Ahna gave Christian a nod and spun out from behind the table. The band on her wrist lit cerulean as she twisted it mid-step, triggering a shock wave.
The sonic burst hit Cho head-on. She yelped as she was forced in reverse, but she somersaulted backward and onto her feet, her agility still as impressive as Christian remembered. Dropping low, Cho flung a dagger from beneath her cloak with lethal precision at Ahna’s throat.
Christian swore, launching himself over the flipped table, but Ahna twisted cleanly, stepping aside just enough to let the bladewhistle past her face and bury into the wall. Ahna hurled her dagger straight at Cho’s leg—the weapon sparked off the metal floor as Cho vaulted sideways.
Grav knuckles flaring, Christian charged across the broken glass and overturned chairs. Cho met him mid-step, her blade already drawn. Her dark eyes were wild with recognition and betrayal.
“Here we go again, Christy,” she said with mock affection, slicing at his chest.
Christian sidestepped the strike and blocked her follow-up slash with the back of his grav knuckles. Kinetic energy surged and cracked against the revarium steel blade, knocking her arm wide. She spun it into a backhanded slice meant for his neck, but he leaned away just in time.
Sweat rolled down Christian’s neck as Ahna circled behind Cho, ready to strike. But Christian flicked two fingers subtly at his side.Mine.
Ahna widened her stance and covered the exit.
Cho pivoted, darting sideways and slashing low at Christian’s legs. The blade nicked his trousers as he twisted out of the way.
Fuck, that was close.
“You’ve gotten slower,” Cho hissed, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
Christian’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t answer. He feinted high then drove a knee toward her midsection. She caught it with her forearm, spun, and elbowed him in the ribs.
The wind punched out of him, and he staggered back.
Cho lunged, her blade angled straight toward his gut.
Wincing against the pain in his side, he swiveled low and caught her wrist mid-strike with his left hand, slamming his grav knuckles into her elbow with his right.
Cho howled, and the blade fell. She retaliated with a vicious head butt.
Ah fuck.
Stars burst across Christian’s vision as blood dripped from his nose. His hold loosened on Cho.
She lunged for the dagger she’d dropped—
Christian kicked her feet out from under her, and she tumbled to the floor.
Shaking off the pain in his face, he ripped one of the power cables from the nearby wall while she rose to her feet.
He wrapped the cable around Cho’s neck.
Cho tried to buck him off, but where her agility surpassed his, Christian’s strength outmatched hers.
She grabbed his wrist and drove an elbow into his ribs. He grunted, tightening his muscles against the pain.
“Just stop, Cho. I don’t want to fight you,” he said.
She dug her fingernails into his arms, drawing blood. But he refused to let go and tightened his grip on the cord. Finally, her limbs weakened, and he felt the moment her vision went dark. Christian let go, catching her before she fell. His fingertips found the artery in her neck—she was alive.
He let out a long sigh through pursed lips as he lowered her to the ground.
“Well, I gotta give her credit,” Ahna said, reaching down to place cuffs on Cho’s wrists. They snapped closed with a soft whine, their magnetic seals locking. “Girl’s got some moves.”
Christian wiped his bloodied upper lip with the sleeve of his shirt and ground his teeth. Ahna hadn’t even seen half the shit Cho could do. He’d spent six years of his life training alongside her. Fuck, he’d taught her some of the moves. Which is why he knew it was better to knock her unconscious than to keep fighting hand-to-hand.
What would happen when she woke, though? Her appearance was the absolute last thing he needed right now. He’d wanted to get in and out of Perileos as fast as possible, and now everyonewas about to find out the truth of his past. Would they lock him up when they found out he’d been involved with Falaichte? If they did, he’d never get back to Gemma.
