But the marble floors had been cleaned to within an inch of their lives, not a speck of blood or gore remained when we arrived, and I just did my best not to focus on the spot where I’d fallen. No use crying over spilled milk, after all. Or blood, if you were a maiden.
Valens strode across the space without hesitation, as if he owned the place. “Behind the panic room, there’s a hidden door.” He pointed out a random spot on the wall paneling and placed his hand flat over it.
A hidden laser scanned his palm, and the whole damn wall slid open. A rush of cool, dry air blasted my face. I could smell metal and gun oil, and something… spicy.
We walked down together, efficient modern lighting dotting the white hallway at equal intervals, as if we’d walked into the shifter version of a secret spy lair.
Okay, so I’d watched too many spy movies back when I was still bored, waiting for my life to start at the enclave. Sue me.
I wasn’t bored now, that was for damn sure.
The hallway opened up into a large, well-lit room, completely freaking surrounded on every wall with weapons.
“Does Lucien know this is down here?” I asked, spinning slowly to take in the devastating cache of weaponry. Any weapon you could name, they pretty much had it. I could namea lotof machinery, and even I didn’t know the names of everything Petró had squirreled away down here.
I crossed to the nearest case, full of guns of all shapes and sizes. “Is that an RPG?” I asked, and Valens appeared at my shoulder.
“Yep. That’s the big boy. You’ve got good taste.”
I snorted, deciding to roll with it. “Maybe I’ve got a thing for heavy artillery.” I shot him a wink, and I swear his eyes darkened at least two shades.
His hands came around my waist, and he lowered his lips to my ear. “I’d be happy to test that theory with you any time.”
Shivers raced down my spine, and I bit my bottom lip. It was frivolous, but flirting felt good. Lighter, after all that had happened today. It was a strange sort of dance between us; the push and pull, the serious, the duty, the obligation… and the playfulness. The closeness, the way he pulled me in and held me as if I mattered to him because I was me, not because I was useful.
But that wasn’t why we’d come down here.
“Did you find anything magical?”
“Not yet. There’s a second room. I wanted to give you a minute to check out the regular stuff before rushing you out. Weapons training is big for the maidens, right?”
“Very big. Most of us have at least three weapons we’re skilled at, but a lot of the older maidens have a dozen or more.”
“You’ve all got the butterfly sword, though, right?” He glanced at the one hanging over my shoulder.
“Yes, that’s our primary weapon. I can also use a bo staff—mine is in my cottage—and I’m certified with long-range guns. Hand to hand is also a daily practice, and we do formation training in both human and wolf forms. I was working on certifying on my fourth weapon when we got called into service for Pack Blackwater.”
“Only four? Whatever shall you do?”
I chuckled. It was nice to be with someone who wasn’t intimidated by who I was or what I did. Valens had been a lot of things since I’d met him, but never intimidated. He met my energy and matched it better than anyone I’d ever known.
Almost like it’s fate.
“Come on, show me the rest. Let’s see if you’ve picked up any cool new tricks.”
He flashed me a heart-stopping grin, grabbed my hand, and practically dragged me across the armory to a small door in the back.
Interestingly, it was the source of the spicy scent I’d picked up initially, the intertwined power of pepper and cinnamon making me want to sneeze as he pushed through the door. Once we were inside, though, the feeling vanished. And Valens froze.
“Holy Goddess,” he breathed, staring around with shock written on every inch of him.
“What do you see?” I asked, too busy watching him to even take in the magical weapons hanging on every surface in this smaller room.
“Everything. I see… everything.”
He turned to the closest weapons rack, where an ancient-looking crossbow with a chewed-up wooden handle hung. Not too impressive to me after the modern machinery in the last room.
But he hovered his hand over it with awe.
