Page 5

‘I saw you throw that off the cliff,’ he murmured, brows furrowed.

She thrust her sword at him. ‘It found its way back to me.’

‘How?’ He deflected her blade and delivered a swift counterattack.

‘It was on the table after you left,’ she said through gritted teeth.

He dodged another strike. ‘How?’

‘Fate.’

‘And you just put it back on? Without knowing —’

‘You don’t get to judge my choices.’

He could feel the rage rippling off her in waves, and it stoked his own anger, and his desire. The warring emotions tangled into an insatiable drug as they duelled across the grounds, a blur of silver, sparks flying from their steel.

Overhead, the heavy clouds that had gathered across the morning sun broke.

The skies opened up, and rain began to pelt down on them.

Neither yielded.

Wilder moved by pure muscle memory, his thoughts consumed by her as each slice, each thrust of the blade fuelled the tension that pulsed between them. Water flew from their weapons and limbs as they fought in the downpour.

Wilder parried and deflected a vicious cut, locking his blade to hers and forcing her backwards, the heels of her boots digging into the fast-forming mud.

‘Tell me,mentor.’ Thea hissed the last word as though it were dirty. ‘What doyouhave to be so furious about?’

The steel sang between them, echoing up into the surrounding mountains.

Wilder pivoted, blood roaring in his ears as he flipped his sword and threw a horizontal slash from his stronger side to her weaker side, causing her to falter.

‘What doIhave to be furious about?’ he repeated, advancing.

She lunged, messily. He dodged the blow and moved forward into her space, blocking her next strike and trapping her blade with his.

‘You mean besides this situation? The one I never wanted to be in?’ The words came tumbling out. ‘You mean besides Osiris forcing my hand and using my defence of you against me?’

Thea was panting. But he didn’t stop, a fist of rage clamping around him.

‘Or do you mean the fact that you thought so little of me that you imagined I’d discard you upon knowing the truth about your fate stone? About your heritage? And now, to come back to find you —’

Thea surged forward, taking him by surprise and driving him back. ‘But that’sexactlywhat you did, you bastard. Youleft. You fuckingleft me.’

Her words pierced his heart, regret bitter on his tongue. But he wouldn’t apologise, not at the risk of undoing the distance he’d put between them. Distance was good. Distance was safe.

They burst into another heated round of sparring, blades flashing, mud spraying beneath their boots in the flurry of footwork.

He blocked a savage blow and kicked her feet out from under her with an efficient sweep of his leg.

She landed on her back in a puddle.

Wilder’s triumph was fleeting, because Thea was quick, faster than he remembered. In an instant, she’d kicked out, delivering a surprisingly powerful strike to the back of his knees. He buckled.

Before he had registered it, Thea flung herself on top of him, trapping him beneath her. She straddled his waist, the sharp edge of her sword drawn to his throat as she leant in close, her breasts heaving against his chest.

‘You’re a bastard.’