Page 94 of Commanding Flame and Shield
“I just got back.”
“From where?” I demanded. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“We had a calling?”
“Last night?”
“Yeah. Here in Chicago. Late last night—shit, early this morning? I don’t remember. Alvara didn’t wake you when she got dressed?” One look at my stunned expression told him all he needed to know. “It was no big deal. Easy peasy, demons vanquished, dropped the soul with Aren, and we were back before sunrise. Ally might be tired though. She kinda…runs the show, you know.”
I snorted in acknowledgement. “Are there usually so many? Callings, I mean?”
Alec’s lips twisted into a grim expression, and he shook his head once. Without warning, he hopped from the bed, and smacked his hands on his cheeks twice. “Alright. Sun’s up. I’m up. Let’s hit it.”
The tang of blood, and salt ricocheted through the air. My skin ached with the heat of exertion, and the sting of perspiration. That metallic taste still on my tongue, I wiped my sore mouth against my damp arm, and raised my gaze to Marcus, who padded along the edge of the ring, eyes unwavering. Alvara had to have been right—the men must take a feline form when they shifted. They certainly each moved like the great predators.
He snapped forward, and I parried, tearing him past me. The Commander stumbled but caught his balance quickly. Alvara’s method of using their brute size against them was my favorite defense. Fighting the Westerlund brothers wasn’t that different from fighting Aren. The largest distinction was that their speed suppressed my own Commander. But in all honesty, Aren’s strength was unparalleled. It only took a few rounds of sparring to adjust to the way they moved their nimble bodies. We’d been matched evenly, none of us ever remaining dominant for more than a round or two before our opponents exploited our weaknesses.
This was my third round with Marcus. The tie breaker. I’d waylaid him the first round, and his skin was still stitching back together under his eye. He’d bested me in the second and my jaw throbbed as a result. Marcus was babying something in his left side though, and the plan solidified after watching a few swings. I began to mimic the movement, the way he parried. A few more swings met air, and I let him make contact. One, two, painful blows to my side. On the third, I twisted with his momentum, hurling our bodies earth side. Marcus took the full brunt of the impact with an “oof”.
I didn’t bother to hide my smile as I pinned him to the ground with my full weight anchored on his chest. Hand held to his throat as though it held a blade. Those husky blue eyes widened for a moment and then a grin spread across his face. The challenge in the expression reminded me so much of Aren that I nearly laughed. I leapt to my feet and extended a hand to hoist up the eastern Commander.
Both panting, he shook his head once he found his feet.
“You fight like Alvara,” the Commander breathed.
“Are you saying I fight like a girl?”
Marcus scoffed, “I’m saying you fight like theAngel of Death. Woman or not. Take the compliment.”
“Angel of Death?” I snorted.
A taunting grin. “That’s what the other covens call her. Alvara is…a bit of a legend. She’s the second most powerful warrior most souls have ever seen. The first being—”
“Aren.”
“Aren,” he echoed with a nod. We crossed over to the towels he’d left on the back of his couch. We had shoved all the furniture to the far side of the wall after our run through the city. Mats now covered the concrete flooring. We wiped our brows and accepted the water bottles from our brothers. Once Alec handed me mine, he and Jason stepped onto the mats.
“You know. She beats him about half the time they spar.”
“He picked his second well.”
“He did.”
“The girl is only coming in to herthirdcentury. If your hierarchy continues to guard her as they have…she’ll be unstoppable by his age.” He said it as though Alvara was a mere child. Nearly twice her age, I supposed it felt as though she was.
“Without a doubt. I got…lucky. Being her calling.”
“There is no luck.”
“Don’t believe in coincidences?”
“Not even a little bit. There’s a plan to all of this. We just haven’t seen it yet.” He took a deep drag from his water bottle.
"She was—is—his prize. Of all Aren has done, she’s his proudest accomplishment.” He laughed, “Don’t tell her I said that, it’ll go to her head.”
“She seems pretty grounded, I’m not too worried about that.”
“She’s too grounded. On second thought, a little ego might serve her well.” Marcus smirked around the words.
