Order of scorpions, p.31
Order of Scorpions, page 31
My knuckles crash against Riall’s nose at the same time his knee sinks into my stomach. The force and momentum of our blows have us both skidding back, and before either of us can launch a new attack, a booming staccato of applause wrecks our violent enthrallment. My dangerous daze fractures, and Tarek claps as he moves closer. Curio is casually leaning back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, one leg bent while the other supports his weight. He looks relaxed, but the intensity in his stare betrays him.
Riall and I are both breathing heavily, but strangely, I feel like I could go on forever. Riall finally broke a sweat, and whatever just happened broke the smooth, calm veneer he’s been fighting with since we walked into the training room.
“I fucking knew she could tap into more,” Riall pants.
I stare at him, bewildered. How would he know anything? I didn’t even know I was capable of that. I’ve hit a focused and determined stride before in training, but what just happened was a whole other tier of unusual.
The way we moved.
The skill and speed.
I study my hands, astonished that they still look the same when everything inside feels different. An energized hum sings in my blood, but I don’t mention anything. I don’t even know what I would say if I wanted to.
Do you suddenly feel invincible, because I sure do. Let’s see who can punch through the wall first.
Yeah, I don’t see that going anywhere good. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask if this is because I’m Sanguinna? I hesitate though, worried I might be wrong. What if this is something else?
“Impressive. With time, she might even be able to best Eacon,” Tarek agrees, stepping close and leaning toward me as though he’s trying to listen closely to something my body is whispering to him.
I go still, wanting to hear whatever it is too. He studies my eyes for a second longer than normal, and I immediately want to find a mirror to see whatever it is that’s making the curious glint in his gaze gleam with a hint of concern. Is it the blood and bruises bothering him, or something else?
Warmth drips from a split in my lip, and I wipe at it with the back of my hand. Tarek tosses me a towel, and I use it to clear my brow and the back of my neck of sweat. Riall reaches up and resets his nose. The cracking of bone and cartilage as it’s realigned fills the silence that starts to uncomfortably sift through the room. Tarek hands him a towel too, and he presses it to his nose to staunch the bleeding. A large lump is forming beneath one of his eyebrows, and his left cheek is red and slowly growing puffier. I turn away from the crimson patch slowly soaking into the towel. It’s getting harder to disregard the pang of hunger that’s growing deep in my belly, but I’m not giving into this blooding nonsense.
Not with him.
I’ve never needed it before, and I won’t start needing it now. I test my jaw, wincing at the pain that streaks up into my cheek and ear. My right eye isn’t opening as wide as the left, and I suspect the lid will probably bulge and blacken. My ribs and one of my hips throb with pain, and there’s absolutely no doubt that I’ll be sleeping under the light of the healing moon tonight to deal with all the damage.
Despite my injuries, I feel good. Really good. Whatever just happened, whatever I just unlocked, I want more of it.
“Something about the way she was matching me, I’ve never seen it before. It’s hard to explain,” Riall tells Tarek, his voice pinched from where he’s holding the towel to his nose. “You’ll both need to see for yourself, but if you push, she’ll show up for it. It was by the book at first, nothing but the ludere’s forms and counterattacks, but the more I pissed her off, the more she showed me hints of that raw power we all just saw.”
They all look over at me, observing me like I’m livestock that’s being considered for purchase. It’s demeaning and all too familiar, and I’m entirely done with anyone looking at me as though they’re trying to determine my worth.
“I’m right here,” I snap, offended.
“Yes, you are, Beasty,” Riall coos at me, and it’s all I can do not to try to strangle him with his bloodstained towel.
I’m vexed and begrudgingly impressed, and what’s even more annoying is that I feel relief. I loathed the idea that they were trying to sit me in a corner and dismiss what I can do for the sole sake of their pride. I also hate that it bothered me in the first place at all.
“Now that we have a true idea of what you’re capable of, we can start building on that,” Tarek states, and Riall nods his agreement as he runs his palm over his short brown hair.
Riall’s hazel eyes glaze over with thought, like he’s already formulating a plan for what comes next. I suppress the urge to discuss it with him, shoving down my interest like it was something that bit me and now needs to be punished. I wish all of this didn’t feel so exciting. The idea of building on the savagery we just unleashed makes me eager. There’s an undeniable thrum of excited anticipation buzzing under my skin right now, and I’ve never felt that before when it comes to training.
“Either of you in need of immediate healing?” Tarek asks, his icy blue gaze once again looking me over as though he can see what hurts beneath the layers of linen and skin.
Maybe he can, what do I know?
Quickly dropping my eyes from his assessing gaze, I stretch a little, checking if there’s anything to be concerned about. I shake my head in answer. Riall does the same, and I catch a twitch of pain in his face as he rolls one of his shoulders. Suddenly I’m the one wearing the snooty smirk. It’s good to see that I’m not the only one affected by the hours we’ve spent going head-to-head. I was trying to weaken the force of his hits at the end by targeting that shoulder and upper arm. I hit him so many times in the exact same places I’m surprised he can feel anything at all from the elbow down.
Riall catches me watching him, and instead of a gleam of retribution igniting in his eyes, heat simmers there. His ardent stare moves down my face and settles on the slowly weeping cut on my lip. His tongue sneaks out, and he licks the lower brim of his mouth as though the cut mars his lip and not mine. I look away, entirely too close to burning up in the flames of his stare than I care to be. A deep chuckle taunts me to look back over at him, but I’ve been provoked enough today.
“Eacon is stopping by later to bring some things for you, Auset. If you change your mind, she can heal whatever you might need then,” Tarek informs me, stoking my confusion.
Why would she bring me anything?
I stare at Tarek as though the answers will slip from his lips, but he doesn’t continue or offer any details about what she might be bringing.
Hopefully not more dresses.
The impression I got after first meeting Eacon was that she knew and cared for the Scorpions in some sort of maternal manner. However, Tarek’s earlier comment about her fighting prowess makes me wonder about her even more. Who is she to them? My first meeting with her was a bit strange. Then again, everything about waking up in this place has been.
Already it’s as though I’ve been here for weeks, when in truth I haven’t even been awake for a full day. At this point, someone could tell me that Riall and I have been going at it for a month in this training room, and I wouldn’t question it. So much has happened, and yet I find myself stuck and waiting for more to pile on.
It’s all entirely too much while simultaneously feeling like it’s not enough.
I take in the wooden practice weapons tacked to the walls. My gaze trails to the double doors at the back of the big training space, which lead into their impressive weapons room. Curio gave me a tour of it when I was guided here after breakfast. I’ve never seen so many stunning and deadly weapons in one place. I could probably spend forever in there and still find something new to play with every day.
The training area is on the same level as the kitchen, but on the opposite side of the castle. Compared to Tilleo’s manor, there aren’t an abundance of rooms in this one, but the quarters that do exist are colossal. On this level alone, there’s the kitchen, laundry, training facilities, the armory, and an alchemy chamber. The main floor boasts of a library, a dining hall, and a wing designated for guest rooms, which happen to be empty. The sleeping and bathing chambers of the Scorpions take up the entirety of the top floor, along with a study and what looked like a rookery tower from outside, although I didn’t hear any evidence of birds when I was sneaking down the hallways in search of food. The Scorpions haven’t offered to show me around the top floor, but Curio mentioned the layout during his cursory tour earlier.
I start to make a plan to come down here later, once the house is asleep, and relieve the Scorpions of some of their cache of blades. I need weapons when I leave here, and if I haven’t figured out how to stock up on the necessary aurems needed, I can always sell some well-crafted pieces. There was an endless array of options that would no doubt fetch a good price. I doubt these fae would even miss them.
“Alright,” Tarek claps loudly, jolting me from my thoughts. “Let’s get cleaned up, break for luncheon, and then, Auset, you’ll be with Curio this afternoon and finish the evening with me.”
Luncheon?
“What is luncheon?” I ask before I can stop myself.
Everyone looks at me for a moment too long.
“It’s our mid-day meal,” Riall supplies, all playfulness and teasing suddenly gone.
He mumbles something else, but I can’t make out the words, only the incredulous and slightly angry tone. The shift in demeanor between the three of them is unsettling. All at once, I feel self-conscious. I do my best to swallow down my shock over the fact that they’re going to feed me again so soon. I was disappointed earlier when I couldn’t manage to steal the bread like I was hoping to. I figured I’d just add it to the list of things I plan on pilfering tonight when I sneak about the castle, getting the lay of things. I eye Riall for a beat and then look at the other two males. Another question sticks in the middle of my throat as though I can’t decide if I should swallow it down or spit it out.
“How…how many meals a day do you normally have?” I question hesitantly.
A soft smile quickly replaces Riall’s scowl, and I instantly feel better and then worse because he shouldn’t be able to do that to me so easily.
“We have three or four meals, depending on the day’s agenda. Breakfast, luncheon, a light supper if dinner is going to be late, and then dinner. We also nosh between meals if we need it,” Riall explains.
I attempt not to look flabbergasted by everything he just said, but based on the way Riall’s and Tarek’s eyes soften, I doubt I achieve the blank mask I’m trying for. I don’t know what nosh means, but I decide it doesn’t matter.
Three or four meals a day?
I don’t even know what to think about that. If they’re as good as breakfast was this morning… I shake my head, completely baffled.
“You are welcome to eat anything in the cooler or pantry, Moonling. Your days of gruel are over,” Curio calls out from where he’s still leaning against the wall, and my throat suddenly grows tight and my eyes start to sting.
I look to the others, waiting for them to contradict Curio’s offer, but they say nothing as they watch me. My mouth flops open and then shut as words fail me. Feelings I try not to feel, bubble up. I’m both astonished and grateful. Suspicion crawls just under the surface of it all, and I pet it like it’s a sweet furry companion that’s worked hard to keep me alive despite fate’s efforts to do the opposite.
“No tricks,” Curio adds as though he can read the concern that just flashed through my mind.
I scrutinize him for a few breaths before nodding.
“Okay, no tricks,” I repeat, needing to say it out loud, as though that will help the truth chase away my misgivings.
No tricks, I repeat again in my head, still unsure how it could be true.
“Wash up and meet back in the kitchens in thirty minutes?” Tarek asks.
“Make it forty, I need time to wh—” Riall looks over at me and stops talking.
The room goes silent, and there’s an awkward ambiance that fills the space.
“Right. Forty minutes,” Tarek agrees, dropping his eyes to the ground and palming the back of his neck.
Judging by the unusual combination of both censure and amusement written over both Tarek’s and Curio’s faces, it appears they both knew exactly what Riall was going to say before he stopped himself. I, on the other hand, have no idea. Tarek’s dark shoulder-length waves fall forward, helping to curtain his features, and I look over to Curio in an effort to puzzle out what just happened. He stares at me, his hickory gaze giving nothing away, but the smallest hint of a smile begins to play at his lips the longer we both look at each other.
I huff out an exasperated breath. They can keep their secrets. What do I care anyway? I turn to leave, ignoring the furtive pests, and try to remember how to get back to my room. They say nothing as I go. I’m on the first step leading to the top floor before I realize Riall is right behind me. I pause, not liking him at my back, and his arm lightly skims mine as he passes me, taking two stairs at a time.
“Think about me as you wash up,” he commands, his voice quiet and dripping with all kinds of wicked and alluring things. It’s the kind of tone used to whisper late at night when you don’t want anyone else to overhear what you’re saying. Goose bumps threaten to climb up my arms, and I order the fluttering sensation trying to flare in my gut to fuck off.
Against my will, my fangs drop in my mouth. The sensation stokes my anger as I glare up at Riall’s back while he ascends to the top floor. He turns, his gaze liquid fire. He smiles wide, showing off his own set of fangs, his grin pure provocation.
“I know I’ll be thinking about you as I do,” he adds, and before my mind can dig itself out of the gutter it just fell face-first into, he’s gone.
I climb the stairs, perplexed, and hot, and pissed at myself for feeling any of it. Riall’s words play out again and again in my mind as I find my room. I close the door behind me and lean back against it. I pull in deep calming breaths and run my tongue over my sharp canines. I smile as I get a hold of myself and move toward the bathing chamber.
I think I’ll take Riall up on his offer. No one has to know. I can scratch the itch, and none will be the wiser. It’s the perfect way to get them out of my system once and for all.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
“Ready?” Curio asks as he brushes his hands together to free them of any crumbs.
He pulls the cloth napkin he set in his lap for the mid-day meal and wipes the corners of his mouth before placing it on his empty plate. I notice my napkin. It’s still folded on the table. I should try to use it properly at dinner. That is, now that I know I’m supposed to be using it at all and not simply licking my face and hands clean.
Or not.
I think we’re all well past manners and civility at this point when it comes to meals. I should probably feel oafish at the feral animal that gets unleashed as soon as someone places food in front of me, but I don’t care what these fae think of me. At least I managed not to steal anyone’s plate this time. Riall made me four times the amount he made the others, which helped. Quick learner, that one.
I nod my head in answer to Curio’s question, and we both stand up. I groan as I rise from my stool and slightly twist back and forth as though that’s going to relieve some of the pressure in my full gut. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that fourth helping?
Nah. Worth it.
I thought bread was good on its own, but I just learned you can stack things on it and eat it all together. Crowns, it’s incredible. There was this meat that made my mouth feel like it was on fire, but I loved it. Tarek showed me that when you combine it with some cooling vegetables and this thing called cheese, it’s even better. The little food towers are my new favorite thing. Well, that and everything I ate at breakfast…and probably everything I’ll eat at dinner, or supper, whichever one comes first.
Food is the best.
The Scorpions don’t seem too fussed at my beastly ways, even if their impressions of me did matter. Which they don’t. Riall stares at my mouth like he’s wishing I’d tear into him the same way I attack a meal. Tarek puts more on my plate as soon as there’s room for it, and Curio adjusts himself in his seat…a lot. Especially when I get particularly vocal with my appreciation. They’re too easy to mess with. It almost takes the fun out of it. Almost. They think they’re subtle with their charms and lures, but I’ve set a few snares myself, and they’re too wrapped up in what’s happening between their legs to pay attention to what they’re walking into.
Typical.
I expect Curio to lead me back into the castle for whatever it is we’ll be doing together, but when he moves toward the kitchen door and then outside, I follow curiously. A cool breeze tickles my cheeks as we leave the confines of the castle. The sky is still gray, but the clouds are wispy and frail now instead of the threatening stacks of thunderheads that filled the sky before.
The world around us is wet. The storm stopped only a few hours ago. I can still taste it in the air. The scent of rain-kissed moss teases my nose, as do the deeper notes of wet stone and fertile soil. I recognize better the subtle hint of the tall needle-leaf trees on the breeze after spending so much time with them earlier today. The sun is still hiding, but the overall light of the day is dimmer, as though the bright orb is already in a downward arc, eager to meet the horizon so they can lie together for a while.
Curio says nothing as he leads me into the dense surrounding forest. I don’t question where we’re going, but I see the thin, worn path at our feet, indicating that wherever the destination is, it’s visited often. I study him as we go, prodding my instincts for a read on him. He’s quieter than I thought he’d be, based on how he interacted with me at the Bidding. It makes me wonder if I did something to make him act like this or if this is how he is when he’s home and comfortable. Just as soon as that curious thought enters my mind, I drop-kick it out.
