315
Lucy
By the time class was over, I was shaking. Duke was pale and panting, hunched over. His instructor crouched beside him, patting his back and speaking softly to him. Renfield looked down at me. His eyes narrowed.
“There are people who are not meant to kill,” he said. “And that is alright.”
He crouched beside me, looking into my eyes. “But everyone is meant to defend themselves.”
I swallowed. “You said to aim for lethal spots.”
“Because a dead threat is no longer a threat.” I shuddered and nodded. “And even a half-dead threat is better than a fully functioning one.”
I met his gaze. His eyes softened. “You did well. You have a courageous heart. Give yourself more credit.”
I nodded, and he pat my shoulder. “I look forward to seeing you enter the Enforcer Academy.”
My eyes bulged as he stood. I watched him walk toward Lucian as he was wrapping up the rest of class. Lucian looked at Renfield, then over to me and Duke.
“Stay behind, you two,” Lucian called.
I looked behind me. Duke pushed himself onto his feet, and his instructor nodded at him and walked over to Lucian. Duke shuffled over to me and wrapped an arm around me. He was a bit cool to touch, but I bet I wasn’t very warm either.
“You alright?”
I shook my head. “You?”
He shook his head. “Maggie warned me… That going down the path of healing would make it harder for me in this avenue.” He chuckled, but it sounded hollow. “He also told me I’d be terrible at combat. Too skittish and a waste.”
I leaned against him and nodded. “You did your best.”
“So did you,” he said. “And think of the leg up you’re going to have when you end up in Enforcer training?”
I chuckled. “Yeah… if—”
“When,” Duke said, squeezing me. “If that’s what you still want to do.”
I considered it, turning it over in my mind. “When.”
“I’m sure David can manage to keep his hands off until after working hours.”
I scowled at him, nudging him as he laughed. Lucian spoke to Renfield and the other man. The students that filed out glanced our way, but no one said anything. Then, Renfield and the other instructor left.
“Come on,” Lucian said, nodding away from the room. “I have things for you.”
We stood and followed him down the hallway to his usual office. He gave us both blankets as if he already knew and set warm mugs down in front of us along with two boxes.
“I’m giving you these partially because they were always meant to be yours but also because I think they will serve you well.”
I sipped, eyeing the box in front of me warily. He opened Duke’s box first. The knives inside looked rusted and old. I didn’t understand why Lucian would give Duke daggers like that.
“These daggers are enchanted to work specifically for a healer.” His eyes were misty, but Duke’s eyes widened, excitement gleaming in them
“They… were my dad’s?”
Lucian cocked an eyebrow. “You’ve seen them?”
He nodded. “Visions… They’re vicious as hell, right?”
He nodded. “They haven’t been fed since he died. I don’t have the talent for it, but I think they will help you… You might even gain some weight.” Duke sputtered and pulled the box closer. Lucian chuckled. “They’ll channel the destructive edge of your talent, the part that keeps you skinny, and manifest it. They’re completely harmless against you.”
He nodded, drawing his fingers over the blade. The rusty overlay darkened just a little. “My… dad wasn’t much of a fighter, hm?”
Lucian chuckled. “No, not much. Your mom, though…”
He chuckled, nodding. “She seemed like a fire-cracker.”
Duke picked up one of the daggers. The gems in the handle began to glow softly. The rest of the dagger darkened until it was a deep black, growing deeper with every moment as the stones started to glow more. He smiled.
“I… I think I’m hungry.”
I chuckled. “Better not say that too loud… I think Blue is getting off bedrest soon.”
He smirked. “She thinks she is, but Amos is still too on edge to let her out of the house. They’re being cute and in love. She’s occupied.”
He opened the other box and pushed it toward me. Inside was a pair of sleek, silver daggers that shimmered in the fading light. The blade had an opalescent sheen on it. My breath hitched as he extended it towards me.
"This," he said, his voice laced with bittersweet emotion, "was your mother's dagger."
A wave of warmth and sorrow washed over me.
He cleared his throat and continued, his voice a low murmur. "I forged it myself as a wedding gift for your parents. It's… enchanted with a unique binding spell that will render any supernatural you stab with it human for several hours. It can’t kill the werewolf virus, but even a scrape with it will suppress it.”
He smiled. “She called them Game-Changer and Field Leveler.”
I laughed, drawing the box closer. “What names. Do yours have names?”
I looked at Duke, but his eyes were glowing, filled with that same light as the last time he went into a trance. He blinked and looked at me, though his eyes were still glowing.
“Murder,” he said. “My mom named them Murder and Chaos.”
I winced as the glow faded. His eyes were laughing. “She was absolutely ridiculous, but he never called them anything else.”
I looked at Lucian, who smiled, bobbing his head. “It’s rare that anyone inherits so much from their parents…. Tell that dragon boy not to slip up.”
Duke scowled at him, and I laughed.
We shuffled out of the building and climbed into the Escort car. I hadn’t intended to stay the night, but as soon as I entered the Blood Moon Estate, I couldn’t convince myself to leave. It certainly helped that David came flying down the stairs in nothing but a towel, still soaked from the shower. Duke and I stood in the foyer as he reached the bottom floor. His hair was plastered to his forehead, droplets clung to his sculpted chest and slipped down his chest. Steam swirled around him like a cloak, but I couldn’t tell if that was because the water on him was evaporating or not. Scales rippled up his neck and down in streaks that disappeared beneath the waistband. My mouth went dry. I blinked. I was mesmerized. The towel slipped a bit, revealing the sharp cut of his hip and a bit lower. My cheeks warmed. It spread through me in a rush, though he caught the towel, growling briefly.
He stopped midstep and flashed us a smile. “Welcome home.”
My heart fluttered. He looked at me. Dragging his gaze over me. His grin turned sultry.
“Sorry for the state of undress,” he said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. He wasn’t sorry at all. “I can come back.”
I tore my gaze away.
“You should,” Duke said. “But maybe without the towel.”
I whacked him as David laughed. “Duke!”
“I’m just trying to help you… Though you could probably use a shower, are you going to join him?”
David chuckled. “Let me get the hot water fixed first.”
I almost wished the floor would swallow me whole. Duke followed David, and I went after him. David led us through the kitchen, asking about our days before opening the basement door. I had never even known that was a door.
“Concealed weapons,” Duke said. “Need help?”
“Not sure yet.”
I frowned and looked at Duke. “You know plumbing?”
He snorted. “Not a damn thing, but Maggie is teaching me to channel. I assume that’s what’s actually needed.”
“Yep,” David said. I followed him and gasped. In place of pipes and a boiler were giant blocks of glowing stone. He hummed, shuffling forward, his bare feet slapping against the stone that lit up every time he stepped.
“What is this?”
“Magical delivery system,” David said. “It’s that basis of all of the plumbing, the central air, all of it.” He hummed and kept looking around. I looked around, amazed at how many large glowing blocks there were.
Then, he came to a stop and tutted. “Water, hm?”
“Recharge?” Duke asked, coming up behind me.
He ran a hand through his hair before placing it on the stone. His skin rippled, and he placed his forehead against the stone. The scales changed. Sharp lines appeared on his neck. The scales looked softer like fish scales. My eyes widened as the air around him started to glow with a soft white light. The air grew humid, and the light flowed into the block.
Slowly, he drew back, leaving the block glowing just as brightly as the one beside it. In a flash of movement, he sent a spark into the air. Fire blazed, heating the air before getting sucked into the red block. The color deepened to a deep, bloody red, and he bobbed his head.
“Done.”
“I always thought the rich hired people to do stuff like this,” Duke said.
David laughed. “Upkeep of the territory is part of an alpha’s job.”
He smiled at me and winked. “And I’m still up for that shower if you’d like.”
“David!”
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