see him.
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Caitlin stood in the sparring ring, surrounded by al of her coven members, Aiden watching intently off to the side.
After their training in the woods, he had brought her back to ring. She had been sparring—and winning—for hours now, and the crowd had grown considerably. She had fought nearly everyone in his coven, and had defeated them al .
She was now down to some of their very best warriors.
Word had spread, and now al the royals had gathered, too.
The marble steps were completely fil ed with them, along with tons of onlookers.
Caitlin felt as if she had come into her own. She fought with a skil unlike any she had ever experienced. She felt more fluid, more in control. She felt as if she knew what her opponent would do before he even did it. Whatever Aiden had taught her—and she stil wasn’t even exactly sure what that was—had sunk in deep, and as she fought, she heard his words in her head. Your own worst enemy is yourself.
The only one who can defeat you is you. This is about what you’re becoming.
She tried to sense things on a different level in battle. She even closed her eyes from time to time, and tried to feel the vibrations around her, to feel her opponent’s energy. She felt how she was rooted to the earth, and felt more and more her connections to physical objects. They came at her with swords, with lances, with al kinds of weaponry, and she tried to feel her connection to each one. There is no separation between you and the objects. The only separation is in your mind.
She became a much better fighter than she could have ever imagined. As two of Aiden’s biggest, meanest looking warriors charged her at once, one with a javelin, and the other with a long chain and bal , swinging wildly, she felt completely unfazed. For the first time, she no longer felt subject to her anger, her fury, her emotions. Instead, she waited patiently.
As the javelin was hurled at her, ful speed, she merely waited to the very last moment, and dodged out of the way.
It went flying by her, missing her by a mil imeter, and as it did, she reached up, and managed to grab it in mid-air.
She then, in the same motion, broke it in half and sent it flying back at her attacker—and its blunt tip hit him hard in the chest, sending him flying on his back.
In the same gesture, without pausing, she took the other half and caught the chain and bal in mid-air as her other opponent swung it at her. She yanked it from his hand sent it flying. She then took the butt of the javelin and jabbed him hard in the solo plexus. He dropped to his knees.
The crowd erupted into applause and admiration, as Caitlin stood there and faced Aiden, waiting for more.
“Long swords!” Aiden yel ed.
An attendant appeared, throwing a long sword her way.
She grabbed it in mid-air, waiting to see what opponent was left that could face her.
Aiden looked at her meaningful y, and she could tel that he was reserving someone to fight her that would truly throw her off guard.
“Blake!” he yel ed out.
Caitlin’s heart dropped. It couldn’t be.
From out of the thick crowd of vampires and royals, there emerged a single man, holding a long sword, with a scowl on his face.
Caitlin’s heart stopped. It was real y him. Blake.
He looked at her with cold, impersonal anger, and it broke her heart. What hurt her most was that there didn’t seem to be any recognition at al .
Aiden had chosen his final warrior wel . He had clearly designed the sparring to throw her off balance, to stir up her emotions in the midst of battle. And it had worked.
She no longer felt grounded, no longer felt herself. She struggled to get back to that grounded feeling, but it was not coming. She felt unnerved, on edge. She felt unable to control her storm of emotions.
Before she could col ect herself, Blake charged. He held his sword high, over his head, with perfect form, just as a good warrior should. He came in hard and fast and swung down right for Caitlin’s head. Caitlin could not believe his speed. They were only wooden swords, and the blow would not have kil ed her. But stil , it would have hurt her a lot. It was clear now that Blake