They ended up taking another shower together, later on that evening. Dinner wasn’t attended and as they lay there, naked, limbs entwined on her bed, Cale stared out of the window. Taylor slept in his arms and he was perfectly content. Almost. If there was no threat he would be, but he was more content that he’d ever been.
“Billy? How are you doing over there?”
“I’m all right, Cale. How’s your woman?”
“Doing well. Are you safe there?”
“So far. I’ve found a woman they’ve been tracking and am going to approach her about it tonight.”
“A woman?”
Cale heard definite interest in Billy’s voice.
“Is she your mate?”
“Not sure. Haven’t talked to her.”
“But you feel something.”
“I’m a male and alive. An attractive woman makes me feel things.”
“Deflection is always an option, brother.”
“So is kicking your ass when I get back.”
“I need a good training session.”
“I hear your artefact is doing new things now.”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t a shock to him that Billy had been informed. Lian told them to always share information, don’t leave the others in the dark.
“It was freaky yet impressive. Still is. So what’s she look like?”
“Who?”
“Your woman?”
“I don’t know she’s mine. She’s just one they’ve pegged interest in. I’m obligated to help her.”
“‘Like I was with Taylor.”
“Shouldn’t you be paying her some attention?”
“I’m holding her right now.”
“Go. Enjoy. I will talk to you soon.”
“Stay safe, brother.”
“You as well. Oh, I heard about the attack from The New Order. Is she okay?”
“A bit shaken up for a short time, but she’s fine now.”
“I knew she was a fighter. Later.”
The connection vanished and he slid his lips along her forehead. She stirred in his arms and woke.
“We missed dinner, didn’t we?”
“Yes.” He took another kiss from her full lips. “Are you hungry?”
“I wouldn’t say no to some sustenance.”
“Let’s go then.”
They dressed and made their way down to the kitchen. It wasn’t empty—Dracen and Aminta were in there fixing bowls of ice cream.
“Oh, so you do live,” Dracen said to Cale. “We weren’t sure when you didn’t come down to fix dinner.”
Oh shit!
“I totally forgot it was my night. Who took it for me?” The look she gave him answered that question. “I’ll take your next one, when is it?”
“Tomorrow.”
Taylor buried her head against him and he leant down to her ear. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“You were supposed to be cooking down here for everyone and instead we were up there…you know.”
He grinned. “Oh yeah, I know. Trust me, I know exactly what we did. How often and in what positions.”
She punched him and he captured her hand, kissing it. “Can you behave?” she admonished.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “Want some ice cream, or something more?”
“Ice cream works.” She looked at the women. “What are y’all up to?”
“Watching a movie. Care to join us?”
“I’d love to.”
Cale wanted her to stay with him, but he was grateful to them for including Taylor in their activities. “Is this a movie I’m invited to as well or is it women only?”
“You can come if you want,” Aminta said, her lips curved up at the ends.
He knew that look. Holding up a hand, he shook his head. “No, no. You three go have fun, I’ll find something else to do.”
“You sure?” Dracen asked.
“Positive.” He slid a bowl of ice cream to Taylor, who’d finally moved away from him to stand closer to Aminta. “I’ll see you when your movie is over.”
She gave him a smile that kicked up his heartbeat a bit more. “Sounds good.”
He walked to her side, kissed her then left. Instead of going to another game room, he made sure no child was near then took the passageway down to the room where they had the prisoner. Tiarnán was already there and the man behind the bars looked like he’d seen better days.
“Has he spoken?”
“Yes.” The deadpan way Tiarnán spoke sent chills up his spine. This man didn’t mess around.
Cale thought about the woman who was destined to be Tiarnán’s mate and prayed she would be strong. A weak woman wouldn’t survive Tiarnán’s intensity.
“What can I do?”
They both looked in the cell and the man cringed, afraid of what was to come.
* * * *
“Better.”
Taylor would take it. Coming from Dracen, it was high praise indeed. Bent over at the waist, she sucked down air and balanced her hands on her knees. They’d been training daily, always at a time when Cale was occupied with something else.
“Thanks.”
Standing upright again, Taylor looked at the woman she’d dubbed the ‘dragon warrior’ and shook her head. Dracen didn’t even look winded. No sweat dotted her brow, her chest didn’t heave in meek attempts to get more air.
Bitch.
“You have good instincts,” Dracen said, flowing towards her in a way Taylor was willing to admit she was jealous of. The woman was the epitome of grace.
“But?”
“You try to outthink yourself.”
Hands on her hips, she tilted her head. “I do what?”
“You try to outthink yourself.”
“Which means what?”
Dracen looked around. “When an attack comes at you, your body automatically begins to do something. Then, your brain gets in the way.”
“So I’m harming my own training.”
“Essentially, yes. You need to trust your body. Your instincts.” She crossed her arms and braced her feet shoulder-width apart. “This last spar, what were the things that went through your mind?”
She moved her mouth like a gaping fish for a few seconds. “I’m not sure. I was waiting for you to attack then I was thinking…”
“Tell me.”
She was embarrassed to admit it. “I wanted to impress you so you’d think I was making progress.”
Dracen didn’t respond for a couple of moments. “You are improving. What you need to remember, Taylor, is this is war. It’s not a competition where you are going for points in a ring with observers. When you’re called upon to use what you are learning, it will be in a life or death situation. Don’t think about impressing me or anyone. Think about staying alive. Listen to your body. When you think about anything else, you try to do what you think I want to see you respond with. I don’t care how it looks—if it works and keeps you alive, that’s our goal.”
She’d not thought about it like that before. “So, just because you showed me a roundhouse, doesn’t mean I need to use that the next time.”
“Exactly. I’ll flood you with moves, help you hone them, but you, your instincts need to play a bigger part. This isn’t a movie, there’s no script here. And when you’re fighting, there’s no reset button. Some people are better with kicks than punches. Some vice versa. You have to discover your own talents, strengths and weaknesses.”
“Discover my own weakness?”
“If you know it and are comfortable with it, no enemy can use it against you. A weakness isn’t necessarily a horrible thing. You just need to know what yours are. Same thing with weapons. Swords are some’s preference while the bow is others.” A smile. “Like, I don’t think I would give you nunchuks. Just a hunch. But a staff, I think you’d excel at.”
“Who excels at the bow?”
“Roz likes to use the bow, but we all know how.”
She licked her lips and rocked back on her heels. “Is there a type of weapon most don’t use but you think would be a good one for me?”
Dracen crossed her arms and strolled around her. Taylor could feel the assessing gaze, but she didn’t move, just allowed Dracen to continue with her study. She felt like a small kid next to Dracen, who just seemed to have her shit together.
“Honestly, I would equip you with an ASP.”
She shook her head. “What’s that?”
“I think a pair of them with clips so they could be hidden on your body. Collapsible ones.”
She turned with her this time. “Which means?”
“Probably both sixteen to twenty-one inches.” She placed her hands on her hips and nodded. “Yes. That’s what I’d suggest.”
“I’m still not understanding. What are you talking about?”
She waited for Dracen to fill her in on what all that jibber meant. The woman didn’t say another word. Taylor cleared her throat when Dracen walked away to a closed floor-to-ceiling cabinet. Standing as she was behind the woman, Taylor watched the impressive weapons display appear, only to disappear seconds later.
“Follow.” Dracen strode off.
Mentally snapping a one fingered salute, she scrambled to keep up with the order.
Dragon warrior.
They went down to another level in the same room, a part she’d not been to before.
Been to? Hell, I didn’t even know it existed.
The entrance was behind a thin bamboo wall. Beeping filled the air as Dracen typed in a code on a wall panel. There was a soft and faint
shink
before the wall beside the taller woman dropped back and slid to the left, vanishing.
Holy crap!
If she’d been under the impression that the amount of weapons in the cabinet upstairs was a lot, that had been a foolhardy mistake on her part. Up there, could be equated to an end cap at a weaponry store. This was like nothing she’d ever seen before.
Dracen led her towards the back from where a clanging sound emanated. The farther into the room they proceeded, the more her awe increased.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many weapons in one place before. Hell, I don’t think I know the names for some of them. Okay, a lot of them. Most of them.
She increased her pace so as not to be left behind by the fast-striding dragon warrior.
Where is she taking me?
Her answer was received moments later when they passed through a large archway and entered a huge workspace. A forge in the middle gave out excessive heat and she immediately wiped the sweat from her head.
A tall figure stepped from a shadow and she had to hide her squeal of terror. The man was a behemoth. Jeans, boots and leather apron comprised his attire, while he had a huge sword in his hand. The gleaming blade reflected the flames and rested against his left shoulder. His arms were massive and she knew he’d be able to snap her in half without exerting any significant amount of energy.
Dracen didn’t move and it was only with amazing fortitude that she didn’t either. The man’s face had a wicked scar, which ran diagonally across it, and he was missing part of his right ear. Her legs shook so bad she expected to fall into a pile on the floor.
“Dracen.” His voice was deep and full of bass.
“Inaki.” Her own was filled with affection.
Taylor breathed a bit easier when they embraced. Although it was more like Dracen was picked up like a rag doll and engulfed by a giant. But the woman didn’t strike her as fearing for her life. When Dracen had her feet back on the ground, the large man looked at Taylor. She swallowed again and struggled not to show fear. His scar bisected one eye so it was nothing but a socket. His other was vivid green.
“Who’s this?” he boomed, shifting the sword back and forth in his hand.
“Taylor.”
She forced her legs to work and walked up to him, hand outstretched. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”
He looked a bit taken aback by her forwardness, however he recovered quickly and took her hand in his mammoth paw. It totally covered hers and she refused to panic.
That will be done later and in the privacy of my own room.
“Inaki.”
“A pleasure, Inaki.”
He released her and instantly put his attention back on Dracen. “Why is she here?”
“She needs two ASPs, Inaki. Ones only you can make.”
“She is mate to a Guardian?” Wonderment laced his tone.
“Cale.”
Taylor stood still as his green eye snapped back over to stare at her. This time he paid a bit more attention. To what, she wasn’t entirely sure, but she didn’t move. After his intense perusal, he grunted.
What the hell did that mean?
“Come.” He pointed to the floor before him.
She obeyed and looked up at the man who was clearly over seven feet tall. Probably closer to eight, but if she thought about it much more, she might faint. He gestured with his hands and she got the meaning. Lifting her arms out, she waited. He never physically touched her, just walked around her, but if she tried lowering her arms, he would grunt in a most disapproving way until she had them back where he wanted them.
He faced Dracen. “Give me seven days. Arms down,” he added.
Taylor lowered them and put her hands together in front of her.
“Okay, we’ll be back then.” Dracen reached out and squeezed his hand. “Thanks.” She jerked her head to the door when they had eye contact. “Let’s go.”
Taylor followed and didn’t say a word until they walked out and the door closed behind them. “Who is that?” she asked.
“Inaki.”
She rolled her eyes. “I got that. I mean, what’s he doing down there and why is he locked in?”
“He’s not locked in, that’s where he works. Inaki is our weapons master. He makes all of what we use.”
“He’s made all of these?”
“Every last one.” She smiled. “Amazing, isn’t it?” She took the steps quickly.
“And he’s going to make me an ASP?” Taylor tried not to breathe hard because, damn it, she wasn’t that out of shape.
“Basically. Inaki takes ideas of weapons and fixes them with his own spin on them. Until he has them ready for you, we’ll work with ones the cops use.” They made their way back to the first cabinet and Dracen opened it.
“What are they?”
“This.”
She caught the black cylinder tossed at her and stared at it. “What do I do with it?”
“Snap it open.”
Taylor knew what it was now as the thinner part exploded out. A flexible baton. “This? You want me to fight with this?”
“Two of them.” Another flew in her direction. “You can hide them on your person and they’ll take down a man twice your size, if you use them correctly.” Her grin was near feral. “Which you will.”