“Neither are your vampire instincts,” I shot back teasingly.
“I’m rusty,” he rasped.
“Strike and Subdue in ten,” Hawk called from ahead.
I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready for another final.
jesper
. . .
“I appreciateyou helping with the final this quarter,” Gavin told me with an easy smile as we walked into Apex Simulator 2.0 for the second time today.
“You know I can’t say no when you ask me to do something,” I answered easily, stretching my arms over my head with a yawn. I’d been out late on a mission in the Bizarre. The fae have been…taking liberties with the seasons there for some reason.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I was in charge of monitoring any changes or fae activity. I had to go back tonight, but Sabine had said Thorn would take this mission over after that since he was fae. I’d had very little sleep last night.
Still, I couldn’t pass up the chance to help Gavin out when he asked.
Gavin Bloodwyne was more than just my mentor. He’d become a father figure to me in ways I hadn’t expected. He’d taught me everything I knew about protecting others. I was seventeen when I went into a blind rage and killed the man who was my sperm donor, but I hadn’t understood calculated combat.
I’d gotten lucky that I won, and I thanked the Fates every day for my strength that allowed me to protect my mom that day.
Gavin had to teach me from the ground up how not to let my anger take over to the point of blacking out when I fought. It left me vulnerable. He’d worked through the trauma of killing my biological father with me. I owed him a lot, and I knew that.
“I’m proud of you for how much you’ve grown, Jesper,” he said softly, striding over and fiddling with the holographic control panel.
My chest swelled as I smiled at the back of his head. “Thanks to your guidance. Most students won’t expect a full-scale draconic tantrum in the middle of a simulated cityscape, you know. You sure the rest of the classes are ready for that? The first class had six students fail.”
When I had this class years ago, the final included a werewolf rampage on the full moon in the city—but not a dragon. It was an interesting lesson to test this early, but it was a much-needed lesson for aspiring agents, regardless.
“Exactly.” Gavin’s grin grew. “You’re not just there to fight them. You’re there to test how well they can take down a dragon, protect civilians, and keep the peace during the attack. Those six in squad three clearly weren’t prepared. Besides, we usually have half of the class fail on these simulated missions. You’ll be surprised by this class, and it’s not just because my daughter is in it, either.”
“Rune’s in this class?” I blurted, and he turned to look at me with surprise at my eagerness in asking that question.
The door swung open, and the second class of the day came in.
A powerful scent of midnight orchid filled my nose, and I instinctively looked over to see Rune and her squad walking in.
My heart tightened as I realized I wasutterlyinto my mentor’s daughter.
I’d never been into anyone before…but with Rune, it was inevitable that I would have feelings for her. It just feltright.
“Whoa!” Gavin’s voice kicked up a notch. “What happened to Eleanor?”
It took effort to divert my gaze from Rune to the deer shifter barely standing on her two feet. Eleanor wasn’t standing so much as leaning against the bear shifter next to her, propped under his arm and swaying on her feet.
Ithadto be the poison.
Intel said humans had developed something new in their labs, and the supernaturals who’d gone missing lately had shown the same kind of sickness right before they vanished. The few who didn’t get sick before going missing were found later in terrible shape—much like Eleanor looked now.
“I’m okay,” Eleanor squeaked, sniffling. “Ihaveto pass my final.”
“Come on, Pops,” Rune said, golden eyes cutting to Gavin with a glint that was equal parts charm and daughter-related pressure. “You can’t send her to the infirmary and bar her from the exam. That’s a one-way ticket to getting kicked out of the academy. Don’t do that to her.”
Gavin’s gaze slid to Eleanor, then to Lorian, then back to Rune. He sighed. “Very well.”
He turned his back on the control panel, the simulator’s acoustics echoing his voice around us. “Strike and Subdue Final: Urban Extraction Simulation. The scenario,” he continued, “is a high-value supernatural gone rogue. In this case, the target is a dragon.”
