by Jaymin Eve
Jessa and Braxton were not back for Advanced Attack and Defense, but they had brought in some badass called Tyson. He kicked our asses from one side of the building to the next. I was not allowed to use magic at all, and I loved the chance to learn how to defend myself physically. It might come in handy one day. At minimum, I was going to be able to punch Asher without breaking my own hand.
“You’re fast and strong,” Tyson told me at the end of the class. “I know Jess was giving you some extra classes, and I’m happy to do the same if you want to get better in a shorter amount of time.”
I nodded, still trying to get my breath back. “That would be great. Louis is giving me extra as well, but with my current situation, I don’t think I can have too many fighting or defending skills.”
“You got it,” he said, a smile creasing his handsome face. He had a bit of a look of Braxton, and I remembered that one of the quads was a Tyson. “Are you Braxton’s brother?” I asked.
He grinned. “Braxton is my brother. I’m the alpha in our pack.”
I lifted one eyebrow and we remained in the stare-off for a few minutes before Tyson laughed. “Yeah, okay, don’t tell that dragon bastard I said that. The last thing we need is a Compass fight to knock the Academy down.”
Everyone had left the room by then, and I followed Tyson out. “So Louis is training you as well,” he said.
I nodded. “Yeah, and I’m hoping he doesn’t hurt me as badly as you just did.”
Tyson’s grin grew; it was clear he enjoyed torturing us. “The strongest steel is forged in fire,” he said. “My first fight teacher … he told us that every lesson. He also had that phrase painted in huge letters across his wall, and he fucking tempered us to something unbreakable. In the end, it was the best thing he could have done.”
“You guys did survive a lot,” I acknowledged.
As we stepped outside into the light, Tyson clapped a hand on my shoulder. “And we will survive this.” Somehow, that was reassuring. “I’ll see you on Wednesday,” Tyson told me, and in an instant he opened a step-through and was gone from the Academy. I blinked, because only the strongest magic users could do that inside the protective walls of this place. The Compasses were living up to their reputation.
“He’s heading back to Stratford,” Louis said, appearing at my side. It wasn’t magic, he was just stealthy, but I managed not to jump. “He’s never far from his mate if he can help it.”
I smiled but didn’t encourage any more of that talk. Mates were not my favorite topic of conversation. “How was the class?” Louis asked, and I once again found myself walking with a powerful sorcerer.
“Hard,” I admitted. “A lot of magic is easy for me now. I barely even need to know the fey language or anything. But physical fighting … I’m still far behind.”
Louis didn’t seem concerned about it. “I’m glad you want to learn hand-to-hand. Don’t become complacent and rely just on your magic. You need to make yourself strong in more than one way.”
I snorted. “Oh, I will be, don’t you worry. After everything … I’m never going to let myself be vulnerable again.”
There must have been something in my voice that triggered Louis’s protective instinct, because he stopped, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “What happened, Maddison? Is it Asher?”
Yes. And no. “Last night, while I was in the water world…”
I quickly explained about the darkness and the figure in the water, and I waited with bated breath for Louis to take a guess at what it meant. This sorcerer knew so much; it would make my life easier if he had any information for me.
“This is purely guesswork, but if I had to put magic on it, I’d say that was Sonaris,” he said finally. “He’s the only one who holds dominion over the ocean like that, even a magically created ocean.”
Trickles of unease, followed by fear, filled my chest until it became tight and hard to breathe. “Why? What was the point of last night? Was it just to scare me? Because he took off … like as soon as Asher appeared, I think.”
Louis’s head jerked up. “You didn’t say Asher was there.”
“He wasn’t.” I added quickly, “Not at first, but after the darkness and when everything happened, he was suddenly on the beach. Like he felt the disturbance. I didn’t stick around long enough to ask him.”
Louis’s eyes flashed dark purple and the hair stood up on my body at the power he was throwing off. “I think the gods might fear your power,” he told me. “And combined with Asher or Connor, there’s … well, it might be the one thing that saves us. Only…”
“Only we don’t know what side either of those guys are on,” I said drily, not sure if that was the next part of his sentence or not, but it was resting heavily on my mind. “At one point I trusted Asher more than anyone in the world, but that was before he ended up with Galindra. He’s changed.”
That was the bottom line.
Louis again was unconcerned. “Change is inevitable. We must learn to change with the ones we want in our life.”
I shot him a half smile. “Very good advice, oh wise one.”
Louis managed not to smile at me, but I could see the amusement in his face. All that vanished when we were out in the field, about to commence training. When he turned and faced me, I suddenly remembered that he was super powerful and feared by most other supes.
“I’m not going to go easy on you, Maddison,” he said, his voice low. It still sent chills down my spine.
“Good,” I said, straightening my back. I wanted this. To be the best. To have that happen, I had to learn from the best. “Don’t hold back. Do your worst.”
Louis finally smiled, and it was scary as fuck. “Oh, I intend to.”
31
“Everything hurts and I want to die,” I moaned.
Ilia was rolling her eyes at me; I knew that even though my face was mostly buried in the pillow.
“You’re the most dramatic god ever,” she said with a snort, nudging me.
“Don’t call me that,” I said, trying not to cry again as more pain ricocheted down my body.
Ilia paid closer attention. “Sorry, girl. I didn’t realize you really were in that much pain.”
Lifting my head, I grimaced. “I’ve had training with Louis and Tyson, and last night Striker beat me down with a fucking fork.”
“It’s a trident,” Ilia said drily.
Somehow I managed to get my legs over the side of the bed. “I thought I would have recovered with some sleep,” I said as I stood. “But I think I feel worse.”
Ilia finally looked sympathetic. “Your power is probably drained from being overused. Even though you’re part god, you’re being hit with spells from some of the strongest magic users … like, ever. Don’t be hard on yourself.”
Being hard on myself was the only thing I had to do these days, so I probably wasn’t going to give it up any time soon.
“Are you going to breakfast?” Ilia asked.
There was something in her voice, and I paused my old-lady shuffle to focus on her. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes shuttered. “I’m leaving again. I’ve got a job, and normally I’d say no, but this is a serious case and there’s no one else who I’d trust to handle it. No one who’s available.”
I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t have a moment of panic. Ilia and Larissa had been my security blanket, but I also loved that with everything that had changed, some things stayed the same. And right now, Ilia heading out to kick some ass and bounty-hunt a supe was the sort of normal we needed in our lives. “I’m gonna miss you,” I told her, my physical pain forgotten in that second. “Get your…”
“Vamp,” she filled in.
I nodded. “Get your vamp and then come back to scrape up what’s left of me after Louis, Tyson, and Striker are done.”
She moved to me, because we didn’t have two weeks for me to go to her. Her hug was firm, wrapping around me like my favorite blanket. “You’re gonna be running rings around th
em soon,” she murmured. “I fear for those fools when they unlock your true potential.”
“You’re gonna make me cry,” I said, blinking rapidly. Her faith in me was enough to knock the air from my lungs. No one had ever treated me like that before, but Ilia had been like this from the first moment I saw her. Actually, from the first moment she started hunting me down. When everyone else gave up on me, she never did.
I didn’t deserve a friend like her, but I would fight to keep her with everything I had.
“So,” she said, pulling back, not realizing the direction of my thoughts. She was wiping at her eyes too. “I have time for breakfast.”
“Let’s do it,” I said, and this time I almost hurried across the room to grab clothes and toiletries.
The school always felt empty when Ilia left, so I continued with the same schedule, throwing myself into classes, getting my ass handed to me on a regular basis, and craving the water like I was parched. But with the ocean and pool off-limits I had nowhere to swim, I almost caved and begged one of the guys to let me swim, but we were all doing such a fantastic job of ignoring each other that I’d have hated to be the one to end that.
Unfortunately, it was taken out of my hands when I rocked up to my extra lesson with Striker. This was my second one, and there was an entire new set of tridents waiting for me when I walked in. And they weren’t the only thing waiting for me.
Asher and Jesse stood there, shoulder to shoulder, and I was so fucking unprepared for them that I almost stumbled when I caught sight of them.
Jesus. They stood heads above me, wearing workout tanks and loose-fitting black pants. They had on white kicks, and they were so matching that I could have cried.
It wasn’t fair. I was a strong, independent woman but these two were enough to turn nuns. Especially Asher. Motherfucker.
I forced myself not to stare at him, pretending he wasn’t there as I craned my neck and glared daggers at Striker. “Didn’t know there was an open invitation on this training?”
Yeah, I had a death wish using that tone with this scary-ass supe, but whatever, I hated being ambushed like this.
Striker crossed his huge arms and thankfully looked more amused than murderous. “Atlantean weapons are not my specialty. Jones and I figured that maybe someone with trident experience would help.” He waved his arms to the guys, and I still managed not to look. My eyes were twitching with the effort. “These two graciously agreed to assist.”
What the hell? Why? Why would someone who expressly told me that we would have nothing to do with each other, who had kept my friends away from me, agree to teach me?
From the corner of my eye I saw Asher and Jesse stride forward and grab a trident each. Not wanting to show that I cared they were here, I followed suit and picked up the third one. Just like the last time I held the fork, I felt nothing. Not a twinge of connection or bond. In fact, I’d felt much more in touch with my bow and arrow.
This was a giant heavy hunk of metal, and I was almost certain its only use was for an extra-large steak. Or … extra-large Atlanteans.
My smile this time was genuine, and I eyed the three-pointed end of the gold-tipped piece. It was pretty simple, adorned only with a red gem at the apex of each spike. You and me, girlfriend, let’s kick some ass, I mentally told the weapon, and there was a thrum of energy under my hands.
I blinked at the trident, excited that maybe I was finally connecting. “Are these actually from Atlantis?” I asked Striker.
Asher was the one who answered. “No, they’re replicas. But the gems in them are from our waters, and you’ll feel some connection through those.”
I deadpanned an expression in his direction. Righteo. Nobody asked you.
Asher grinned, and I hated and loved it so much. I lifted the trident higher, wondering if I could actually damage him. Or would the feelings I had for him stop me from breaking his face?
Guess we were about to find out.
Just as Striker had shown me, I didn’t hesitate, swinging around in one rapid arc and lashing out. Jesse lifted his weapon in time—just in time—and it was only the shifter reflexes that stopped him getting a serious love slap in the face. He flashed his toothy lion grin at me, and all I felt was raging hurt that the bastard had been ignoring me too. Jesse had been my rock when I lost Asher; we’d held each other together. But he’d chosen, and it hadn’t been me, and I would show no mercy.
“That wasn’t very nice, sweetheart,” Jesse said.
I wanted to rage something back at him, but I forced my mind to remain calm and clear. Losing control of myself in this moment was not going to help anyone. “Attack,” Striker snapped from the sidelines. “This is not a dance.”
Asher was the one moving now, and despite what Striker said, it was like a dance—lethal, fluid movements that flowed from one to the other. I was so mesmerized that when the weapon slammed into my side, it took me a second to realize I’d been hit.
I flew across the room and would have crashed into the wall except I managed to use magic to stop myself. My arm ached where he hit me though, and when I got back to my feet, Asher was across the room and in my face.
“You’re distracted,” he snarled. “That’s going to get you killed. Pull it together, Maddison.”
This time when he swung, I met that hit with force, and I didn’t wait, striking at him again and again. Over and over we fought, our weapons loud in the cavernous room. “You’re not going to get the drop on me again,” I huffed out, feeling a slight sting of fatigue. One thing I didn’t have to worry about was hurting Asher, demigod asshole that he was, so I was not holding back.
Jesse remained to the side, letting us fight it out across the place, and when I finally managed to slip under Asher’s guard and sweep his feet out from under him, slamming the point of the trident down to his throat, stopping only an inch from impaling him, the lion shifter let out a whoop.
I didn’t bother to send a withering glance his way.
“I win,” I said softly, my eyes locked on sea green and gold. I was glad to see Asher’s eyes weren’t as shimmery gold as when he was around his mother. Almost like some of my Asher was back.
“Did you win, or did I let you?” he shot back, and I let the trident slip a little lower until it was pressed against his throat, marking the golden skin.
A choked sound escaped from my mouth. “I should just kill you,” I murmured, wishing that I was anywhere but with him. “Not just for what you’ve done to me, but for whatever it is you have planned. You and your mother.”
There was no fear in his eyes, and he didn’t fight me, both hands held out on either side of him with palms open. “Take what you want,” he said, voice rumbly. “Don’t wait for permission, Maddison. You need to be strong if you want to win this war.”
My hand trembled, and I knew that I couldn’t hurt him, no matter how angry he made me, so I pulled the trident back with a huff and stormed across to drop it into the stand.
“Hey it’s okay—”
Jesse started to speak but I cut him off with a “Fuck you” before I left the room and didn’t bother to look back.
32
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ilia asked, her lithe form clad in red.
It had been weeks since I’d dressed up. Weeks since I did anything but school, train, and put one foot in front of the other.
“You did a good job covering the bruises,” I said, ignoring the concern in her voice. Part of me knew I was spiraling, but another part of me didn’t really care.
“Yeah, Tyson Compass is a fucking brutal bastard,” Ilia acknowledged, “but he’s turned you into some sort of warrior ninja samurai. And I, for one, am glad that we’re best friends and I don’t have to run into you during battle.”
I snorted, and the smile on my face was almost genuine. “You exaggerate, but I would be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy kicking his ass a few times.”
I’d beat Tyson, Striker, and Louis now. It was rare, only twice for
Tyson, once for Louis, and five times for Striker, but considering those three were some of the strongest, scariest people in their supe races, it meant a lot to me that I’d managed to best them at all.
There was a brief knock on the door before it slammed open and Larissa hurried inside. “I forgot to tell you the mid-year dance is masquerade,” she said quickly, her long, dark purple dress swishing around her feet, black shiny heels just visible in the folds.
In her hand were three masks—red for Ilia, purple for her, and mine was black and silver. To match my dress.
“Wow,” I said, reaching out and lifting the delicate piece. “This is absolutely stunning.”
Larissa’s smile was broad, her white teeth flashing against the red lipstick. “I got Mab to whip them up. She said once they’re placed on our faces, they’ll remain on there for the entire night, lifting only with the sunrise.”
I screwed up my face. “Now I feel claustrophobic thinking about something stuck on my face that I can’t get off.”
Ilia, on the other hand, didn’t seem worried. In fact, she looked downright excited as she moved to the mirror and placed the red piece with delicate filigree that draped down her cheeks. There was a shimmer, a puff of sparkly dust, and then when she turned, I gasped.
The mask had all but merged with her face, hiding her identity. I had no idea how it did that, but if I didn’t know it was Ilia right in the room with me, I wouldn’t have recognized her.
“It’s the magic,” Larissa whispered, her face lit up. “It’s designed to hide our true identities while we have it on.”
Suddenly I was excited. For once I could be Maddison James, part-time human, part-time supe, not Maddison James, daughter of the gods and the one who might have both sunk and raised Atlantis.
I lifted my mask and held it against my skin until all I could see was my heavily made-up dark eyes through the holes. At first it was cool. Then, as it sank deeper into my skin, the cool turned hot before the mask settled into place.
