She groaned, flopping back on the pillow. “I miss you already.”
“I’m right here.”
“No, I miss theotheryou—the patient one.”
“Ash.”
“Fine.” She tossed the covers aside and stretched. His eyes flared with hunger as they roamed her naked body.
Ash wandered over to her luggage, ignoring the answering heat in her blood. Perhaps now he’d rethink the whole idea of rushing off to start the day.She grabbed a change of clothes from her bag and headed for the bathroom.
A quick shower later, she dried off, changed into charcoal joggers and a fitted moss-green, long-sleeve t-shirt that had seen one wash too many. She finger-combed her damp hair and padded back to the bedroom on sock-covered feet.
Race stood near the window wall, hands in his pockets, staring out at the weak sunlight spilling over the parapet, now bare of snow.
Just seeing him, a smile started then faltered. While she teased him about not wanting to wake up alone, she knew why he didn’t sleep. The nightmares.
Her steps slowed, her heart hurting. When she thought of Tartarus and what had been done to him—the sheer injustice—her heart hurt for him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him. He caught her hand, pressed a kiss to her wrist, then glanced over his shoulder, his gaze sweeping over her face. “Better?”
“Amazingly so,” she said with a smile. “Thanks for my bags. Oh, give me a second.” She hurried over to the bedside nightstand, rummaged in her carry-on for her mobile and charger, and looked around. “Where?”
Race took it from her, crouched near the armchair to plug it in, then rose. “Breakfast first, then we get started.”
“Later. I can’t really eat. My nerves are at war. So, are we going outside?” She grabbed her trainers from her carry-on and shoved her feet into them.
A smile tugged at his mouth. “No, the basement.”
She straightened, her apprehension growing. “I’ll still be inside the castle, Race. I don’t want to accidentally damage anything again.”
He gently brushed his thumb along her cheek. “It’s safe, I promise. Come.”
Right then. She followed him into the lift. He hit the basement button, and the doors slid shut.
The new warm light deep within her chest, the one that was all him, appeared a little dull, and her stomach tightened. Something felt off. But when he caught her staring and lifted an eyebrow, the spark brightened again, and her worry faded.
“What?” he asked.
She folded her arms over her chest and smirked. “So, I’m mated to the mysterious dragon, hmm?”
He chuckled. “I’m only mysterious because I never joined my fellow Guardians in anything outside of work. Hell, until a few years ago, they were all reclusive bastards who gave no fucksabout anything, right up until they mated.” He leaned against the metal wall. “With my history, I preferred?—”
“I know. Nightclubs. Noise, the crowds.” She crossed to him and wrapped her arms around him. “But I’m here now.”
He rubbed her back and kissed her head. “You are all that matters.”
The lift stopped. Race ushered her into an unadorned, granite-walled corridor with bright lights. “That’s the gym,” he said, nodding to a door on their left. A faint thud and the echo of voices drifted from behind it. “And this—” he gestured to the opposite entrance, “—is the arena.”
He opened the door, and Ash stopped short. The place was vast, carved into the rock beneath the castle, like a subterranean stadium. Light spilled from the high ceiling, glancing off the granite walls and stone floor. At the far end, rows of swords gleamed on their racks, catching the light like a promise of violence.
“The arena’s warded with arcane magic,” Race said, moving to the center. “It protects against our powers should they slip through. It makes training here safe. Your abilities are growing stronger. Without control?—”
“I could hurt someone.” She rubbed her cold, tingling hands down her joggers. “I don’t want that.”
“It’s why you need to make your powers conform toyourintent.” He gestured toward the vast space around them. “And learn to direct them, to aim at your target without touching another or hurting yourself.”
Her stomach twisted. She didn’t care so much about herself, but accidentally hurting someone else, she couldn’t bear that. “Then teach me.”
