They fought softly. Her strikes were full of hesitancy, and his counters were almost gentle. Neither seemed willing to go for the throat, but their spar sparked with clear sexual tension.
When Pops finally stopped the match, he called a tie and announced Hawk and Aura’s match.
Aura trembled as she stepped on the mat, second-guessing every move. Her imp magic popped off in distracting bursts, but that was all she could do. Hawk, of all people, surprised me. He pressed hard with physical strikes, forcing her to stay defensive the entire time until she finally let her guard down.
Hawk’s final knee to the stomach sent her sprawling.
“I need practice,” Aura wheezed, lying flat on her back.
“Yes, you do,” Pops agreed helpfully.
Hawk helped her up after, stammering an apology that made Aura blush in embarrassment.
After Pops announced Hawk the winner, he called Zuko and I up.
The mat pulsed beneath my feet as Zuko and I stepped onto it with matching grins.
We circled each other, slowly.
Pop’s warning cut through the charged silence. “No fatal venom releases, Rune.”
I flicked my gaze toward my pops at the sidelines. “Relax. I wouldn’t kill Zuko. My venom wouldn’t work on him, anyway.”
“What do you mean by that?” Pops blinked in confusion.
“You wouldn’t want it to, would you, pretty little poison?” Zuko’s smirk widened.
“I’d never dose you with a fatal one.” I shot forward first. “Too bad for you, though, toxin,” I teased, brushing my fingers across his lips as though shushing him.
Venom seeped from my skin, and it was a disorienting neurotoxin.
He licked my finger on purpose. His eyes rolled briefly back, then steadied. He stumbled half a step, but his grin stayed. “Why too bad for me? Your lesser venoms still have a nice kick.”
“My venom doesn’t hit you the same as others,” I purred. “Too bad. I could make you feelsogood.”
He lunged, catching my arm, twisting it behind my back. “You already know how to make me feel good.” His fangs grazed my neck.
A moan slipped out before I could stop it.
“Rune,”Pops’s voice cracked across the mats like a whip. “You are sparring.”
“Sorry, Pops.” My voice was breathless.
Zuko’s breath seared my skin. “That move would’ve made anyone else forfeit.”
“Too bad.” I smirked. “I liked it.”
Our magic collided as I laced my fangs with a whisper of aphrodisiac and turned, sinking them into his neck.
He moaned, trembling. “What the Fates are you doing to me?”
“Winning.”
He staggered back.
I followed, smiling widely.
“You want me to drag you into the closet and fuck you right now?” His words were half-snarl, half-plea.
