know more about. Or worse, she’d hand Calem his ass like she did with Kost. My gaze darted to the first of us she’d encountered, and Kost’s carefully placid expression failed to mask his clenched jaw.
But Leena stood tall, a subtle grin tugging at the corners of her lips, and a light sparked in her eyes. This was a chance to see what she had in her arsenal. A glimmer into who she was. And that was knowledge I could always keep in my back pocket. Kost had been alone before, but if she tried anything drastic here, I’d kill her and convince another Charmer to find me a Gyss.
But Leena’s fire… Where did it come from? I wanted to know. Needed to know.
Kost flexed his hands. “I strongly advise against this.”
“What? Why?” Calem tossed him an annoyed glance. “I’ll go easy, I swear.”
“You can’t control yourself. You’ll end up hurting her.”
Leena jutted her chin. “I can take care of myself.”
“This isn’t about your abilities,” Kost snapped. “This is about Calem and his inability to exhibit self-control.”
“I promise it’ll be fine. This is just for practice.”
Kost and Calem looked to me. I stood slowly, and Calem’s expression faded to one of remorse as if he expected me to banish the idea altogether.
“No life-threatening injuries.” Turning to Leena, I caught sight of her hazel eyes. Mischief touched her smile, but she turned back to Calem without saying a word. “No other rules.”
“This should be good.” Without standing, Ozias scooted in place to face the empty meadow on the other side of our camp. “That big enough?”
“Works for me. But you know I’m good in confined spaces.” Calem bent his forehead to Leena’s.
She smirked. “So am I.”
For the first time in my life, I witnessed Calem blush. Ozias exploded in a fit of laughter as Leena stalked toward the clearing, a slight sway to her hips. Kost mumbled to himself as he moved to join Ozias, his spine tense. Adrenaline hummed through my body, and an anxious desire to protect her stirred. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. Catching Kost off guard was one thing. But taking Calem head-on? His deadliness was bar none—he had no moral qualms with his work. There were even times he reveled in it.
Shadows fled from the forest to cling to him as he chuckled. “You’re in for it.”
They positioned themselves on either side of the clearing, and Leena settled into the weight of her heels. Every sound stopped. Nightingales halted midcall, and the lightning bugs scattered for safety. It was as if they knew. As if they could feel the sudden swell of power emanating from her emblem. Her Charmer’s symbol ignited in a brilliant display of rosewood light, roots and branches climbing the expanse of her hand and arm—a beautiful interlocking filigree of leaves and flowers. Fingers twitching, she studied the space between her and Calem.
“Go ahead. I’ll give you a chance to call forth your beast. Otherwise, it will be over before you know it.” He was nothing more than shadows and red eyes, a terrifying mockery of a man.
The heavy groan of a door opening shattered the silence of the night, and an influx of magic encircled Leena. Wind mussed her hair, and my heart stilled. Something was different. Beside me, Kost’s eyes widened and Ozias stiffened. Power unlike anything she’d demonstrated streamed from her, lashing against the night air and sending a charge through the wind.
When the breeze receded and the rosewood glow died, all the breath left my body.
Not one monster, but three emerged from the beast realm and clung to their master.
Leena grinned. “You said no rules.” Twin serpents with dragon-like heads and whiskers trailing the length of their scaly bodies glided through the air around her, constantly moving, constantly assessing. Electric blue in coloring, the first one growled, barring heavy fangs in Calem’s direction. The other, white as fresh snow, simply watched: sharp gray eyes trained on its target.
“Assassins don’t fight fair, either.” He winked out of existence, only an empty space where he used to be. The serpents tilted their heads, nostrils flaring wide as they searched for his scent. The third beast remained motionless. Child-size and sitting cross-legged at her feet, six arms with humanlike hands spread wide around its frame—two palms facing up to the sky, two flat and parallel to the earth, and the final two firmly pressed against the ground. Its cow-like head swiveled in our direction, ears going taut,