Page 63 of Wings of Darkness (Daughter of the Seven Circles #2)

Chapter

Forty-One

LUCILLE

I wove through the dimming trunks, the soothing scent of the lavender flowers lost on me. Up ahead, Alexei leaned against a tree, flipping a dagger, not a care in the world while mine was thoroughly fucked.

When he spotted me, he flipped the dagger back into its sheath and tilted his head. “How’d it go?”

“Terrible.”

Alexei grimaced. “Care to elaborate?”

I shook my head. “Not really.”

He pulled me in for a hug, and I let him, my arms hanging limp at my sides.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring in the big guns next. ”

“The big guns?”

“MJ. The redhead you see around us. She’s Ronen’s third and knows all the tricks for getting under his barriers. She also knows more about his past.”

I sighed, leaning more of my weight into Alexei, exhausted. That might help Ronen, which I wanted, but it wouldn’t help me or Oliver.

“Let’s just go, Alexei.”

He leaned back, looking down at me with concern in his warm eyes.

“He’ll come around, beautiful. He just—” He paused.

“He’s just haunted right now. The last time this happened, Lucifer managed to infiltrate his mind, and that was another ordeal MJ and I will never forget.

For some reason, I thought it’d be different with you. ”

“Why?”

Alexei picked me up and manifested his dappled wings.

“The fact that you have to ask means Ronen needs MJ to knock some sense into him more than I realized.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“It’s not my answer to give.”

Oliver and Alexei noticed my volatile mood during our morning run, but surprisingly, they refrained from commenting on it.

I didn’t think my mood could possibly get any worse—until Ronen showed up. After all his time away, he finally decided to grace his military with his presence. Oh, and Moira was right next to him, practically petting his chest.

My Infernus came alive at the sight, its whispers more like hisses in my ear. I ignored them. Before he could spot me walking through the arena’s doors, I turned and veered toward our squad .

“Hey, Ronen’s back,” Oliver commented with enthusiasm.

I hadn’t told him about my early morning failure. “I can see that.”

He raised a brow.

“Let’s just get this day over with.”

Since Ichi attacked Moira and Theon, they’d stopped taking Oliver and me back to the showers.

It didn’t seem like Moira was the type to let something go, so I had a feeling her payback would come when we least expected it.

But not today, not while she was trying to fuse herself to Ronen.

He shook her off more than once, but the desperate harlot didn’t seem to understand when she wasn’t wanted.

Oliver and I partnered up, facing off with Ichi in a hand-to-hand match. We threw combination after combination at her, and with Oliver’s help, we both lasted longer than before. The match was a vicious whirlwind of equally matched power, which said a lot about Ichi’s skill.

She smiled. “You both have improved,” she said, right before sweeping Oliver’s legs and sending him to the sand.

I smirked at my best friend, but it was cut short. Ichi was on me a second later, never letting us catch our breath. I threw up my hands to block her punches. Oliver jumped up and kicked at her kneecap. She stumbled, and I thought we finally had her, but then she did something completely new.

As Ichi caught herself, her arm blurred, slamming into my ribs and Oliver’s chest. I flew back and hit the ground with an oomph. But the impact didn’t compare to the throbbing in my ribs.

“You okay?” Ichi asked, hovering above me.

“No,” Oliver moaned from my other side .

I assessed the damage and concluded she didn’t break my ribs, but she most definitely bruised them. Before I could answer, shadows brushed my face .

I flicked my attention to Ronen and Moira. He glared at the hand on my ribs, then shot a dark, threatening look at Ichi. It made me want to protect her. But she stepped in front of me, her body angled not toward Ronen, but toward Moira.

Moira’s expression was more murderous than Ronen’s, and all that jealous heat was aimed squarely at me. I couldn’t help the smug smile tugging at my lips. Her male was paying more attention to me than to her. That had to sting.

“Moira looks like she’s going to blow,” Oliver said, crawling across the arena floor and sprawling out beside me.

“She won’t.” Not in front of Ronen. She’d wait until no one was watching.

I held Moira’s gaze in challenge.

Try it. I dare you.

Her face flushed like she could hear my taunting thoughts, or maybe it was just my smile. She stepped forward, and my Infernus sang.

“Better watch out. Challenge week is just two days away,” Oliver warned.

His words struck a nerve. I was so sick and tired of watching out.

Every time we entered this arena, we had to be on edge.

Every time we trained, we had to anticipate every movement.

We couldn’t run alone. We couldn’t walk into the barracks or a dim hallway without fear.

We were cursed at, spat on, tripped—and the only reason other squads hadn’t killed us was Ronen’s interference with Theon .

It had to end.

I was done waiting for someone to plunge a dagger into my back.

I sat up, the pain in my ribs already gone thanks to Ronen. “Ichi, show us how to do your neat little trick. I’m going to need it when I challenge Moira.”

Oliver laughed and patted my back.

“I’m not joking.”

He stopped laughing. Ichi grinned.

She moved us outside, away from the rest of the warriors, and started from the beginning.

It turned out it took a lot of concentration to channel luscelering energy into specific body parts.

And eight times out of ten, Oliver and I completely sucked at it.

By the time we finished, my mood was in the dumpster.

When we got back to our rooms, we found Rune waiting at the door. She perked up as we approached, bounding across the last few feet.

I stepped back, refusing to touch her. “Go back to the general.”

She whimpered, nudging my hand. I pulled away.

“Alright, Luce,” Oliver said, kneeling to pet her, “I know something happened—and I have a feeling it has something to do with the big, tall, and pissy shadow male showing up at training—but that doesn’t mean you get to take it out on Rune.”

“She’s been spying on us for her master,” I snapped, ignoring the way Rune’s ears and tail drooped.

Oliver stood and shot me a warning look. “And? That’s not news. What’s with your piss-poor attitude?”

“He said he wouldn’t help us, Oli. ”

His expression softened, and he pulled me into his arms. “Come on. Let’s go in and you can explain.” He glanced at Rune with a grimace. “Rune, you’re going to have to go back to Ronen tonight. It’s Lucy’s turn for time alone, okay?”

Rune whined, but bowed her head and ambled back the way she came.

Oliver guided me through our door and onto the settee, covering me with a blanket before sitting beside me. “Talk.”

I told him what happened, but left out the specifics about Aspen. I did admit how Ronen made me feel.

“Finding Ronen attractive isn’t a crime. I think it’d be a bigger crime if you didn’t . Or you’d just be straight-up blind.”

“It’s more than that. I wanted to kiss him.”

Oliver laughed. “So? I probably would too.”

I fiddled with my fingers, staring into the fire. There was so much more I needed to tell him. But I was scared.

“Do you love Aspen?”

Heavenly Hell, how was I supposed to answer that?

I bowed my head. “Oli, I don’t know what love is. I don’t understand these feelings—for Aspen or Ronen.”

Oliver pulled me to him. I leaned against his side, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Luce, don’t put pressure on yourself to figure it all out. We’re rescuing Aspen and my sister regardless. Yeah, it might be harder without Ronen’s help, but we’ll make it work. Don’t let the idea of how Aspen or Ronen will judge you mess with your head.

“Maybe you’re in love with Aspen. Maybe you’re not. Maybe you’ve got feelings for the dark, tattooed god, or maybe you don’t. Stop shaming yourself for feeling anything at all. That’s not what emotions are for. They’re here to inform you, and to help you live .”

He pressed his cheek to my head, and for a moment, I believed him.

“And… did you ever think maybe you’re holding back on falling in love with Aspen because you’re still trying to figure out who you are—and who he is?

He’s been runed and controlled his entire life, and you’ve been caged away without the freedom to fully explore your own likes and dislikes.

Not to mention, it’s been danger and secrets between you two from the beginning.

Not exactly the best foundation for a relationship,” he said, nudging my side. “Am I right or am I right?”

I gave him a small smile.

He sighed. “Life and love are never easy. But I do know they’re easier when you know who you are and what you want. Right now, neither of you is in a place to figure that out. Not until the drama of our lives settles a little.

“As for Ronen… attraction messes with the mind. But so does having someone who protects you and helps you grow. I’ve seen the pride on his face when he watches you train, and he only has that expression for you .”

“That’s not helping,” I admitted as my stomach fluttered. But he wasn’t wrong, I’d seen it too—and loved it.

“I’m just saying… he doesn’t always have that unimpressed, pissy look on his face. And even when he does, he still looks out for you. Hell, he protected us from your father from the very beginning, and he hasn’t stopped .

“He cares about you, Luce. And he’s showing it in better ways than Aspen ever has.

I think you see it, and I think you know it—but you’re scared of what it might mean.

So your subconscious goes haywire whenever he’s around, and then your guilt attacks you.

You don’t let yourself feel it. And that’s why you wanted to kiss him. ”

I lifted my head and pulled back to look at him. I should say it now. He needed to know about Aspen.

“How did a goof like you become so wise?”

But I couldn’t do it.

“Do I need to remind you how old I am?”

“No, but you can start using all that wisdom on our rescue plan, now that we don’t have Ronen’s help.”

“We first need to find a way out .”

I leaned back against his shoulder, feeling like the worst friend and the worst daughter. The only person I seemed to be looking out for was Aspen.

“That we do.”