“Cut the shit, Az,” Marik calls from the edge of the room.
Asmo circles Koa once more, then slowly begins to widen the circle around Koa, creating open space for him to exit the entrapment.
Asmo gives him one more glare, then turns his gaze to me. I inhale sharply.
The snake’s eyes are still Asmo’s, the light green still surrounding the black iris. He slithers toward me slowly. I sit up, aching to be near him. My hand twitches as if it has its own desire to touch Asmo’s scales.
Then, Koa makes his second mistake.
He pounces directly onto Asmo’s back.
His black claws pierce Asmo’s gray scales, drawing blood in an instant. Asmo whips around, thrashing his massive body and sending Koa flying. His feline form hits the floor with a thump.
Asmo slithers toward him with a speed I didn’t expect and angles himself over Koa. He opens his massive jaw, a luminescent strand of venom hanging from a fang the size of my hand.
Koa whimpers and shifts to his human form. Asmo doesn’t take his eyes off Koa, who lies naked before him, hands up in surrender. Blood drips from Asmo’s back, eight bright red streams spilling down the curves of his back.
“Az,” Marik warns, voice low.
And just like that, it’s over. Asmo shifts, naked backside on display as he stands over Koa, still lying on the ground.
“What the fuck, man?” Koa shouts, now covering himself with one hand as he uses the other to stand.
“You started it,” Asmo fires back as he turns, both hands covering his groin. My cheeks warm as I watch him, as I eye the muscles surrounding his hips. “You want to get onto me about cheap shots?” Asmo fires at Barrett. “Maybe talk to the pussy cat next time. Jumping on my back instead of facing me head-on?”
Then, Koa makes his third mistake.
He shifts back into his leopard form and lunges at Asmo, claws shredding his chest in one fluid motion. Asmo hisses in pain as crimson blood pours from the jagged wounds.
I jump to my feet, ready to race toward him, but Elle yanks me back down to the floor.
Asmo shifts back to his serpent form and lunges for Koa. Koa darts out of the way, just barely missing Asmo’s fangs. Asmo circles back, racing toward Koa. It’s not even a fight. Asmo’s fangs make contact with Koa’s back leg as he tries to jump out of Asmo’s path.
Koa shifts back to his hybrid form, face contorted in pain as he grabs his leg.
Asmo shifts back to his hybrid form.
Barrett runs over, tossing both of them a pair of shorts before shooting a pointed glance at Elle and me. August and Marik watch Asmo, their expressions unreadable. Asmo shifts on his feet once, blood running down his back and chest, before turning toward his belongings against the wall of the training center. He throws his clothes on and tosses the bag to Koa, face now white with pain.
“Antidote is in the bag,” Asmo mutters before exiting the training center.
Marik looks at us with an apologetic expression on his face. “Sorry,” he mumbles before following in Asmo’s wake.
“Fucking psycho,” Koa mumbles on the ground.
“You didn’t need to jump on his back, man,” August mumbles in Koa’s direction as he searches through the bag. He extracts a small jar and unscrews it, then slathers the antidote over Koa’s leg.
Koa’s face contorts in pain at the contact.
“You deserve it, man,” I hear August mutter.
“So,” Elle says nonchalantly like we didn’t witness the weirdest pissing match I’ve ever seen. “I take it not all of your training sessions go like that.”
August shakes his head. “Something like that, but definitely not that intense. They don’t usually get that contentious.”
Elle stands and offers a hand to me. I accept it, and she pulls me to my feet. Internally, I thank her because I’m not sure my legs can work after watching that.
“Please do your best not to kill each other, lest Her Highness wants to choose one of you as High King,” she says, leading me toward the exit. “Mae, ready to get back to the castle?”
