He swallowed hard and opened his mouth, carefully choosing his words. “Because you had to know.”
I shook my head, not understanding what he was saying.
“You had to know what it feels like, what it looks like. Do you think I enjoyed killing those men? No, Layna. I didn’t. I did it to protect us, to protect you. It was a means of survival. If I didn’t kill them, they would have killed us.”
“It was a damn rabbit, Seth!” I finally exploded on him. “He didn’t hurt anybody. He didn’t threatened anyone.”
“Survival, Layna.” His voice remained calm and collected. “You must hunt to eat.”
I shook my head, trying to turn away from him, but he wouldn’t let me. “Listen to me.” He took me by the shoulders. “You wanted me to train you, well, this is it. You used the dagger, witnessed the blood and the gore, you needed to experience it.”
“No!” I shook my head again, wanting him to stop talking about this.
“Do you think you would actually be able to kill someone? If you were threatened, or me or Kesi. Would you be able to protect us, killing them if need be? Would you be able to take that dagger and plunge it into someone’s chest, like I did to your brother? The only difference between that rabbit and your enemy is that the rabbit was already dead. I was easy on you, Layna. When you kill someone, they don’t lie their motionless. They squirm and fight, doing anything they can to turn the table around. They plead and beg for their lives, if not with their voice, then their eyes. It’s not easy killing someone. It never is. And the noises they make, the sound of their last gasping breath, it haunts you every day for the rest of your life. But it still comes down to this, when you are in a battle, it’s either you or them. You must protect yourself and the ones you love at all costs. You must survive.”
I was now shaking so bad my body ached. My eyes burned from all the tears, the moisture which continued to roll down my cheeks.
Seth gathered me in his arms and held me tight. “I’m sorry, Layna. I’m so, so sorry. Please forgive me. I just needed you to experience it firsthand. Someday you may need to kill someone to save your life. And I want you to be able to do it.”
I finally lifted my face to meet him, and he wiped my tears with his thumb. “Please don’t make me do that again.”
“Don’t worry.” The skin across his face was pulled in tight. “I’ll never make you do something you don’t want to do ever again. You have my word.”
“Okay,” I whispered in a tiny voice. “Could you— could you help me get cleaned up?”
Seth leaned away from me and scooped water up in the palms of his hands, without answering me verbally. His hands worked their way over my body tenderly, rinsing away the blood.
“About dinner,” I said, watching him as he concentrated on the splatters on my shoulder. “I don’t think I’m in the mood for rabbit.”
He smiled, his eyes transforming into various shades of blues. “That’s okay. Kesi has plenty of berries. I’m sure she’ll part with a few.”
“Thank you, Seth.”
He glanced up at me from under his dark eyelashes as he paused his hands over my skin. “For what?”
“For not making me kill the rabbit.”
“Anytime, Layna. Anytime.” He chuckled as he continued to clean me up.
Chapter 33
“I swear, Seth, if she kicks your ass, I’m going to totally lose it.” Kesi sat in the grass just outside of the cave watching as Seth and I stood in front of each other, his body towering over my small frame. She had a pile of berries next to her, popping them into her mouth one at a time.
“We’re not really fighting. I’m showing her moves,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Besides, she’d need a lot more training to take me down.” He winked at me in a playful gesture.
I ignored that comment and the gesture, wanting nothing more than to get this started. “Okay, so what’s the first thing you do when you meet an enemy or someone who is threatening you?” I asked, spreading my legs and dropping my arms to my sides.
“Who is schooling who here?” he questioned me with a raised eyebrow. “I should be asking you this question.”
“Me?” I was taken back. “I don’t know the first thing about fighting yet, remember?”
“Precisely.” He shifted his weight over the grass, his shoulders seeming broader than they normally did. “Which is why I’m curious as to what you would do. If you’re wrong, I’d laugh and show you my strategy.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal.
I rolled my eyes, like I’d give him a reason to laugh at me. “Come on, let’s get on with it.” I patted my hands on my thighs.
“The first thing you want to do is get the enemy down. The further down they are, the easier they are to control.” His eyes watched me carefully to make sure I was giving him my full attention, which I was. “Sometimes it could be a quick punch to the gut.” He drew his arm back, bluish veins popping out around his muscles. He moved his arm toward me, stopping his fist on the surface of my shirt, just above the naval. “This causes them to hunch over and grab their stomach.” He touched my shoulder with the tips of his fingers, tugging me down to bend over as if I had really been hit.
“From there, you can plant your elbow in their back, like so.” He gently placed his elbow on my back, centering it in between my shoulder blades. “And push them to the ground. Once they’re down, you have complete control over them.”
“I’d never seen you do that.” I righted my body and planted my hand on my hip. “You just get all crazy and slice people’s heads off.”
“Sometimes,” he agreed, pressing his lips together. “But when you have a more challenging opponent, you must get them down. Especially, if they are bigger or stronger than you.”
“I seriously doubt you have that problem.” I puckered my lips and accidentally let a snort escape through my nose.
“Not often.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
If I hadn’t known him, I’d think he were being conceited. But he was being quite honest. I haven’t met anyone who sized up to Seth. In height or strength. And to tell you the truth, I’d never want to have to go up against him, not that there would ever be a chance of that happening.
I practiced his moves several times, step by step, pretending to punch him, elbow him, and get him completely to the ground, before he gained enough confidence for me to move on.
My next lesson consisted of him explaining the best targets, which I was well aware of most of them. He talked about the nose. Telling me once it’s broken, the enemy’s sight will blur and the pain would be excruciating. Giving me more time to take them out, especially good if I plan on using a weapon. The Chest, throat, and knees were also on his list.
I approached him and pushed my body against his in a seductive way. He gazed down, a slight grin appearing on his lips. I slipped my arm around him, settling my hand just above his waist. “You forgot one.” I jerked my leg up, my knee stopping right before it hit in between his legs. “The groin.”
He didn’t say a word, the expression on his face unreadable. Then, faster than my mind could comprehend, his ankle came around, hooking my leg and tossing me off balance. I fell backward into his arms and he laughed. “Always be on guard.”
Heat settled into my cheeks. “I should have seen that one coming.”
He leaned down, kissing me softly on the lips and smiled. “Yes, you should have. Always be on guard.” He helped me back to my feet and stepped back. “Would you like to move on to the dagger?”
“How about if we take a break?” I walked over to Kesi and reached down, grabbing a few berries out of her pile. I turned around and stuck one of them on the tip of my tongue, teasing Seth, before sucking it into my mouth.
He attempted to give me a serious look, but his eyes gave him away, causing me to laugh loudly. He turned around, shaking his head.
Then I had an idea. I searched for the tingles inside me, and it didn’t take long to find them. Bringing the
energy up to the surface and letting it dance inside the tips of my fingers, I waved my hand in Seth’s direction, pushing my magic out toward him.
He stumbled forward and then stopped. When he turned around, he looked at Kesi. She shook her head. Then his eyes focused on me.
I covered my mouth with my hand. “Always be on guard,” I whispered into my palm. Kesi almost fell over with how hard she was laughing.
Seth pushed his foot off the ground hard, breaking into a run.
Oh, shit! I spun on my heels, adrenaline suddenly consuming my veins, and raced away from him. I pushed my legs hard as I moved around the area, knowing I only had so many places to go. Seth and Kesi had somehow managed to put some kind of spell around our living quarters after the incident with Zane, and I didn’t want to accidentally cross out of it.
I ran in circles around the cave, not knowing where else I could go. Seth was still much faster than me, and he was quickly closing the distance between us. My heart pounded in my chest as I heard his footsteps behind me.
Making another lap around the cave, I knew I had to change my route. If not, I was either going to fall from turning or Seth was going to catch up. Once I came closer to the entrance of the cavern, I veered off to my left, heading toward the spring. Not that it would be any better.
The sound of Seth’s heavy breathing made me realize how close he really was. If I continued to do this, I’d end up having a heart attack.
I slowed my pace and turned around to face him. Placing my hand on my knees, I bent over to catch my breath, my pulse wanting to jump out of my skin.
Seth walked up to me. His breathing was rushed, but not nearly as bad as mine. “There’s something else I forgot to tell you about fighting.”
“I thought you were done schooling me.” I picked my head up and suddenly became jealous. He barely had a trace of sweat on him.
“This one is important.” He stopped directly in front of me, eyes lowering to my level. “Never give up.”
I let out a puff of air. “I didn’t give up.” I couldn’t believe he thought that. “I had nowhere to go.” I stood up, placing my hands on my hips, still trying to control my breathing. “There’s no way to tell where your magic stops, and I didn’t want to cross it. I don’t want to chance…well, you know. Something happening to me again. I can’t always count on my magic.”
He reached his hand out to me and I took it, letting him reel me in. “Layna, the thin barrier I made isn’t to keep you in here,” he said, hooking his arm around my waist and looking down at me in the most compassionate way. “It’s to keep people out. Kind of a lock on a door. Don’t ever be afraid to step out there. It’s not all bad. Sure, there are things that could hurt you, but you could be hurt anywhere.”
“You’re wrong about something, Seth.” I slid my hand out from under his and put it on top, noticing how much warmer it was than my own. “You said I could be hurt anywhere, but I know some where I could never be hurt. It’s with you.”
“You’re right.” His face grew serious. “As long as you’re with me, Layna, you’ll always be safe.” He leaned over and kissed me on the lips. “That I can promise.” He looked at me so deeply it caused my heart to stutter.
I knew, without a doubt, he would keep his promise.
Chapter 34
“Where’s Seth?” I stood in the middle of the bushes a short distance from the cave watching Kesi pick her strawberries.
“He’s out,” she answered, not even bothering to look up as she plucked another berry off the vine and placed it delicately on the piece of bark she had.
“What do you mean by out?” I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. “I go to the spring to fill some bottles, and when I come back, he’s not in the cave. I’ve searched all around the cavern for him. He’s not anywhere.”
“He’s just out,” she stated matter-of-factly, still not offering me a single glance.
“Out where?” I clenched my jaw, growing tired of this game. “Hunting, visiting his father, gathering supplies.”
“None of those.” The edges of her lips pulled up slightly.
I marched through the bushes and snatched her piece of bark, twisting my body slightly as she reached for it desperately.
“Layna, stop!” She eyed the berries as if they were her greatest possession. “You’re going to spill them and then they’ll be ruined. They’ll be bruised and mushy.
“Tell me where he is!” I demanded, knowing how precious her berries were to her.
“Please, Layna.” She finally looked at me, her eyes deep with guilt and desperation, lips nearly pouting. “Don’t make me ruin this for him.”
“Ruin what?” I held her red treasure just out of reach, but she didn’t seem interested in them anymore as she turned around and sat on the ground.
“I won’t tell you where he is, I promised him, but he plans on taking you out this evening.” She finally revealed her secret. Not that it took a lot to get it out of her. “He said he never properly went on a date with you or even asked you out. And he feels kind of bad. Especially, for everything you’d had to endure since he took you from the Cell.”
“Seriously?” I couldn’t hold in my laughter. “He really said that?” Why would he think he had to take me on a date? That was crazy. And while it was true he took me from the Cell, I had been looking for a way to escape at the time. He had given it to me and saved my life. Didn’t he think that was good enough for me?
“Yes, he said that.” She giggled. “And I think it’s quite romantic, especially for Seth. You have no idea what the man was like before he found you. Most people couldn’t be around him. He was hard and uncaring. Believe me, if someone besides Seth would have been asking where you were that night when you were guarding the boundary, I wouldn’t have told them.”
I didn’t know what to say. I knew he had told me he did a lot of bad things, including joining Zane and training the men in his Rebellion. He said he was trying to forget me. But nothing ever worked. Could he have taken his anger out on other people because he couldn’t forget me?
“Why don’t you look happy?” Kesi asked, gazing up at me with worry. “I thought you’d be excited.”
“I— I am,” I said, handing her back her strawberries.
“Layna, you look like you just swallowed a toad.” She got up off the ground, propping the tree bark full of strawberries under one arm and reaching her other hand out to me. “Come with me. I have a surprise for you.”
“What?” I glanced up at her, my thoughts still lost in the fact that Seth had been so miserable in the past without me. Not that it was my fault. If my memory wouldn’t have been erased, I would have known about him and we would have been together so he wouldn’t have had to do those things.
“Come with me.” She motioned impatiently with her fingers for me to take her hand.
I put my hand in hers and she led me to the cave. Once in the cave, she released me, set the berries on the rock by the fire and dashed over on her side of the room and bent over behind another boulder. “Close your eyes,” she said.
The world went dark, but I could hear her shuffling around.
“Okay, open them.”
When I opened my eyes, she was holding up a white dress. I’d never seen anything like it. The straps were thin, thinner than the tank top I had on, and the top was low cut with tiny white crystals spread over the breast area and forming a triangle down to the center of the dress. “Kesi…” I had a loss of words as she walked toward me.
“It was my mother’s.” She grinned widely, flashing her pretty white teeth. “I had it with me when we were at the Capital. When I left, I took it with me to the village. Seth told me not to, he said you didn’t need it, but I couldn’t resist grabbing it when I fetched him some clothes. It’s the only thing I have left of her.”
“Kesi…no.” I shook my head slowly, mesmerized by how the crystals changed color in the reflection of the fire. Amber, red, and orange. All three colors dancing in t
he light. “I can’t.” I swallowed hard, unable to take my eyes away from it.
“You are, Layna.” Her smile faded and her face was every bit of serious. “And I’m also going to do something with your hair. We have some time before I take you to Seth.”
That made me look at her. “Take me to Seth? Isn’t he coming back?” I couldn’t think where the man could be. Why would he go through all this trouble? I didn’t need a date. He should have known that, and there were plenty of places around the cave to hang out. He couldn’t…he wouldn’t take me out there, would he?
“You’ll see.” Her smile returned. “But first, I have plans for you.” She draped the dress carefully over the boulder and returned to me, taking my limp hand in hers and pulling me back toward the exit of the cave.
Kesi led me out to the spring. She let go of my hand and turned to me. “I need you to get undressed and get in. I’ll be right back.” She was off before I could even reply.
I sighed deeply, looking at the water like it was my worst enemy. I didn’t see why I had to do any of this to spend time with Seth. What was the big deal? Shrugging out of my shirt, I tossed it to the ground. I slipped off my shorts and stepped into the water. When I turned around, Kesi was already back. She had a glass container with liquid in her hands. “What is that?”
“It’s a homemade shampoo a girl in the village makes. She uses stuff like roots and flowers. She said a few more things, but I forgot. This one is scented with jasmine.” She twisted the cap off the bottle and sniffed. “This is better than the one I tried. Here.” She handed me the bottle. “Get cleaned up and come back in the cave.”
I took the bottle from her hand and watched her walk away. Putting my nose up to the bottle, my senses were suddenly overwhelmed by a sweet fruity scent. She had been right. This stuff smelled amazing.
I sank in the water and leaned my head back, wetting my hair. When I came up, I poured a glob of the shampoo in the center of my hands and began massaging my head. The shampoo tingled my scalp as I worked it in. God, it felt and smelled wonderful.
Forbidden: an Adult Paranormal Witch Romance: Othala Witch Collection (Sector 12) Page 15
