Dusk Avenger (Flirting with Monsters #3) - Eva Chase Page 0,71
some kind of never-before-heard-of human-shadowkind fusion,” I shot back, and waved my hand in the air to dispel any lingering heat.
“If you’re not up to continuing, we can leave things here.”
“I didn’t say that.” Imagine the party he’d throw if I ever admitted I couldn’t meet one of his challenges. Oh, no, this gal was in it to win it. Even if I wasn’t totally sure what “winning it” would look like. Not frying myself at random, presumably.
The batting cage training session had actually gone pretty well at first. As Omen had set up the ball launcher to, well, launch balls in the approximate direction of my face, the other shadowkind had come out to watch. With Antic’s eager cheers, Ruse’s sly praise, and Thorn’s and Snap’s quieter but powerful support, I’d been able to put what I’d learned about my history and Ellen’s refusal from my mind.
But now the daylight was dwindling. The time was creeping closer to the Fund meeting Omen was grudgingly agreeing to let me attend, and it was getting harder to tune out the niggling uncertainties.
And look what that got me. Scalded fingers—nice work, Sorsha.
I squared my shoulders and readied myself for the next ball. The machine chucked it at me with all the intensity of a nuclear missile launch.
My eyes narrowed, and the leather surface burst into flames. The ball streaked through the air like a meteorite, dissolving into ash just before it reached me. As the charred remains pattered to the ground with a whiff of smoke, I braced myself for a matching singe across my skin, but none came. Thank buttery boom sticks. For once, my trainer couldn’t complain.
“Better,” Omen said. “You can pull it off—now you just have to keep doing that.”
“Thanks for the excellent coaching, boss. Where would I be without your sage wisdom?”
The corner of his mouth curved slightly upward. “Searing yourself to a crisp, I’ve gathered.”
Before I could come up with an acceptable retort, Thorn emerged from the shadows, back from a quick patrol of the area. We must have been safe from marauding hunters and actual missile launchers, because his expression was… if not happy, because Thorn rarely managed to look anything other than serious, then at least semi-relaxed.
“Maybe our mortal has put in enough work for the day,” he suggested mildly. “No one can focus well once they’re worn out.”
I dragged in a breath and found my muscles were starting to get a bit trembly from the effort I’d been exerting for the last few hours. “You have a point. I want to be sharp for this meeting, too.” I glanced at Omen with a quirk of my eyebrow. “Unless you have any objections, dog breath?”
The shifter smiled thinly at me, but his gaze wasn’t anywhere near as icy as it’d been when he’d first attempted to train me weeks ago. It might even have been a tiny bit warm. “Have a break then, Disaster. But don’t expect me to cut the human side of you any slack.”
He stalked back to the Everymobile. I rolled my shoulders, walking in a circuit of the arena to stretch my legs at the same time. When I came around to my original spot, Thorn had lingered there, waiting for me.
“These recent events—they’re weighing on you,” he said.
The gentle concern that came through his low voice sent a flutter through my chest. There was nothing quite like the reminder that one of my greatest marvels had been melting this warrior’s stern demeanor.
“It’s a lot,” I said. “Especially when all I’ve got now is more questions. If it’d turned out my parents had a shadowkind work magic on me or whatever, that would have been a little easier to wrap my head around. And everything with the Fund…” I rubbed my arms and let out a little laugh. “I guess I really did burn those bridges right to the ground. Maybe it’s a good thing I’m making tonight’s appeal to people who barely know me.”
Thorn let out a rumbling sound. “I don’t think your behavior necessarily dictated how your former colleagues responded to your request for help, m’lady.”
“No? They sure acted like it had.”
“I’ve observed—there’s a way all beings tend toward—” He paused, glancing around. The other shadowkind had left as far as I could tell, but either someone had stuck around in the shadows or Thorn felt we were too close to our home base for comfort. He motioned for me to follow him.