Oh, man.
Mari sighed. “I suppose it’s my turn to try this.” She hefted her wooden blade. “If you don’t mind, though, I’ll spar with Matt. I think he’s more my speed.”
“Thanks, loads,” Matt’s voice dripped sarcasm. “Just what I need, to be smited by a Dorinthian. It is smited, isn’t it? Smitten doesn’t seem right.”
I shook my head at him. But as I watched them square off, my mind was filled with questions.
And it didn’t look like I’d be getting answers anytime soon.
31
Anna
It was a sweaty, bruised, and contused, but overall contented bunch of students that threw their swords back into the pile at the end of class.
Apparently, Dires loved nothing better than a good session of beating each other up.
Well, most did, anyway. Matt rubbed ruefully at his backside. “You pack one bloody big wallop, Mari.”
Mari appeared distressed. “I told you I shouldn’t be swinging swords around.”
“Don’t feel one bit sorry for his ass,” I told her. “He spent our entire sparring match trying to nail mine.”
“Such a tempting target, Angel,” he said with a grin.
A muscular form strode over to us—Ryan, and he was holding Talakai’s sword.
To my surprise, he didn’t give it to Matt, but rather handed it to me.
“Aria says you know your stuff. There’s no point in this sword lying around collecting dust. You should use it during class. This harness is designed with special elastic inserts that stretch to enable shifting to Dragon. If you use these hook and loop closures, it should be small enough to strap the sword to your back. There’s a side holster that will take the long knife too.”
I stared at him. “But—they’re Talakai’s.”
Ryan grimaced. “Yeah, well, if and when Sebastian finds him—you can decide then whether he’s worthy of that sword. I will leave it up to you.” He gave me a nod, and strode away.
My heart hurt as my hands rubbed at the ancient scabbard. Even Ryan had his doubts about Talakai.
Matt put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, Angel. We’ll find him. And prove them all wrong.”
I could only hope that was true.
I noticed Aria talking with Cara, the big Bellati, and the slim Dragon shifter. They turned and walked back into the building, but Cara came toward me.
She was almost with us when, with a “poof” of bright flame, something materialized between her and us.
It was a bird with bright feathers, a little smaller than a turkey, and as it hovered, sparks dropped to the ground. Followed by what looked like motes of ash.
I stared in astonishment. “Is that a real Phoenix?”
“Crikey, I think so.” Matt seemed equally fascinated.
“Sparkle belongs to Jacques,” Cara explained, as the critter landed on her arm. “She carries messages for him.” She moved toward me. “Put your arm out, would you? I always have problems getting the message out with a single hand.”
A message from Jacques. My heart accelerated as I eyed the sharp little claws on the bird’s feet before I sacrificed an appendage.
Sparkle uttered an odd “churling” noise as she transferred from Cara to me. Only then did I notice that she wore a harness that held a small cannister against her chest. The Phoenix tilted her head to view me with one bright, curious eye as Cara reached to unscrew the lid and extract the bit of paper rolled up inside.
The Watcher unrolled it, and her brows drew down as she read.
