But the sound of Finn’s whistle makes me smile as I sit up.
“Daesyn wins,” Torfinn shouts over the crowd as they all clap. I look over at Seb, who is sitting up and wiping blood from his nose.
“That looks broken, cocky prince,” I tell him with a big smile.
“You’re the first girl to ever beat me in combat,” he replies with respect and wonder in his voice.
“You should never underestimate women,” I tell him, climbing to my feet with him.
He stares down at me. “Maybe I shouldn’t have underestimated one vixen in particular.”
That’s for damn sure.
“Poppy and Catherine, you’re up next,” Finn states as I walk back to Poppy. I look to see who Catherine is and find out it’s the bitchy brunette girl from earlier. Figures.
“Kill her for me, please, Poppy,” I ask her, and she shakes her head at me, smiling only a little bit. As she walks past, I reach out and catch her arm. “She is taller and stronger than you, but you are quick. Use that speed how I taught you, and when you get close, hit her as hard as you can.”
“Okay,” she nervously replies, but she doesn’t sound confident enough to win this fight, and we both know it. I let her go as Torfinn walks back and stands right next to me. His presence is somewhat distracting.
“You fought well,” he states into the silence. Catherine says something to Poppy that makes her go pale, and I bite down the urge to fight this battle for her.
“Was that a compliment, Finn?” I ask, and he looks down at me.
“No,” he answers, his eyes finding mine. For a stuck-up demi-god, he really has pretty eyes. The gold has amber flecks in them that shine from any light nearby, and yet there is a darkness I can see when I look closely. Guys shouldn’t be allowed to have pretty eyes when they are as powerful and good looking as he is. It just isn’t fair.
I laugh. “Are demi-gods allowed to lie?”
“All supernaturals can lie. You should know that well, Miss Riverlite,” he replies. Touché. He blows the whistle, and I watch as Poppy moves quickly to avoid Catherine’s hits. The first three hits she dodges, but then Catherine grabs her hair, making her trip, and that’s all it takes. Catherine smacks Poppy hard across the face, and I can almost feel the hit as she collapses to the floor. I take a step forward, and Finn’s hand clamps down on my wrist, stopping me as Poppy rolls over and picks herself up.
They start circling each other once more, but Poppy’s movements are slower now. Finn lowers his voice as he leans down a little bit. “You can’t fight for her.”
“I know that,” I counter, never taking my eyes off Poppy and Catherine but feeling Finn’s hand on my wrist far more than I should. His hand is warm, like the sun, and somehow soothes me. Feeling eyes on me, I turn my gaze for a second to see Ryker and Sebastian nearby, and they are both staring at Finn’s hand on my wrist, confusion in their eyes.
And something else I’m not sure I like. Possessiveness.
“Eunoia,” Torfinn whispers, another word I do not know, as he lets my wrist go. I frown at him for only a moment before turning my gaze back to Poppy and Catherine. Catherine grabs Poppy’s shoulder, and Poppy smacks her hard in the shoulder, literally doing no damage. Dammit, she should have gone for the throat. Catherine headbutts Poppy hard, and this time Poppy collapses for good, completely out of it with blood all over her face. I rush to her, passing a laughing Catherine and kneeling at Poppy’s side. I pick up her head and brush her hair from her face.
“Let me carry her to the healers,” Ryker suggests, standing over us. I nod and stand back as Ryker easily picks her up, and I walk at his side as we leave the group.
“Thank you,” I tell Ryker. He waits until we’re halfway through the forest before whispering his reply.
“You need to teach her to fight better. Other students are questioning why you can fight so well and Poppy is so bad,” he warns me. I nod, gritting my teeth.
“Understood,” I whisper back.
Ryker surprises me with a deep chuckle. “You beat the prince, and the shithead is never beaten by anyone but me on occasion. Well done.”
I laugh with him. “He is a good fighter, but I’m better.”
“Yes, you are,” Ryker replies, looking at me in a strange way. If I didn’t know better, I would think the hellhound likes me.
And I know better than to like a dangerous man like him.
Chapter 17
“Catherine hits with her left fist first and steps with her left as well, leaving her right side open,” I tell Poppy as we sit under the tree in the forest. This place is empty, perfect for us to practice fighting and talk about our options for the training tomorrow. Poppy was given the morning off to recover, but reapers heal quickly, and I can hardly see her black eye or cut cheek anymore. “Ryker and Sebastian fight similarly, suggesting they were trained together. They are fast, tight with their movements, and they observe their opponents. I’m not going to tell you how to beat them as I’m still studying.” Poppy nods along. “Today I fought against a girl called Galeria—”
“Is that the blonde one who wears little to no top?” Poppy asks.
“Yup,” I reply, crossing my legs in front of me. “Anyways, she is smarter than she looks. She is flexible and can dodge nearly every hit, as I quickly found out. But the trick with her is to stand your ground and draw her to you. She has weak muscles, and that means her hits won’t hurt like Catherine’s will. I let Galeria close, and when she hit my cheek, I took her down with one sharp hit to the chest.”
“Wow, you’re really good at this,” Poppy comments in wonder. “I’m never going to be able to beat you at this academy, am I?”
“Do you want to?” I question, actually interested. “I mean, do you want to be queen of the reapers? Have all that responsibility for a world you have only watched from your house and never been in?”
She looks up at the night sky above us. “I may have just watched, but I fell in love all the same. I know where my home is, Daesyn, but do you?”
A longing pounds into my chest. “Yes, but I can never go back. Not ever, Poppy.”
“Why?” she questions.
“That’s enough training today. We should be heading back to get ready for this god damn awful ball today,” I mutter, climbing to my feet.
“Of course,” Poppy replies as she climbs up. She gently touches my shoulder. “Your secrets are safe with me. I just want you to know that. I’m your friend and pretend sister after all.”
“I’ve never really had a friend before,” I truthfully state. Except him who will not be named, but he betrayed me.
