Damon was fast, his fist slicing out so quickly, that Jessa only just managed to stop it from striking her head. She looked impressed—she had not expected that sort of attack. Damon didn’t give her time to think about it though, he swung again and again. Jessa got her stride after that, smacking him a few times—love taps really—before Damon caught her across the shoulder. I waited for her to get angry, but she didn’t; she grinned rather broadly, like this excited her.
She’s incredible, but completely psycho.Seriously, I’d never seen any supe be this into fighting.
Girl had skills though, and I was feeling all the girl power.
“Left side,” she said to Damon when they were finished. She didn’t pin him—first supe to stay on his feet against her. “You’re team leader over there.”
He nodded, a huge smile breaking over his face as well.
The next thing I knew, she was facing off against me. She was a few inches shorter than me, but what she lacked in height, she made up for in a powerful presence. “I’ve been waiting to meet you,” she said softly, her eyes—which, up close, were a striking blue—assessing me. “Louis spoke a lot about the Atlantean people he’s been seeing, but especially about you, Maddison James.”
How she knew it was me, I had no idea, but I felt like this chick just … knew.
I swallowed hard. “Louis is amazing. Without him I’d probably be dead—or at least in jail for blowing up the school.”
Jessa chuckled, and Braxton moved a little closer. My eyes rose to look at him close up and my stomach swirled with heat. My energy was responding to his, and almost without thought I stepped closer.
I wanted to touch him, but I knew how possessive mates got of each other, so I refrained.
“The dragons and the Atlanteans are closely linked,” he said, his low grumbly voice filling the room. “Our energy calls to each other’s. You’re very strong, Maddison.”
“Call me Maddi,” I said, shaking my head to try and clear it. “I go by Maddi.”
Jessa nodded, seeming pretty cool with whatever weird thing had just happened when I got close to the dragon shifter. “Have you had any fight training, Maddi?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nope.”
She nodded again. “Okay, no worries. Go to the right side—you’ll be starting with the basics.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, thrilled to not get my ass handed to me today.
By the time Jessa and Braxton were finished going down the line, the class was over and Amanda had ended up on the right side with me. “She was so freaking strong,” she complained, rubbing at her arm. “I’ve been training since I was five, and she kicked my ass.”
“How old are they?” I asked. It was so hard to tell with supernaturals, because they stopped aging until they got really old. So Jessa and Braxton looked the same age as me, but there was an ancient feel to their energy.
“Only a couple of years older than us, I think,” Amanda whispered, because the teachers were close again.
Surprising.
“Great job today. Some of you have strong fighting abilities,” Jessa started, still taking point in the class. “Next lesson, we’re going to start expanding on our skills, learning how to fight without magic or our advanced race skills. Once you’ve mastered hand-to-hand, you can resume using your race abilities to build your skills.”
Braxton nodded. “Yes. Hand-to-hand first, but after that … vamps with your speed, magic users with spells, shifters with strength, and fey with elements.”
They dismissed us then, and as I turned to leave I found both of them watching me closely. “Maddi,” Jessa called out, and I paused while they walked toward me. “We think you should have some private lessons with us,” she said. “We’ll work it out with Louis and Princeps Jones, but … this Atlantis thing … it’s worrying, and I’m afraid you’re caught right in the middle.”
There was this look on her face … like she knew exactly how it felt to be stuck in the middle of a world-changing situation. She’d mentioneddragon marked,but I had no idea what that was. I wished there was a book I could check out that would tell me everything.
I paused. Amanda said they were famous. Maybe there was a book in the library about it. I’d find out soon enough.
“Thank you, I’d appreciate the extra help,” I said honestly. “I don’t like that I’m behind, and I’m willing to work extra hard to catch up.”
Jessa’s beautiful face creased into a smile. “What’s your favorite dessert?” she asked randomly. I blinked, not sure where she was going with this. Of course, as a food lover, it was an easy question.
“Chocolate cake and apple pie,” I said immediately.
Braxton shook his head, but he was staring at Jessa, and the look was so hot that I almost blushed.
“Good choices,” she said. “You’re a girl after my own heart.”
