Imprisoned Gods - G. Bailey Page 0,80

wondering if I could get my daggers back off Seth at some point. This place just reminds me that I could have a chance of defending myself with those. I look back at Seth and Storm, seeing that they are so focused on beating each other that only a fool would interrupt. I’m no fool.

"Have you ever tried though?" Killian asks, and I look back at him as I answer. Words escape my lips for a second as he peels his shirt off his chest. The world seems to slow down as the shirt comes off, and man, even though I’ve seen Killian shirtless in the kitchen a few times, it is always impressive.

"Nope," I manage to cough out. I elbow Jade when she laughs, and Killian just looks confused as he shoves his shirt into his trouser pocket.

"Well, call me your new teacher. Come on." Killian wraps an arm around my shoulders, leading me away as I hear Jade just laugh. This is not what I had in mind today, though pressed against Killian’s bare chest isn’t too bad.

"I didn't come here to fight," I look up to tell him, making sure not to place my hand on his chest like my body itches to do.

"What did you come for? Did you miss me?" Killian asks, teasing me.

"Maybe...If I said yes, would you let me escape back to the house?" I ask.

"Err no," he says with a laugh. "Come on, I'm not going to do anything but show you how to defend yourself. In this world, that's something everyone should know how to do."

"My older brother, Peyton, once tried to teach me how to throw daggers...and I accidentally stabbed him in the foot," I say, remembering how mad he was at me. He was hopping around for a week until it healed, and my other brothers kept “accidently” stepping on his foot before running away, because they knew he couldn’t catch them.

"I will keep my feet out the way then. Maybe a light sword might be better for you to start with," Killian says, and he seems somewhat nervous as we get to the line of weapons. Killian chooses two swords before handing me the smaller one and nodding his head to the side. We walk until we get to a clearing.

"Right, stand here and hold your sword up, angel," Killian instructs, shaking his head at me as I stand still, holding the sword in the air. Killian puts his sword down and comes over to me, standing close to my back, and my body tenses from the close contact. Dammit, I like having him close to me.

"Move your hips this way," he instructs, placing his large, warm hands on my hips and turning me to the side. I almost sigh as he slowly moves his hands up my sides to my arms. I gulp as his hands cover mine, moving the sword into position. "Perfect," he whispers into my ear, his hot breath blowing against my neck. In a matter of seconds, he steps away and picks his sword up before walking a few feet away. I’m not sure if he knows he is teasing me, but god, is he good at it.

"Now stop me," he says, swirling his sword around with impressive wrist actions and stepping closer. When he lifts his sword, I do the only logical thing that comes to mind. I drop my sword and run away.

"Karma!" Killian shouts in panic. I don't get to register his warning until something hard slams into the side of my face, and everything instantly goes black.

27

"How is your head now?" Storm asks when I come out the shower room, seeing him sitting on the sofa with a black glass bottle in his hand. He takes a long sip as I close the shower door and walk over to sit next to him. I choose to sit close even though there is plenty of room. Maybe the head injury—that I wouldn’t let Killian heal and take from me—is making me braver than usual. Storm doesn’t move, instead he just lets me rest against his side.

"Sore. I can't believe I didn't see that flying ice sphere," I mutter, placing my hand on the lump on the side of my forehead, where it is still throbbing after earlier today. Killian and Jade blamed themselves for the accident, Seth couldn't stop laughing at the fact I ran away from practice fighting, and Storm carried me back to the house when I woke