Chevalier (Ondine Quartet #2.2) by Raveling Emma

Author:Raveling, Emma [Raveling, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mandorla Publishing
Published: 2012-12-20T05:00:00+00:00

FIVE

She was not fine.

Eyes blazed like emerald fire, spitting sparks of dissatisfaction.

I pulled her off the mat. "How many times are you going to make that mistake?"

"Let's do it again," she snapped.

From the moment we first worked together, she'd displayed exemplary technique and a remarkable natural agility. Like a predator, she had a keen sense of timing and knew how to use size and weight to her advantage.

But she was distracted today. It wasn't only because she couldn't obtain information on Barry at the Met.

Something else was going on.

The air shifted, heat building between us. Her Virtue drew inward, pulling in a controlled surge of energy.

Projection reacted, the magic in my blood stirring as if it sensed its counterpart.

She held my gaze. Knees bent, arms loose.

I waited.

The faintest flicker of eye movement toward my upper left arm.

By the time her leg moved, I'd pivoted in the opposite direction, landing my fist in her lower back.

She hissed, whipping around with a reckless punch that completely missed its mark.

Her concentration was off.

I easily evaded another kick and caught sight of her gym bag at the edge of the mat. A textbook rested next to it, one of the many she used for her sessions with Marquisa Bessette.

Understanding dawned as I read the title on the spine.

A History of the Selkie Kingdom, Volume 25.

She was thinking about him.

Something helpless and furious suddenly lodged in my throat.

A sharp blow connected to the back of my knee.

"That all you got?" I taunted.

Sweat glistened on her skin, her chest rising and falling with each quickened breath.

I could see it in her eyes. It didn't matter that he'd left for six months. It didn't matter that he was on the other side of the continent. It didn't matter that he was a selkie.

Tiny shards of ice dug into my chest. "Your reputation as sondaleur is going to shit with that kind of performance."

Her jaw tightened. "There's nothing wrong with my performance."

I suddenly needed her to give me everything. The wild storm of all that energy and power.

I wanted to be the only one she saw.

"Bring it."

Her mouth curved.

Leg arced, torso twisting through the air.

I stayed still. An unyielding mountain against a tempest.

Hands and feet snapped in a lightening fast assault.

Ribs. Shoulder blade. Stomach. Upper arm. Ankle.

Pain rushed through my body, nerve endings burning through the numbness.

Enough.

I grabbed her wrists and flipped her over my leg. She landed on her back, breath expelling in a whoosh.

Her skin was soft. "Better."

Wincing, she stood. "Why did you let me get those hits in?"

"Wanted to see what you could do."

Our eyes met. I wondered if she'd ever look at me the way she looked at him.

"Did I hurt you?"

"What?"

"You —" She waved her hand. Embarrassed? "Nothing. Just sensed…something."

I stepped closer. "Worried?"

She didn't move. A lock of hair escaped her ponytail, framing suddenly solemn eyes.

"Of course I worry about my friends."

I turned away first.

We walked up the stairs leading out of the basement workout room in silence. During the day, the brownstone bustled with activity.

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