it was obvious that when he wasn’t being a little douchebag who thought he could take me down just because I had tits and horns, he was a pretty good fighter with some training. He grappled against Kais, and the two shouldered their weight against one another, surprisingly evenly matched in weight and strength. Kais changed his angle of pressure, tipping Jason and then flipping him to the mat in a sharp move, but I saw the pause before Kais was ready to stand again.
I wanted to replace Kais on the mat. I had plenty of energy to tackle and train Jason, and Kais was wearing himself out from every possible end. They met in another clash of limbs, bodies straining, Kais’ teeth bared in a snarl. Az hummed from my side, head cocking.
“Am I really this thirsty or is this pretty hot?” Azariah murmured.
“Stop,” I said, huffing a little. It was hot, but it also made me cringe, even as Kais gained the upper hand again, taking Jason down to the floor and pinning him there. “Demons don’t know wrestling moves! Just try to strike or run!”
“Shhh, let me have this,” Az whispered.
Kais ignored me, but Jason actually nodded, the two of them helping each other up before facing off again. My own body was tense as I watched, wanting to barge in between them, toss Jason away, and gather Kais up. Also, yeah, Az was right. It was super hot. Kais was potently attractive as he fought, and he wasn’t a slouch even when he was just slurping at his coffee in the morning. His skin was flushed and dewy with sweat and I wanted to lick every inch, to feel him flexing as he pinned me to the floor.
Except Jason was a quick learner. He caught Kais by the back of his left leg and it gave out easily, Kais’ eyes went wide with shock as he fell back to the mat, his breath rushing out of him audibly as he landed. Jason, taking my advice, jumped back as if he were prepared to run, and looked eagerly up at me. I wanted to hiss and punch him right in his baby face for dropping Kais like that, but I forced a smile on my lips.
“Good,” I said, nodding, swallowing around the lump in my throat of Kais’ bitter defeat and frustration. “Get the humans out,” I added to Az in a whisper.
He grunted and nodded, clapping his hand and putting on that big pompous smile of his that the humans seemed to love so much. “Incredible work, all of you, Children of God. The Lord would be most impressed with your incredible efforts. But now, I think it’s time for you all to enjoy a moment of respite and slumber.”
The room followed Azariah’s suggestion eagerly, even the bleacher girls who’d grown increasingly flustered during the match between Jason and Kais. Kais grimaced as he stood, patting Jason on the back and ignoring my approach as the room cleared out.
“You’re pushing yourself too hard,” I said, as quietly as I could.
“I’m doing what needs done,” Kais answered, his words snapping.
“You are, but you aren’t the only one here capable of taking care of those tasks, Kais,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “You’re—you need to sleep, right?”
Kais glared at me, glancing briefly over his shoulder to see the last of his trainees leaving the gym, Az’s wings following their departure, until it was only the two of us left in the room.
“You were about to say I’m only human, right?” Kais asked.
“Well...I mean, you are human,” I said, frowning.
“Yeah, I’m well fucking aware, Deyva. I think about that every day. Every time I walk outside of that gate. I am—we are all outmatched. And your little showdown with Jason didn’t help.”
“I’m sorry. I totally showed off. I just wanted to put him in his place.”
“That’s just it, Deyva! We humans? We fucking know our place! We know it’s only a matter of time!” Kais roared, arms spreading at his sides.
I fought not to flinch. It wasn’t Kais’ anger that affected me, but the strangled grip of terror wrapped around him, like ice cold acid in my throat.
“Kais, I know it’s not—not what you had before the Rising, but this town? These people? It’s an incredible sanctuary, believe me,” I said, reaching out cautiously to rest my hand over Kais’ pounding heart.
Kais frowned down at me, the warmth in his dark eyes going molten as he