to stop this. Leave Kat alone.”
She stopped thrashing, realization dawning on her face. “You still have feelings for her!” She wrenched herself away from him and looked between the both of us. “I can’t believe this! It’s been months and you still aren’t over her! Why can’t you forget her?”
My mouth fell open. So Cedee did know about us.
Then Cedee did something unthinkable. She started crying.
Talon cupped her face in his hands, but she pulled away again. “Don’t you dare touch me! You’re going to regret choosing her over me.” She glared at him one last time and pushed past me, storming down the hallway and out of sight.
There was an awkward silence as I tried to process what had just happened. Had Cedee and Talon just broken up? Had he actually stood up for me?
Talon was studying me, a mixture of confusion and relief visible on his face. I knew he was waiting for me to say something, to make the first move, but his mistake wasn’t forgotten. I was still harboring feelings of resentment towards him that I couldn’t shake.
There was nothing I had to say to him, so I turned to go, but I felt Talon’s hand clasp my forearm, his skin smooth against mine as he pulled me back towards him.
“Hands off,” Loire warned, shoving Talon away from me.
“Kat, can we just have a minute alone? Please?” Talon’s eyes were pleading as he steadied himself.
Loire snorted, pushing his hair out of his eyes like he was gearing up for a fight. “Yeah, right. Like I’d leave her alone with you. You’re lucky I don’t drag your ass outside and kick the shit out of you.”
Goddamn, there was something
so incredibly hot about the way Loire had just said that, but now was not the time to swoon over him. I had a douchebag ex to deal with.
Talon was red in the face as Loire stared him down, but he regained his composure quickly. “Kat, please?” he implored.
Knowing that I would probably regret this later, I looked over at Loire apologetically. I felt bad considering he’d just defended me. “Could you give us five minutes?”
Loire stared at me in disbelief, but then his expression turned stony. “Yeah, whatever.” He walked off in the direction that Cedee had gone, and disappeared around the corner.
As I watched him go, I felt even worse. We’d really connected in the last couple of days and I really felt like I’d just messed it all up.
Turning back to Talon, I crossed my arms and waited for him to speak.
He seemed agitated as he ran a hand through his dark blonde hair. Something stirred uneasily in the pit of my stomach, but I pushed it away. No, I wasn’t going to do this. I was not going to give in so easily.
“I just want you to know that I regret what I did and I’m trying to make up for it. I want to be forgiven.” He reached over and uncrossed my arms before placing a hand over where my heart was. “Don’t you want to let go of all that pain? I know you feel it too, and I know it’s killing you, just like it’s killing me.”
I closed my eyes for a second, letting him pull me close, as his hand trailed up my neck and around my body. It was so easy to forget what had happened between us. It was so easy to pretend that the invisible wall between us had never gone up, severing whatever bond had tied us together.
Talon lifted my head up so that I was forced to look into those deep, blue eyes. His features were soft, kind as always, the cleft on his chin waiting to be kissed like I always did.
He was right. I did hurt. I did want the pain to go away. I wanted so much to forget what had happened between us. I wanted to go back to the way things had been those many months ago, but how was I going to get over it? My heart was so closed to him.
