Page 101

100

Summer

“ P icked a ring…”

Surely, he’s overstating it. We’ve not even been together for a year. That’s crazy, right? Is it crazy?

Alice nudges me, and I look at her.

“You okay?” she asks.

I nod. “Why?”

Alice glances at my hand, where I’m tapping my pen against the desk. I drop the pen, not realizing what I was doing.

“You’ve been weird all morning. What is it?”

I look down at my hand and the finger that a ring may soon adorn. If he asks, and if I say yes. So many questions and not one fucking answer.

“Connor has a ring,” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

Alice’s mouth falls open. “A ring?” she whisper shouts. “An engagement ring?”

My eyes widen, and I shush her, looking around to make sure no one else heard her.

She flutters her hands in front of her mouth and leans in conspiratorially. “Is it an engagement ring?” she asks, a little quieter.

I nod. “I think so. He was talking about marrying the hell out of me.”

“Fuck.” Alice grimaces. “Fuck,” she says again. “How are you feeling about it?”

I exhale, my cheeks puffing with the force of it. “I don’t know. We’ve not even been together a year, but… I love Connor.”

Alice nods, her brow creased. “Well, I mean, you’ve not bolted, so… progress.”

I glare at her.

“But you’re spiraling so bad,” Alice says with a snicker.

I curse and stand, excusing myself from class. I go straight to the gym, needing to work off some of the anxiety.

Max is sitting at the front desk, staring intently at a notebook. He rubs his hand over his face, and only then do I see the strain.

I walk up beside him, peering over his shoulder. The pages are filled with figures and sums. It’s clearly a ledger or a budget of some sort. Perhaps for the gym?

“You do the books?”

Max startles and looks up. “Where did you come from?”

“The… entrance,” I reply, glancing toward the front door.

“Oh, right.” He closes the book. “Need to fight?”

I lean my forearms on the desk, glancing at the notebook again. “Do you need help with that? I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m kind of a nerd.”

Max shakes his head. “No, thanks. Hey, I got a gift for you today.” Max pushes the chair back and reaches under the desk. He pulls out a box and places it on the desk before opening it. Nestled inside are two small sai. They are exquisitely crafted and have a feminine feel to them, with intricate engravings along the blades. The edges and tips are blunted, but they are obviously meant to be used. These are not showpieces. “I was thinking about what kind of weapon would suit you best, and this is what I landed on. They are more versatile than a dagger but still lively and quick.”

I brush my fingers over the dagger strapped to my thigh.

“That will not stop a sword. So,” Max pushes the sai toward me, “these are better.”

I look at him, surprised by this unexpected act of kindness. “Thank you for the gift, Max.”

Max nods, shrugging off my gratitude like it’s tar against his skin. He grabs the sai from the box before heading into the sparring room. I follow him in, and he hands them to me. I am surprised by their weight and how they fit into my hands. He gives me a quick overview, showing me how to hold them and a few basic blocking moves.

“Your hand-to-hand is passable, so let’s see how your fae instincts handle weapons,” he says, collecting a broadsword from the wall. The one he selects is at least as long as his leg.

I look down at the sai, squeezing their hilts. “I wasn’t great the last time I tried.”

Max quirks a brow.

“In Eden. I did some training with the Morningstars.”

“Ahh. Well, let’s see,” Max says, swinging the broadsword with an expert twist of his wrist. It looks like an extension of his arm.

I get into my usual stance, but it feels unfamiliar while brandishing the weapons.

“Don’t dodge. Block.”

I nod once, waiting for him to swing.

Max’s first strike is slow, easing me into it, and I’m grateful. Even though he gives me plenty of time to react, my instinct to dodge takes over, and I swiftly duck out of the way.

“Fuck, sorry!”

“Again,” Max says, getting back into an offensive position.

I shake it off and nod when I’m ready for his next attack. This one is faster, and I can tell he’s trying to give me less time to think, trying to pull me out of my head. I lift my weapon at the last second, and the sound of the blades meeting echoes around the room.

Max nods and resets. “Good, again.”

I block his next hit, but I can tell my stance is off. My footwork is not optimizing my defense, but I know Max wants me to focus on my instincts before he bogs me down with instruction. Especially when I already have a good basic knowledge of hand-to-hand defense.

“Okay, I’m going to go slower so you can analyze the moves,” Max says.

“Is my form okay?”

Max looks me over. “It’s fine for now. You’re just used to dodging.”

I nod and focus, wanting to be good at this. My goal is to be successful and powerful, to be feared.

Max slows his hit, and I’m able to block it better this time. I pay attention to how my body moves, the way my feet move, the effect of his blade against mine. All the while, I adjust to take the least amount of impact, forcing it back onto him.

“Good,” Max says, resetting again. “With the sai, you can even trap the sword and disarm me.” Max puts his sword down and wraps his hands around my wrists with a surprising amount of gentleness. He guides my hands into a position, crossing the blades of my sai. “By linking them together, you might disarm an opponent. We’ll try now.” He releases my wrists and picks up his sword again. His strike is slow, but when the sai meet his blade, I’m not able to disarm him.

“Shit.” I drop my arms. “I don’t think I’m holding them right.”

Max shakes his head. “The movement was right. You’re just lacking confidence. Maybe I should piss you off so you try harder.”

“Gods, you’re such an ass,” I say, glaring at him.

The dichotomy of Max is so fucking frustrating to me. He can be so kind and the biggest asshole in the same sentence.

Max smirks, getting into position again. “An ass you think about naked.”

My mouth drops open, and I gape at him.

Max lunges without warning, going full speed. My instincts snap me into action, and I manage to block. My blades slam against his, and the impact reverberates down my arms, making them ache. Max nods and swings the sword again, not giving me time to recoup.

A grunt escapes me as I twist my hand, slamming my sai into his blade.

“You are fighting your instincts even now,” Max grunts as he continues to beat relentlessly at me.

The second the words leave his lips, I feel the resistance there like a blockade inside me. I can feel the way I’m rejecting my powers. I have spent so long pushing that side of me down that I now block them as easily as I breathe.

Max snaps his sword against mine, pulling me from my thoughts.

I delve deeper into myself, searching for the smallest gaps I may have left while building this wall. The deeper I go without success, the more frustrated I get and the sloppier my defense becomes. I can feel myself slipping. My footwork isn’t as precise, and neither are my blocks, but I can’t stop. I keep battering at that self-made barrier, trying to free the very thing I have subjugated my entire life.

“Stop fighting yourself.” Max jabs the hilt of his sword into my stomach, and I hit the ground hard, gasping for the air he knocked out of my lungs.

My bones rattle from the impact, and my ears ring a little.

Max appears above me, lifting his sword high before bringing it down in a shining arc, aiming for my head. My body groans in protest as I will it to move again. At the last moment, I roll away to safety, and suddenly, I snap back into the training.

Max pants. “Good job.” He offers me his hand and pulls me up before returning to his stance. He launches at me, and this time, I’m ready for it. No longer distracted by that stupid, impenetrable wall, I deflect his hit and get in a hit of my own, pushing Max back.

He winces slightly, and I grin, lifting my arms over my head and shaking my hips in celebration.

Max rolls his eyes. “Don’t get too cocky. I know you’re still not tapping into your power.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Go on, praise me. You know you want to.”

“No,” Max says, glaring at me.

I lift my chin and quirk a brow, my stare a challenge.

“Does that work for golden boy?”

I flip him off.

Max returns the gesture. “Go ice.”

I salute him for real this time and put the sai back in their box before leaving the gym with a clearer mind.