“Okay?” I asked aloud. My brain couldn’t fathom saying anything else beyond it. There were too many options that I could say, and this seemed to fit the best out of all of them.
“Okay,” Quinn answered.
I backed away to land across from her. Quinn kneeled and unsheathed her two long obsidian daggers. The magic around them shimmered and hummed, just like a moonstone opal, not too different from my scales or even my mom’s necklace.
“Wait, Quinn is going to fight Byrd with her daggers, but Byrd is defenseless?” Teddy questioned, concern in his eyes.
“Oh, I’mfarfrom defenseless,” I smirked toward him, my four fangs already descended and on full display.
My dragon was already surfacing before I could call her. A crown of crystal pillar-like horns grew around my bun like they had been placed there. My patches of scales that previously looked like tattoos blossomed into reality in patches along my body. My tail lifted from my leg and formed behind me, slicing a hole through the waistband of my leggings, and my lengthening talons eviscerated my socks and shoes, making me have to take them off.
Shit, I loved this fit. I really need to invest in shifter-friendly clothing, I noted for a future late-night shopping trip in bed.
You are so fucking stunning, mi libélulita,Quinn thought to me as she marvelled.
Before I could say anything in response, Everett interrupted us by coming to stand between us. “Now that you two arefinallyready, I don’t want either of you holding back! You may be fated mates, but you both need to give this your all for this little exercise to work.”
Quinn rolled her eyes. “I told you before,pendejo, I would never put Byrd in danger. I would be doing just that if I didn’t teach her how to fight a hunter.”
“Oh, that wasn’t directed toward you, ma’am. I knowyouwon’t hold back and let her win. That was to your little mate here.”
“Hey!” I said, genuinely offended.
“Don’t pull your punches just because you love her, kiddo! I want to see you actually try,” Everett said as he walked to the boulder where Teddy leaned.
“You think that I can’t beat her? Do you seriously not have any faith in me?”
Everett shrugged. “The jury is still out.”
My jaw clicked, and my tail flicked behind me. “Okay.”
“He’s such a fucking ass.” Quinn shook her head. “You got this, Sweets.”
I nodded, rolling my shoulders to let Everett’s comments roll off my back.When we get in the air, I’m going to enjoy beating sense back into his dumb ass.
I assumed the stance that I found worked the best for me during practice with Everett, and I widened it further to prepare for anything against Quinn. I raised my hands to guard my face. Quinn mirrored my actions, taking her own stance with Tina and Amy in hand.
We allowed a beat to pass. A soft breeze blew at my locs and Quinn’s curls. My tail flicked behind me. She flexed her fingers around the hilts of her daggers. My wings pulsed behind me, ready for anything. Both of our breaths were steady. The bond was quiet for now. Neither of us wanted to give a single thing away.
Then, Quinn charged me in a blur of motion.
Her footfalls were heavy with sureness but fast from her raw strength. She approached with both blades raised, shoulders squared, her eyes trained on me like she had already decided where she’d cut me first if I gave her the chance.
Quinn’s muscles and strength were the first things I noticed about her. I had always admired them as being not just a raging turn-on but a work of meticulously created art. There was always a graceful brutality about her that she could summon at will. Still, she never came off as aggressive or brutish in the sameway a man would with the same energy. No, hers was that of a mother bear more than a rabid one. She could kill ruthlessly, but she could also be so gentle in her care. It was one of the many things that made me feel safe and at home with her.
But there was something different about facing her as an opponent. I don’t think I had realized justhowpowerful Quinn was, how brilliant she was as a fighter. Every movement was a declaration of dominance, a threat made of flesh and reality. Her confidence took up even more space than she did. She knew her shit, and she left no room for you to doubt that. I had seen her fight before with Zaria, so I knew how precise and fluid she was when she moved. I was prepared for it.
Quinn with a dagger in each hand was a completely different beast.
I dipped low, my wings fluttering quickly to shoot me sideways out of her path. Fighting came as naturally and instinctively to Quinn as breathing. But I was smaller and shorter than her. I could be faster and more nimble, so I knew I had to use that to my advantage. My tail curled, the spiky crystal tip swaying, poised for attack and waiting for my opening.
Quinn never offered me one.
Just when I thought she was going to run past me, she pivoted quickly on her feet, faster than I anticipated. She lunged, her blades slicing outward. I twisted to dodge just in time, but I still felt Tina’s edge skim the air above my scales. I hissed at how close she had come. Then, I lashed my tail toward her legs to try and knock her over. She not only jumped over it, but she also used the forward momentum to slam her shoulder into my chest.
I was knocked out of the air immediately, hitting the ground with a grunt. My breath left my body for a moment from the force. Quinn didn’t give me a moment to catch my breath as she came to straddle me with her thick legs and tried to trapmy arms above me. I growled before bucking my hips. Her eyes widened in surprise as she was thrown off balance. I flipped us, prepared to lean over her. Yet, Quinn recovered quickly, rolling me off her completely and getting out of my hold to put some distance between us. She was on her feet in an instant with a powerful twist. Meanwhile, I was slower, rising into a low crouch.
Okay, Byrdie, you aren’t going to beat her just with your tail and claws alone. What other ideas do you have?I thought, pondering any way that I could get the upper hand in this fight.
