None had left the ceremonial room.
I didn’t allow my surprise to show.
They all wanted the job. Good.
I sat down and grabbed the tablet, motioning to the area in front of me. The ground was littered with debris from the blasts and restoration tools, none of it easy to work around—just like a battlefield or close quarters would be.
I stated, “Pair up with your partner, and don’t hold back for even a second. Kill shots aren’t allowed and no guns. The test starts now.”
With a burst of vampire speed, the fighting began.
I crossed my legs and leaned my elbows on my knees, peering down into the battle. Blood flowed almost immediately, flying through the air and splattering against the boulder I sat on and turning the loose dirt under their feet to bloody mud. Theclangof swords clashed constantly. I fiddled with a lock of my black hair as the breeze caught it, brushing the strands across my cheek, tickling my skin.
One pair of soldiers eventually crawled out of the frenzy, their arms dragging their bloodstained bodies behind them. Looked like their legs had been sliced one too many times. Once on their feet again, wobbling but alive as they hung their heads in defeat, I turned my attention back to those still fighting. Those two were out of the match.
My eyes narrowed at what I witnessed. I growled, “I said don’t hold back! I see you down there. Don’t think I don’t!”
Jaws clenched, and swords moved even faster.
“I don’t care if they’re soldiers you’ve fought next to for millennia. Right now, they’re your enemy.” My constricted gaze landed on a pair backed into a corner, their blocks slow, and their footwork clumsy in their hesitance. “You want this job, then you show me what the hell you have inside you.”
Thank fuck someone listened.
The cousins decided to show me what they were really made of. My jaw dropped, a bit comically and unqueenly if I was honest with myself. I snapped it shut before anyone saw. The remaining contestants didn’t stand a chance—any lingering hesitation quickly gone as they fought for their lives. I had said no kill shots…but we were going to need a medic or ten soon. The cousins had bided their time, waiting for the others to lose their stamina.
Smart. Cunning. Skilled.
Everything I fucking wanted.
They were a wet dream of blood and talent.
“Stop,” I whispered. Wondering…
Instant stillness.I damn near came in my pants.
Labored chests heaved, and soldiers fell to the ground in exhaustion, a few swords clattering onto the stone from limp hands. The cousins lowered their swords from their attack and sucked oxygen but weren’t worn out. As one, they turned to look at me, their shoulders wide and strong, their heads held high. It was as if the night sky turned the world upside down, one as pale as the moon and the other as dark as the heavens, both shining from below, staring up at me.
I blinked myself out of my poetic musings and turned my attention from them, speaking to the others who were barely breathing. “I want each of you to head straight to the infirmary. And thank you for trying, especially knowing who you were up against, as I’m sure you all did. Leave us.”
You just couldn’t beat God-given talent like that. The other soldiers—my people—would only hurt themselves further if they continued on.
I quickly turned my gaze back to the cousins. “You two, stay.”
They nodded,silent.
I hummed under my breath. That wouldn’t do.
I lifted the tablet and viewed their profiles again, clicking and reading more as the losing soldiers helped each other out of the ceremonial room. The area quieted. The breeze and a lone wolf howling in the distance was all that could be heard.
My eyes scanned the pages for a full five minutes until I was certain these were the bodyguards I wanted. Their marksmanship scores were through the roof, and they’d been together with the vampire army since they were twenty years old. Special Forces for the vast majority of it. They were trained killers…and spies when need be. I now saw why Felicia sent them, despite their decision to not speak.
And the confidential files said it was a decision.
I turned the tablet off and tossed it down off the boulder. One of the cousins caught it deftly out of the air. I grunted in good humor and slid down the boulder, again landing easily on the bloody mud. I walked to stand directly in front of them as I tapped on my phone, letting Felicia know who I’d picked and to make the proper arrangements. Stuffing my phone back into my pants pocket, I gazed up into their contrasting eyes, each cousin much taller than I was.
I started pulling my hair up into a ponytail, using the hair tie around my wrist to hold it in place, now pretending not to look at them. “I want you two as my bodyguards. But only if I know you’ll speak when you need to. Your decision to stay mute for the last thousand years is none of my business. What is my business is making sure I stay alive.”
Hair now in place on top of my head, I looked back up at them, done giving them a chance to hide their expressions at my dictate. “Say something. I need to know you can move past this to save my life when need be.”
