Page 23

M y eyes blink open to find the four guys around me.

I’m no longer in pain. So, they must have healed me.

I’m also in my own bed with Knox lying beside me.

Cyrus is at the end of the bed, and Theon is propped up against the wall on the floor.

All are asleep except Malakai who watches me with a look of pain and rage in his eyes.

“Theon found you… And those that hurt you,” he whispers, the rage in his eyes practically glowing.

“Where are they?” I ask and sit up, trying not to wake the others.

“Dead. Theon ripped them apart,” he says, but he doesn’t seem happy about it. But I can understand that.

My goal was to keep them safe and not drag them into anymore of my or old Sena’s mess, and that’s all I seem to be doing lately.

“I didn’t know?—”

“You blocked us out,” Knox whispers harshly from beside me, making me jolt. “And you’re pushing us away. Why?”

I grow silent, finding the others awake now too and watching me. But my thoughts immediately turn to the Void.

I don’t know what Sena’s family has on them. But I can’t risk it. I can’t risk them ever going back there.

“What did your family say?” Cyrus says as if he’s the one that can read my mind now.

“Did you hear the rumors?” I ask, hoping it will distract them long enough to figure out what to tell them.

“We don’t give a shit about rumors,” Malakai says. “We never have. But you’re making it hard for us to trust you when you shut us out and pull away.”

He leans forward, his eyes not leaving mine. “So, I’ll ask again. What happened?”

I sigh, glancing down at my hands. “My family just made it clear how horrible they are. It made me realize I might not have been the nicest person before.” An understatement of the century.

Knox chokes on a laugh, and I narrow my eyes on him, making him smile. It eases some of the tension in me.

“I just needed a moment to figure it out,” I tell them, not completely lying to them but not telling them the entire truth either.

I need to figure out more about Sena’s family before I drag them into anything else.

After my words, there’s almost a collective sigh of relief in the air around us.

“Aren’t you going to ask me about the rumors?” I ask and glance between them.

“We don’t care,” Malakai repeats, and I roll my eyes at him.

“You do. And I get it.” It’s not like old Sena had a great track record.

“We—” Knox starts.

“The video must have been before. I don’t remember it, nor am I lying about not knowing any of you before coming here.

” I shake my head before narrowing my eyes on them all.

“Also, from here on out, we’re going to pretend the old Sena was a different person.

Because let’s be honest, she kind of sounds like a bitch. ”

Knox chokes on a strangled laugh while the others stare at me in shock.

“And just so you know, I didn’t hurt Cora,” I tell them as my chest tightens.

Cyrus leans over and takes my hand, “We know.”

I glance around at them all, and a rush a relief floods me when I see that they actually believe me. “I can’t prove it, but I’m nearly sure Arabella pushed her.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Cyrus says, and I nod.

The guys share a look and all get up. Cyrus takes Knox’s place on the bed.

“Where are you all going?” I ask.

“You’re training with Cyrus, and we…” Three vicious, cruel smiles stare back at me. “…are going to hunt some Shadows.”

O utside, in a small field by their obstacle course, I watch Cyrus as he walks toward me, thinking how damn pretty he is.

Sharp jawline, high cheekbones. A tall-broad shouldered build and thick dark lashes that any girl would kill for.

The way he moves is graceful and fluid too. Even his dark tousled hair is damn near perfect.

He whips his top off, placing every chiseled muscle on display.

Damn . It’s like he was carved from stone, every fucking inch of him impossibly perfect.

My eyes eventually find his and spot the slow teasing smile that spreads across his face.

“My eyes are up here.”

“I was admiring your tattoos.” Tattoos I didn’t even notice until now.

“Sure.” He steps in front of me, and a hungry look flickers across his face. “Can you create that shield again?”

I blink up at him, trying to focus on his words instead of his abs. “I haven’t tried since it happened.”

His eyes sparkle with mischief. “I have faith in you.”

Sighing, I step back and close my eyes, thinking back to the red zone. I wanted to feel safe, protected. I take that feeling and wrap it around me.

A warm energy slides through me, and I open my eyes to find a shadowy shield forming around my entire body.

Cyrus moves closer and places a hand on it and pushes.

The slightest hint of pressure pushes at the corner of my mind. But I focus on the shield and think about it becoming stronger and more resilient.

He yanks his hand back with a hiss. “You changed it.”

“I did?”

He nods, his expression a mixture of shock and awe. “You made it offensive instead of just defensive. How did you do it?”

I shrug. “I thought about it becoming stronger to keep you out.”

His eyes sparkle, his mouth curving into a wide grin. “Then let’s try something a little harder.”

Darkness explodes out around us, encasing us both, and I feel the warm energy from the shield disappear.

Damn it. I guess I’m not as good as he thinks I am.

I can barely see in front of my face. “Cyrus?” I reach out to him but jump when a low groan brushes across my ear.

“ Nothing has ever calmed my dark the way you do when you’re near.

” He places a kiss just under my ear, making heat coil down my spine.

“I was hoping to see how you could manage with my darkness, but you’re too tempting like this.

” His shadows draw back as he steps in front of me once again.

They quickly disappear, leaving him staring down at me, his lips parted slightly, his breath shallow.

“Let’s see if you can call on my weapons instead.” His tattoos glow black, and dark shadows rise from his skin. As if lured in by them, I reach out to touch them, brushing my fingertips along one of the swirls.

Realizing what I’m doing, I pull my hand back and glance up at him to find his gaze darkening with heat.

“I thought we were going to play with your weapons,” I remind him when it seems neither of us are going to make a move.

His tongue slowly traces the edge of his lip. “You can play with anything you want.”

My gaze drifts lower finding a very large and hard… package. “Is that one of your weapons?”

His expression is all heat and barely restrained tension. “It all depends…”

I raise a brow as my eyes drawn to his lips “On?”

He smirks. “On whether or not you want you play with it.”

Laughter ripples out of me as I shove him back a step. “Show me how to do it.”

A soft chuckle escapes his throat. “Focus on the bond between us, on the energy, and hold onto it. Then call my weapons to you.”

I feel for Cyrus’ bond, and the black endless energy wraps around me, instantly making me feel safe. With the thought of needing a weapon, I raise my hand and gasp when cold, hard metal flies into it. Just like that day in the forest with the terrigons.

“Good,” Cyrus says with pride in his eyes as he steps back. A moment later, an exact replica of the blade appears in his hand. “Now show me what you can do.”

I lunge forward hoping to catch him off guard, but he moves quick and spins, avoiding a blade to the stomach.

He gives me a playful wink, as if amused by my attempt to gut him.

I round him and search for a weakness I can exploit, but he strikes and slashes the blade across the top of my thigh but only deep enough to cut my trousers.

I narrow my eyes on his low chuckle and dodge his kick to roll to the side. I get up quickly before he strikes again, harder this time as he tries to see how far he can push me.

We go back and forth, avoiding each other’s hits while trying to find a weakness in the other.

I manage to slide the blade along his side, leg, and thigh while he slices three more cuts in my clothes. The third one just under my breasts.

I glance down, realizing it, and that slight detraction is all it takes for me to end up on my back, glancing up at him as he smiles down at me with nothing but amusement and heat in his eyes.

“Let’s be honest, you just wanted me in this position,” I say on a long exhale while trying to catch my breath.

“There far more interesting positions I can imagine you in, but since you look like you’ve just been fucked, it’s moved to the top three.” He reaches out a hand and pulls me up while I stare at him in a daze.

I open my mouth to ask him what one and two are but think better of it and try to avoid the heated look he’s giving me.

I clear my throat and quickly change the subject. “I’m not professionally trained like you four. But I guess I’m not too bad either.” The skills I’ve learned over the years have saved me more times than I can count.

“I’ve seen you throw a blade and hit it dead center. Multiple times in a row. You’re beyond skilled. Talented, in fact. I think we just need to work on your stamina and endurance.”

My mind takes a completely different turn, thinking of all the ways I can get some stamina and endurance in without ever running or swimming. In fact, I bet I wouldn’t have to move that much at all.

A muscle jumps in his jaw as he stares at me. “Now go hit the showers.”

I chuckle. “Is that a nice way to tell me I stink?”

His pupils dilate, almost swallowing the color of his eyes. “I’m telling you to get moving before I decide I want to lick every single drop of sweat off you and demonstrate some of those positions I’ve been imagining you in.”

A warm shiver slides down my back before pooling low in my stomach.

He exhales sharply, his nostrils flaring. “Sena,” he warns.

My feet get moving, even though the rest of my body wants to stay and find out exactly what positions he’s talking about.

Just before I’m out of view, I quickly glance over my shoulder, finding him in the same position, his back to me and his fists clenched by his sides.

As if sensing me watching him, he starts to turn around. I quickly get moving, heading through the forest and straight into the house, all while thinking about an ice-cold shower.

Opening the door to my room, I take a step inside when I spot a piece of paper on the floor.

Picking it up, I open it but freeze when I read it what it says.

“I know who you really are.”