Аполлион

Our eyes met, and there wasn’t much heat behind his words, but he was frustrated with me and I hated that, because I was being a brat. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. Ever since Laadan and I had spoken, my mood had plummeted. Lack of sleep, maybe?

The sting of Aiden’s admonishment forced me back to Solos, who, by the way, had mud splattered on him like gore at a gruesome crime scene. No one in this world could get me to do what I was supposed to be doing as quickly as Aiden.

Part of me hated that. The other part respected and thanked him for it.

Cheeks burning, I dropped into stance. Solos launched at me. We went at it, blow for blow. He dipped. I spun. More times than not, he ended up sprawled on the ground, kicking up dirt and loose grass on me. My muscles were a little out-of-use, but I was fast—faster than I ever remembered being. When I’d been fighting Aiden the other day, I hadn’t been aware of what I was really doing, not the mechanics of it. But now? Whoa, I felt like Superwoman.

Solos picked himself off the ground, exhaling out his nose. We moved on to disarming one another, which usually had been a weak area for me.

I darted under Solos’ outstretched arm, caught both of his elbows and pulled back, running my hands down to his wrists as I planted a foot in his back. He released the blades and I caught them.

Waving them in his face, I grinned. “I kind of rock at this.”

He turned, brows furrowed. “I don’t even know what that move was.”

I flipped the dagger in my right hand. “It’s called being awesome and it worked.”

“There’s a difference between skill and speed.” He snatched the dagger out of my other hand. “You won’t always have speed.”

“But I have the elements,” I reminded him.

“That you do.” He gave a lopsided grin that didn’t stretch his scar. He was handsome when he smiled like that. Hell, he was handsome even with the scar—kind of like a pirate. “But correct me if I’m wrong—doesn’t using the elements tire you out?”

“That’s what I hear.” Olivia dropped down on a tree stump and stretched out her long legs slowly. “Well, I heard Seth say that once.”

With only one dagger left in hand, I pointed it at Solos. “Using the elements can tire us out, but not as much as akasha. That’s why he doesn’t use it all the time. Zaps him—us, I guess.”

Aiden threaded his fingers and stretched, bowing his back. My gaze followed the movement quite obsessively. Everything he did looked fluid and graceful. “That’s why it’s important not to rely solely on those abilities.”

As long as I’d known Aiden, I could count on one hand how many times he’d used the fire element. Each pure had an affinity to a certain element, while the Apollyon could wield control over all of them. Aiden liked to fight hand-to-hand.

Or titanium-to-titanium.

Lea was leaning against a large oak, her hair a mess as Marcus retrieved the fallen blades they’d been practicing with. My uncle handled them expertly. Sometimes I forgot that he had trained as a Sentinel, once upon a time.

Our little recess was over, and under the cloudy April skies we continued until the sun began its descent in the west. Only then did we shuffle back into the cabin, and I guessed practicing akasha was on the schedule for tomorrow. The smell of roasted meat teased my taste buds. I was so hungry I could eat a daimon, but a shower came first.

And as I’d expected earlier, I was all by my lonesome in that endeavor.

All of us sat at the kitchen table and dug in. Someone thanked Laadan for the meal and Deacon about had a coronary.

“Who tenderized the meat? Who marinated and watched it dutifully?” His blond brows lowered as he held his fork like Luke held a dagger. “That would be me”

Laadan nodded. “I peeled potatoes. That was about it.”

“I didn’t know you could cook,” I said, surprised.

Freshly showered, Aiden dropped into the seat beside his brother. His dark hair was damp and swept back, revealing his broad cheekbones. He clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Deacon is one hell of a cook.”

“Hmm.” Olivia grinned as she chased a scalloped potato across her plate. “Learn something new every day, right?”

Not even trying to hide his proud smile, Deacon glanced at Luke. “I’m full of surprises.”

I arched a brow, but shoved a piece of succulent meat into my mouth rather than saying anything. For a little while, sitting at that table with everyone, things were, well, they were nice and warm.

Aiden remained mostly quiet while everyone traded stories, cracking a grin every once in awhile, but still slightly apart from the boisterous group. More than once, our gazes met. Something churned in his gray eyes. I could easily see the sharp slice of sorrow mixing with regret before he looked away.