Page 41 of Red Demon

“Looks like Jesse’s keeping dirty secrets,” Ash said with a tight smile. “Taam would have a lot to say if he heard you were eating a fish out here.”

I breathed out a sigh as I shrugged on my pants.

“I’m so glad you can join us, Asher,” Mira said with a smile. “Truly,” she added with a little extra force. His face was unreadable as he studied her. Ash hesitated, then took a seat against a rock. He fished out some cold bottles of cider from his bag and met my gaze as he handed it to me.

“It’s okay, Brother,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not telling Taam about your fish.”

He’d have nothing to tell, anyway. I was no longer hungry, and apparently, neither was Mira.

Chapter 18

Sister

Hand-to-hand combat day, and I was cocky enough to take on four. Ash and Galen stayed out of it, leaving me pitted against Meragc, Ruan, Plato and a younger boy named Horeshio who’d been coming to morning training since last fall.

I got my ass handed to me the first time, nursed my bruises, then scored on three out of four the second time.

Asher stepped in that last round when poor Horeshio had enough, and just as Ash was attempting to land an elbow strike, a flash of pink dress caught my eye. Mira, her black hair shining in the dawn. She’d been coming every day for almost two weeks now.

Asher got his elbow shot in, sending me stumbling back. He grinned, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Mira’s here to leer. That’s our signal to wrap up,” Galen boomed across the clearing, giving her a teasing grin.

Mira waved back. “And how are you this morning, Elder Eirini?”

I grimaced. No one ever called him that. But he puffed his chest out and saluted all the same.

Last week, when she started arriving in the middle of the sessions, Galen had insisted there were no spectators in his militia. Although Mira tried some forms with us for a few days, she always wanted no part of the violent sparring, and threw out very Asri-sounding reasons as to why. Since then, she’d made a point of arriving precisely one hour after sunrise to walk us back along the forest path, bringing a dish of cut fruit or duck eggs to contribute to breakfast.

I picked up my bag and hustled toward her before Galen had a chance to say anything awkward. Asher took his time, chatting with Ruan.

Dogwood petals fell around Mira, fluttering in the space between us. We hadn’t been alone to talk since, well—voids, I didn’t know what happened after we went swimming. I was afraid to bring it up and have everything fall apart, and that alone was the sign that it already had. That kiss didn’t sit well, and I was no stranger to that feeling, even if I didn’t understand why I felt it almost every time, with anyone. Time to be brave, and end it before there was anything to end.

“Hey,” I said, my voice a hoarse whisper.

“Hi Jesse,” she said, her voice crisp as the rainy morning breeze. She rummaged through the purse across her body and pulled out a small vial. She unscrewed it, revealing a needle on the cap. “Do you mind if I collect that blood sample now?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’ll need your hand.”

My hand? I’ll let the elders know. That would be the worst possible thing I could say out loud. I held out my palm, trying to clear my head as she unwrapped a cloth that smelled like alcohol.

She scrubbed at my callused finger for what felt like forever.

“Jesse,” she said. “Are you ready?”

The concern in her eyes, the gentle touch of her hand gripping my arm, sent a different kind of spark through me. I wanted to keep this much in my life; her in my life.

“Didn’t you just see Ash elbow me in the gut? I don’t need a warning, just go ahead and—”

She pricked me, smirking.

“Yeah, do that,” I mumbled.

“All done.” She sealed the vial with a click. “Thanks, Jesse.”

“No problem.” My words caught in my throat. I needed to talk this out before I confused myself further.