next.
As the sparring match wore on, I got more used to my body and was able to control it better than ever before. Hagan was hard pressed to land a hit on me and I could tell he was giving it everything he had.
A smell had started to distract me and I glanced over at its source. Oleif and Archer sat completely emotionless and I was a bit confused by what I was picking up. My momentary distraction gave Hagan the opening he needed and he stabbed me in the abdomen with his dagger as he reached for my bun and fisted it, pulling my head back and exposing my neck as he pulled the dagger out of me and held it firmly to my throat.
I gasped at the unexpectedness of it and an involuntary whimper escaped me as I was wretched to the tips of my toes by Hagan. I groaned as the sharp, burning pain of my deep stomach injury hit me and, after a few seconds, sighed as it ebbed and was immediately replaced by the healing itch.
“About time he took her down,” Oleif whispered to himself.
“Dammit, Morrison!” Hagan chastised roughly as he let go of my hair and pushed me away from him. “Never get distracted, especially if you are fighting for your life; which you WILL be doing in a few short hours. How many times do we have to go over this? No matter what you see, hear, smell, or feel, you block that shit out and keep fighting!”
“Yes, sir,” I bit my lip as I wiped the precious blood from my stomach to check the wound. Thankfully, it had completely healed by then and I wiped my bloody hand off on my pants. “Sorry, sir.”
“What was it this time?” he huffed, cleaning his dagger off on a towel and sheathing it.
“I… uh…” I started, almost too embarrassed to be truthful. “I smelled something, sir.”
Hagan raised his head up and took a deep breath in through his nose. “I only smell your blood and the scent of the people in this room.”
Oleif chuckled and Hagan and I turned to him. “Casanova over here is starting to give off a strong scent of sexual desire. I think that is what she smells.”
“Watch how you speak, child,” Archer growled in a whisper meant only for them. “You may be An Dilis, but I am still your elder and a sliocht leader.”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling as Hagan gave Oleif and then Archer disapproving looks.
“Now, dheartháir, you shouldn’t hold desire against me,” Archer smirked sexily as he then looked up at Hagan and innocently shrugged his shoulders. “She’s damn sexy when she fights and I AM still a man after all.”
“A man who is distracting her,” Hagan frowned, not amused. “Distractions can mean her death. Rein it in, you two.” He looked over at me unhappily and crossed his arms. “Don’t think I can’t smell yours too, now that you’ve smelled his. Bloody hell, it’s like being around a bunch of teenagers.”
Oleif laughed out loud as Archer and I briefly gave each other charged looks of desire. Hagan just groaned and threw his hands up exasperatedly as I turned my back on Archer and awaited my next challenge.
Hagan explained to me next that we had to work on controlling my anger. Whenever I got angry, my eyes turned solid black and that was something that made An Dilis uncomfortable because it showed I carried Amun’s mark.
He directed me to stand absolutely still and try not to react in any way to whatever happened next. I swallowed thickly and chewed my bottom lip uncertainly.
“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?” I cringed, having a sudden horrible feeling.
“Like hell, Morrison,” he nodded somberly as he lifted my hand and gently took one finger. He met my eyes and his look told me to prepare myself. I was in the process of taking a steadying deep breath when he broke my right index finger.
The next hour was filled with broken bones, screams, begging, and lots of cussing. At the end of it, I had only been able to keep my eyes from changing to black once, but I did get a handle on silencing any impending sound at the infliction of pain. Score 1 for Skye, 127 for Hagan.
I was allowed a five minute break as Hagan went upstairs to speak with Pádraig and Emrick about something. Archer had left the room during the last exorcise because