I angled my head. “You know what? Let’s do it. Maybe it’s time I stop hiding who I really am from those I love.”

Prisha’s lips split into a grin. “It’s been a while since we trained together. This may be fun.”

“And I don’t want to bang you, so it’s really a win-win.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Just a Fire Wolf joke.”

She snorted. “Okay, so it’s settled then. My dad and I are gonna help you figure this stuff out.”

“I’m so relieved to hear that.” And I was. It literally felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Because training with Prisha was a lot safer than training with the hunter. No sinewy muscles or chiseled abs for my fingers to wander across. Yep, training with Prisha and her father was definitely the right move.

∞     ∞     ∞

Prisha and I accompanied Tessa to Practically Perfect since none of us thought it was safe for her to go anywhere alone anymore. Thankfully, my sister understood my request not to work with her today so that I could train with Prisha and her father instead.

I called the SF en route to the marketplace downtown and requested the two squad members that Commander Klebus had offered last night. A text message from the Fire Wolf lingered on my phone, but considering who it was from, I hadn’t opened it yet.

When I finished the call, I gave Tessa a hug as we flipped over the Open sign on the front door. “Are you sure you’ll be okay here today?”

She smiled, all cheer and happiness. It was the version of my sister I loved the most. At times, she was the most positive person I’d ever met, and her bubbling energy made it impossible not to smile. “Of course, I will be. Nicole will be here with me, and Selena’s supposed to come in later too.”

My eyebrows rose. My sister actually knew the schedule.

She curled a strand of hair around her finger. “Did the commander say which SF members were coming to be with me today?”

I cocked my head, scrunching my forehead up. “I think she said Private Patterson and Merrick.”

Tessa beamed. I figured one of them was who she’d been flirting with last night. I sighed. Only my sister would flirt with SF members after her twin had fallen three stories from a window.

I gave her an exasperated look. “Try to behave. And no disappearing today. I mean it.”

Some of the happiness died from her eyes. “I won’t. I promise.”

Strangely, it was the first time I actually believed that she meant it.

Prish and I hung around until the cavalry arrived. Yep, Private Merrick was definitely the hottie my sister had been flirting with. She smiled coyly when he entered the store, and the crooked grin that lifted his lips told me he’d happily stay close to my sister’s side all day.

“Guard her with your life, Private,” I said to him before Prisha and I left. “I mean it.”

He dipped his head. “Ma’am, it’s an honor to do so.”

I bit back my smile, because like most supes in our local area, he thought Tessa was the witch behind our magical concoctions and brews, and I was still fine to leave it that way. Just because some crazy dude in New York, or wherever the hell he lived, knew it was me and not Tess who held those powers, didn’t mean that I was going to start advertising it. As unlikely as it seemed that my anonymity would remain, I figured I’d enjoy the remainder of it while I could.

“Bye!” Tessa said with a wave.

Prisha and I both gestured an arm in farewell before hurrying outside.

Thankfully, it was an uneventful trip to the facility we trained in. Still, both of us kept our guards up, constantly checking behind and above us for potential threats.

But they never came.

“Do you think it’s because I killed the two last night?” I asked Prisha when we stepped into her family’s warded training facility, the familiar magic sparking along my skin.

She shrugged. “Or it’s because it’s broad daylight and there are too many witnesses.”

“Yeah, could be that too.”

“Betis!” Prisha’s father, Azad, called to us before making his way over. Even though I wasn’t his blood daughter, he still treated me as one.

“Hello, Pita.” Prisha hugged him, then I did the same.

He clapped his hands, his mustache lifting when he smiled. “My daughters have come to train with me today. Tell me what sparks this fortuitous occasion?”

Prisha and I shared a glance. I twisted my hands. “Well, where do I begin?”

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 9

Prisha wielded her sword in a blur of blue fire. I dipped and danced, sliding out of the way every time it arced my way. She’d been coming at me for over an hour, and sweat dripped from my forehead in a steady stream.

“Pull from her, Tala! Reach inside her and rip it out!” Azad stood to the side of the mat, the large gymnasium-like arena open and airy.

A scowl tugged at my features as I searched inside me for the area where my new magic lay. Unlike my forbidden power, which I kept carefully stored and could easily access, my new magic wasn’t there to find. It’d only ever emerged when I’d been panicked or stressed. All other times, I could have sworn that it wasn’t even inside me.

Hence, why my best friend was currently trying to kill me. It appeared that a near-death experience was the only thing it responded to.

“Faster!” Azad coached.

Prisha turned into a flash of fire and grace. Her figure lunged, coming at me again and again until she’d backed me into a corner.

I had to duck and roll to avoid being sliced open.

“Tala, feel for it, beti.”

I grimaced and dodged the other way. “I can’t.” I gritted my teeth. “I don’t feel anything!” I dove again at the last minute, then was finally able to leap away from my corner when Prisha’s sword swung too low.

We were both panting when I held up my arm in the signal that told her to stop.

“I can’t,” I said through pants. “I can’t find it, and even if I could, I don’t know how to call it.”

The blue flames rolling across Prisha’s sword dimmed, and then died. Heavy breaths lifted her chest. “Now you tell me.”

We both laughed.

Azad shook his head, then rubbed his chin. “Well, beti, your power continues to elude us. I am unsure how to continue, especially since I’ve never seen this new magic of yours in action.”

I nodded, too winded to speak. We had jumped right into training after Azad confirmed that he also had never heard of any group called the Bone Eaters. I was beginning to think that whatever that group was, they were either long gone or had never existed, unless Jakub had ties to them . . .

“Shall we have you girls try again?” he asked. “Or perhaps I could stage an attack when you’re least expecting it. Perhaps that would pry it from you.”

Prisha and I shared expressions of mixed emotions. If my new power hadn’t appeared after hours of swordplay, what was to say another hour would help? And a staged attack? Eek, what if someone called the SF, thinking the staged attack was real? Then the SF would engage, and innocent people could get hurt.

From the uneasy expression forming on my best friend’s face, she’d reached the same conclusions, but in the end, she shrugged and deferred to me. “It’s up to you.”

My mind drifted to the Fire Wolf, to his offer to train with me and how he had ideas on how to train my new magic. A tingle of awareness vibrated through me. Images of his bare chest, broad shoulders, and corded muscles came next.

Nope, training with him wasn’t an option, even if he was the only one who’d seen my new magic in action.

“No, to the staged attack,” I finally told Prisha’s father.

Azad nodded respectfully.