No matter how many pounds of flesh Steele would require from me on training days, I wouldn’t throw in the towel. My whole life I was treated with disdain—or, and even worse, with kid gloves for being my father’s daughter. No one ever treated me like a normal angel until Steele, and with that realization, my respect for him grew.
He treated me like I was any other soldier in his army, and isn’t that exactly what I wanted when I fell—to fit in? While it may look a little different than I dreamed of, something in my gut told me this was the way to earn the respect of everyone around here. And it was the only way to ensure I could protect my own life.
By the time my face hit my pillow that night, the aches settling into my body dared me to give up on the idea. I had grim determination on my side, though.
Not today,Satan.
KIERAN
The days spent training were long, the hours painful, and the minutes grueling.
I was more grateful than ever for my healing properties…combined with the salve Ronan continued to keep stocked for me. At this point, I might as well have just bathed in it every morning. Somehow he knew when I was running low because there was always a fresh tin on my bathroom counter when I needed it most. The thought of him sneaking in here to check to make sure I was using it and to see if I needed more was really freaking heartwarming and earned him a few stolen kisses when I could catch him alone.
All of the pain and effort was worth it when four days later, I was actually able to parry a few of Steele’s attacks with our training swords. The surprise in his eyes fueled me to try to go on the offensive, but I ended up on my back. Still, seeing the progress I was making kept me going each morning when my body screamed in protest. I kept getting up anyway and dragging myself to a hot shower that helped loosen me up for the day.
I was pleasantly surprised when on the fifth day, Ronan and Bastian showed up for training. Steele put Ronan through the same training regime as me in the morning, and I rolled myeyes when he completed the routine with a hell of a lot more ease than I could. I shouldn’t have been surprised knowing his skills, but to watch someone truly hold their own with Steele was mesmerizing to see. Their hand-to-hand combat was like watching two dancers in a routine where they knew their partner's next move, flowing from one to the next in a speed that was hard to keep up with. Ronan had yet to disarm Steele when they fought with real swords, but hehadmanaged to put Steele on his face during hand-to-hand, much to my amusement. It was nice to see Steele eat shit. It made him seem a bit more normal to me and reminded me that there was always going to be someone out there that could best you.
Bastian...well, Bastian took naps and daydreamed with the occasional cheer of support for me when I did something right, which unfortunately wasn’t often. The best part, though, was when Steele threatened to kick him out when I’d gone flying back after I took a brutal hit to my chest from the palm of his hand. I tensed my body, preparing to land on my ass hard, but Bastian conjured a foam pad for me to fall onto at the very last second, making it feel like I’d been engulfed by a cloud. While I appreciated it, according to Steele, it would make me too comfortable making bold moves if Bastian coddled me, and that the pain was a good reminder for me to fight in a way that helped me prevent the most risk.
The small breaks Steele granted me in the afternoon were spent watching Ronan and Niz work together on aerial maneuvers. Gabe fell into a routine of bringing over food for me each day after he was done working in the kitchens, and when the other guys started joining, he brought some for them as well. I really enjoyed the time Gabe and I had spent in the first four days together, learning more about each other. There was a comfortability building that felt like an amazing friendship, andshockingly when Ronan and Bastian joined us on the fifth day, it didn’t feel awkward at all.
Steele had yet to join us during breaks. His typical lunch consisted of giving me a look of annoyance and feeding off the pain flowing from me, it seemed.
On the sixth day of training, with no news yet from Noah, I was beginning to face a whole new issue. My patience was wearing thin, and when I brought it to Steele and Gabe separately, they both acted sketchy about the lack of communication, clearly knowingsomething. They dodged questions and said they had no doubt Noah would talk to me when the time was right.
“What the hell does that even mean?!” I yelled at Steele. “Whenexactly is the right time to inform me about something that solely has to do with me?”
“If you’re going to yell at me, I’m just going to go back to ignoring you,” he muttered. “I actually preferred that, so by all means.”
Suffice to say I’d not been able to weasel out anything from either of them, though Gabe had at least been a bit more understanding about it.
“I know it’s hard, Little Star, but I promise Noah would never do anything to hurt you or anger you intentionally. There’s a reason for it.”
A single tear fell down my cheek in my moment of frustration. “I just…I need to know that I have an affinity, with certainty. I need that to heal a part of me, Gabe.”
He was so gentle in wiping the tear away and holding me as I pulled myself together, but the next morning when I rolled out of bed, despair had really started to set in. My training during the day was awful. The worst day I’d had yet, and it felt like I’d forgotten everything Steele had taught me, preoccupied by thoughts of my affinity and why it was being kept from me. Ispent more time on the ground than I did on my feet and turned away lunch, choosing to sit by myself and with my thoughts. I didn’t want to bring down the mood of everyone else, but I knew I’d lash out if provoked.
Being alone was best for now.
I crawled into bed that night, feeling entirely dejected and spent, physically and mentally.
A soft knock came from my door, and I called out, “You can come in.”
I knew it wasn’t Steele, considering the person had enough manners to knock, so I felt comfortable letting anyone else from the house in.
Ronan appeared with a tray of steaming food that he held up in offering with a tight smile. “Gabe and I made fettuccine alfredo and garlic bread from scratch. I know you love pasta, and I also know you haven’t eaten today.”
My stomach rumbled, and the gnawing feeling of hunger hit me. My hunger had been so easy to ignore when I was stuck in my head, but when presented with something from my favorite food group? Not so much.
I sat up as he made his way over to the side of the bed, settling the tray onto my lap before sitting down. My nostrils flared as I took a big inhale, noting there was a slightly spicy hint to the pasta. I arched my brow. “Is it spicy?”
He nodded. “It’s a spicy seasoned chicken. I think you’ll love the flavor.”
I picked up the utensils and made quick work of cutting the pasta into bite-sized pieces, despite Gabe’s horror and insistence that I was supposed to wrap the pasta around the fork. That had been a fun conversation the first time we ate pasta together.
“Thank you, Ronan,” I murmured before taking the first bite.
The flavor burst over my taste buds and my eyes widened. It was incredible. I devoured half the plate before I noticed Ronanhadn’t left and was staring at me intently. Pausing my feast, I furrowed my brow at him as I questioned, “Are you getting off on this? Is this some secret kink of yours I don’t know about?”
