Hopefully, I wouldn’t kill any of them when we faced off in the ring.
But maiming them a bit was certainly on the schedule.
Three hours later, I dropped Talus on the ground at my feet. His body landed partially on top of one of his squadmates. They both groaned in pain at the impact, but neither did more than shift slightly.
I looked around at the platoon I was training and shook my head. The training run after breakfast had lasted nearly an hour, and the brutal muscular conditioning exercises I put the males through had lasted almost as long. Though I was angry with most of my males, I was impressed by how long they managed to keep up with me during the conditioning activities.
Six months ago, they would never have been able to do all we did this morning. But it didn’t matter. No matter how strongthey were now, they needed to be stronger. So, once the run and strength training were complete, I brought the entire platoon outside for combat training. To demonstrate the level of skill I intended for them to accomplish, I stepped into the fighting ring with one male daemon without a single weapon. My opponent was allowed a wooden practice sword, a long staff, or a much shorter stick, while I faced him with nothing but my empty hands.
Guldan hadn’t looked happy about the example I intended to set, but he remained at the back of the group and watched with dark, skeptical eyes as I began the lesson with the first daemon to volunteer.
Within minutes, the male was lying flat on his back, his eyes gazing toward the sky, completely unfocused. He wasn’t dead, but he was definitely hovering on the edge of unconsciousness.
“Who’s next?” I bellowed.
My eyes skimmed the soldiers. They glanced at each other, obviously unsettled. Talus looked at me but didn’t volunteer. I understood him well enough to know he intended to step forward once I’d gone through three or four more men. He was hoping I would grow tired, thinking he would have a better chance of besting me.
But there was a reason none of my soldiers had ever won against me. I spent decades honing my body and building my endurance. Now that I was no longer a soldier, I spent even more time training. Usually away from their prying eyes.
Finally, Ortus, one of the four who had asked to share Leda, came forward with a long staff in his hands. He fought well, but he didn’t have the speed or strategy he needed to land more than one or two blows. I left him conscious, but sitting on his ass at the edge of the ring with blood trickling from several cuts to his face.
For the next hour, I fought soldier after soldier. I held myself back from all of them except Talus. With him, I let loose. Even though he waited until I’d gone through six other males, he seemed shocked by the ferocity of my attack.
When he woke from his stupor, he limped out of the fighting ring. The look he sent my way was equal parts anger and fear. It had been too long since I’d gotten into the fighting ring with the males. He’d forgotten what it was like to fight me, and he hadn’t expected to struggle so much.
Hopefully, it would make him think twice about defying me again. Especially when it came to Leda. If there were any males who would overstep the boundaries I’d set, it was him. As much as I wanted to throw him out of training, he was here by order of the king. I had no say unless he violated a law or dishonored me in some way. I could not even approach the king and ask for his removal because, by our laws, he’d done nothing wrong when it came to Leda. The knowledge grated me, stoking my rage even higher.
As much as I wished it wouldn’t happen, I knew it was only a matter of time before one of the soldiers defied me and tried to get closer to her. They were here to train with me, but I was retired from the King’s military. Therefore, they weren’t technically under my command, but his. I would only have recourse if they crossed the line with her because she was considered my property. Even the punishments I threatened them with were borderline inappropriate.
While our laws would support punishment, damaging a human belonging to another daemon was considered a lesser crime, the same as breaking a window or knocking down someone’s door. But no magistrate in Penumbra would sentence a male to castration and death for hurting a human woman.
While honor would demand that they follow my orders, not all daemons were honorable. If integrity wouldn’t hold them back, perhaps fear would.
I let my gaze move over the soldiers as I spoke. “Your skills are improving. We will have another training session like this one in a few days.”
Extra training would improve their skills and keep my lust for my little human guest in check. I needed an outlet for my desire and aggression, as well as my rage at the entire situation and my inability to take more steps to protect her. It would also allow me to release the frustration of the mating instinct going unanswered.
With a nod to Guldan, I left the fighting ring and walked back into the manor.
Masu was in the kitchen, making afternoon tea. When she saw me, she sighed and reached into the warming drawer under the oven, bringing out a bowl full of rice, vegetables, and chicken in a rich gravy.
“Don’t you dare sit at my table with all that dirt on you,” she directed, pointing to the wall by the kitchen door.
I took the bowl. “Thank you for keeping a bowl warm for me.”
I fished a fork out of the box that held cutlery and walked over to the wall, leaning against it.
“Get it out of your system?” Masu asked.
“Get what out of my system?” I took a bite of the chicken and scooped up some rice.
The imp shot me a sharp look. “You realized I’m not blind, right? And don’t answer this question with another question.”
I took another big bite, chewing and swallowing before I answered. “If I had any idea what you were asking me about, I would answer you.”
Masu laid her spoon to the side and turned to me, putting her hands on her hips. “Even a blind imp could see that you wantthe human, Master. What I want to know is, why are you fighting your mating instincts?”
I focused on eating my food instead of answering her.
