Another heavy sigh from Blake, before he said, soft and steady: “It was never about that. It was to keep you safe.”
His words made no sense. I must have been dreaming—which made me frown because I didn’t want to be dreaming about the Ambush Master. Not like this. All soft touches and gentle words.
“Happy birthday, Rubi.”
My fingers ghosted over his lips. “I like when you say my name.”
Blake froze, but only for a moment before he pulled back. There was a movement by my face. Had he kissed my forehead?
I was asleep before I heard him leave.
25
I blamed my exhaustion on the hangover, but it didn’t matter. Clearly, I was the only one so heavily affected, as Jace smirked over the barrier.
“C’mon, Malissa and Rubi,” he called, a smile directed at me. “This is just a balance exercise. Ride toward each other, cross blades once. That’s it.”
Malissa stood atop her tyger, opposite Flame and me. I was trying with a sword again, though I wasn’t any better. Still, it felt more useful than using my ribbons against her short twin blades.
The princess was a warrior. Jace gave her the respect her position deserved but the others still whispered the wordyinbehind her back, even though Malissa was deadly and precise.
We were the two female yin tyger riders. I’d hoped we might become friends eventually. But she still hated me. I wondered about her relationship with Blake—it was probably something more than friendship, I thought with a pang.
Ready?I asked, petting Flame’s fur.
Always.
There was one thing I was unexpectedly, undeniably good at. When it came to riding our tygers at full speed—standing up, balancing on their backs, leaping through hoops as they charged across the training field—I excelled.
Everyone else lurched and stumbled, their tygers jolting beneath them. Even the strongest warriors like Blake struggled to keep their footing. Ire, with his great mass, fell spectacularly several times, cursing as he hit the dirt.
But me?
The moment I stood on Flame’s back, it felt effortless.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that Flame and I could mentally coordinate every second of every move.
I sang to her as I rode. And she hummed back. I wasn’t just balancing. It was like I was dancing with her, flowing with the powerful rhythm of her stride, her instincts meshing seamlessly with mine.
That was probably why Malissa’s eyes flashed as she struggled to balance on Venom’s back. It might have been the reason she hurled her blade at me instead of clashing with mine, as we’d been ordered.
Pain right below my shoulder. A hot burst of blood. Flame roaring. I tumbled off her and slammed into the ground.
“Blazing hell!” I cried out, my voice echoing in the space. Flame spun back and crouched over me.
Rubi?
I’m fine. It just hurt. At least she didn’t hit anything major.
Flame growled once more, then turned and knocked into Venom, with more force than I’d seen.
The movement easily jostled Malissa off her tyger, sending her sliding in the sand after landing on her shoulder.
Venom, for a brief moment, seemed to consider charging, but Flame was tygress queen. One rumbling growl had every single tyger in the training field alert and focused. It was Kingsolver, though, who jumped into the fray, sidling up to Flame. He wasprotective, like her second-in-command. The two of them slowly stalked forward and cornered Venom.
Jace and Blake had already hopped the barrier, palms raised toward the still-growling tygers.
Blake looked toward me, penetrating blue eyes fixed on the blood pooling over my arm where Malissa’s knife was still stuck. He looked furious. Steeling myself, I pulled it out, keeping my gaze locked on his.
