Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,134

drawled around another bite of his apple.

“I am.” I wanted to gape in shock when he spoke. His voice was surprisingly high and airy for a man of his size and build. The words were light, almost too quiet to hear. I wondered if it had any bearing on the kind of shifter he was—though Killian was a bunny, and he still had a deep, rumbling voice. Perhaps that was because he was a Puca? My Phoenix hissed at me, wanting me to focus. She didn’t care what the other male was, but she was furious at the idea that she wasn’t allowed to enter the fight. Her understanding was limited, but she understood my fear that if she did help me with her powers, our mates would be in danger. I knew it would be enough to prevent her from taking over, and I hoped my own control was as good as hers would be.

“Nix, are you ready?” Another bite of the apple and it disappeared as he sighed out the words, as if they took more energy than he was willing to give. I hoped he choked.

“I am.” My words were loud, my shoulders thrust back. I’d worked for months to gain strength, to learn where to hit. If nothing else, I wasn’t going to make this easy for him, that was for certain.

“Then you may begin.” He stepped from the ring, allowing Hugo and me to face off. I shifted my feet, watching his movements as I circled him slowly. The man was surprisingly graceful, although my men had been right that he wasn’t as fast or as smooth as they were. His fist launched out at me, the muscles in his chest twitching and betraying the direction of his blow so I could duck away. Again, he aimed, and again, I sidestepped. He was bigger than I was, he’d tire quicker. Irritation showed on his face as I danced away a third time, though I let him closer to me now.

“I hoped you would understand what we were trying to do,” Hugo told me with a grunt, as I leaped over a kick he aimed at me. “You’ve seen the kind of damage your kind can cause. Unlike Risa, I don’t believe what you did to the Councilman was a lie.” The shock of those words nearly had his blow connecting when I froze for too long. “Look at those poor kids. I know others in my faction think they’re disgusting.” Hugo’s words were almost pleading now as he stepped closer, aiming a blow for my midsection. I dove over it, driving my elbow into the side of his knee and making him stagger with a grunt, giving myself a moment to regain my footing. “They can’t be happy or safe that way. We’re offering them a way out. A way to fix what harm was done to them.”

“You’re not offering, you’re ordering,” I reminded him, kicking at his knee and making him stumble as I hit the same nerve bundle. He swore, backhanding me, the blow glancing off my face and causing blood to fill my mouth.

“Some are,” he panted. “Not all. But everyone would be safer that way.” He attacked with a flurry of hard punches that I deflected as well as I could. I landed a sharp elbow to his kidneys in return, the marks on my skin already stinging. I ignored them. I’d had worse, and I would again. “Your own mates could kill you. The Basilisk could lose control when you kiss him, just a drop of poison is all it would take,” he reminded me. “You never know if the Gargoyle is messing with your mind, your emotions. He could take everything from you and you’d never know it.” Fury rode me, and I landed a hard kick to the back of his leg, watching the way he buckled as I darted in to slam a fist into his face. I aimed for his throat, but he deflected, his punch landing in my stomach and knocking the air from my lungs, forcing me to roll from his reach.

“They wouldn’t hurt me,” I gasped out. “Just like none of those kids would hurt anyone. If they wanted it, I wouldn’t stop them. It’s their choice. Just like it’s mine. Choice is… everything.” Memories of my past swamped me for a minute, but I locked them away, unwilling to let them bleed into the moment. It was harder to fight Hugo than