14

His mouth pressed down on mine and my eyes slid closed so I could focus on the sensation.

The kiss was sweet, and light, and beautiful. Then something changed.

Tavlor’s passion drew me into a darkening spiral and I moved my hands up his face until I could twirl my fingers in his long hair.

He growled in his throat and my knees buckled. He caught me and wrapped his arms around me, pinning me against his body as he deepened the kiss, pressing my lips open and sweeping his tongue through my mouth.

I gasped and moaned against his mouth. Tavlor’s hands slid down to my ass, and he kneaded the flesh in a hypnotic pattern.

The burning of my locket against my skin became so strong, I couldn’t ignore it. I started to pull away to deal with it.

Tavlor dropped his hands away from me and stepped back, holding my arms to make sure I didn’t topple over.

I grabbed for the locket and my mother’s voice came blasting through.

Stop! He’s a mongrel!

I dropped the locket with disgust.

“Why does everyone have such an issue with your mixed blood?” I asked, glancing up at him. “I think you’re kind of… intoxicating.”

I bit my lip, and then ran my tongue over the bite, loving his taste on me still.

Tavlor stared at me like I had two heads. “What are you, Ava? Something… mixed as well?”

“No… I…” I swallowed, stopping myself just in time. “I suppose I am. My father was a normal human, my mother was a powerful witch.”

“Was?”

“Yes, they’re both… dead now.”

The words tasted like acid in my mouth and I conjured a bottle of water to wash away the taste. I hated lying to him like that.

“I’m sorry,” I said, recapping the bottle. “I’m really killing the mood, aren’t I?”

He cocked his head. “No, I find you utterly…”

He didn’t finish the sentence and I found myself wanting to fill in the words.

“Intriguing? Bewildering? Strange?”

“Incredible. And… different.”

I shrugged. “Well… I’ve been called worse.”

I walked away from him with my back turned, not sure how to deal with any of this. My stomach was tight, my breathing labored. I still couldn’t believe I’d had my first, real kiss!

To distract myself from the emotional turmoil rolling through my body, I strolled around the edge of the room, taking in the weapons that lined the walls. “So, how are we going to train? What would you like me to do?”

“Do you have any questions about the testing tomorrow?” he asked, his voice once again cool and business-like.

I missed the heat of the last few minutes immediately.

I cleared my throat with a rough cough. “Well, yes. What’s going to actually happen? What are they going to ask? Or do to me? How long does it last? Can we do, like, a test run?”

I glanced back over to him as he removed his robes and sweater.

I didn’t have any cumbersome layers of clothing to remove, but I tugged off my boots and walked into the middle of the room.

He sauntered toward me wearing nothing but a pair of black, loose-fitting pants.

Damn! Now this is a problem.

“That’s not fair,” I said with a silly grin. “I can’t think straight.”

He barked out a laugh, short and sharp, then stopped as though he were pulling the emotions into himself again.

I cocked my head to the side and stared up at him. “Why are you laughing now?”

“Several reasons, actually. You are remarkably straightforward and honest for a witch.”

Another smile flared to life on my face. I was having fun! How about that? “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should,” he said, smiling softly.

“And…?” There had to be more to it.

His smile dropped. “I don’t know how to explain this to you, but generally, only Fae women find me attractive, and even then, it is limited to only a few… as my warlock blood is considered offensive by many.”

“Yeah, right.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared up at him.

He was extremely handsome, dominant and covered in scars that spoke of his bravery and strength. What woman wouldn’t find that a powerful aphrodisiac?

A side of his mouth flickered, as though he wanted to smile. “You don’t understand this world, so you don’t…”

He trailed off under my stare, and then shrugged.

If he was telling me that the witches were blind to his sculpted abs and perfect face, then more fool them.

I pushed aside my need to protect and reassure him. We were here to work, although both of us seemed to have forgotten that.

I dusted my hands together theatrically. “Let’s do this.”

“Okay. Well, tomorrow they’ll ask you some basic questions about what you like and don’t like. What your strengths are, weaknesses, and so on.”

“Yeah.” Sounded like a basic interview process from the human world, almost.

“And then they’ll do some physical tests.”

I perked up. Now that sounded like fun. “Okay. Show me.”

He took a few steps back. “All right. The first one is designed to determine the strength of your defensive spells. I’ll throw a spell at you and you need to block it.”

I nodded and opened my stance, lifting my hands and getting ready with an incantation. Would it be a physical attack? A sensory one? Or something more insidious?

The anticipation was exhilarating, making my heart pound and my mouth water.

Tavlor held out his hand and suddenly a black wand appeared in his palm. It was beautiful to see such a natural looking, ornately carved piece of magic.

I blinked, surprised that he had one, let alone would bring it into our practice session. “We’re allowed our wands?”

“If you can conjure it fast enough.”

He raised his wand and began speaking low and in a language I didn’t understand.

I whipped my hand through the air, casting an impenetrable shield, and then pulled my wand from the magical pocket on the side of my thigh.

Mother had taught us all to carry our wands in a way that was hidden, so we would blend in with the human world if necessary.

Despite being raised in an isolated realm, from the age of thirteen we were required to carry our wands with us at all times. Our mother had been paranoid about us being hurt, injured, or kidnapped, and had taught us how to defend ourselves from an early age.

I’d never realized how important that lesson was until now. Not just for the human world, but for this very magical realm that she’d once called home.

Our wands, of course, weren’t needed to create magic, but they were a fantastic amplifier and funnel for magic, especially when someone was first learning.

Tavlor’s spell came at my shield like a thousand needles, sharp and cold. But I could also sense how much he was holding back.

“Very good,” he said and dropped the attack.

My shoulders slumped. “Was that it?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. My mother used to throw harsher spells at me when I was ten years old.”

He narrowed his eyes and I laughed at him.

“You’re holding back,” I said. “Don’t.”

A grin lit up his face, transforming him from handsome to fucking gorgeous. My knees shook.

I pointed at him. “But no smiling! Using your looks to seduce me isn’t fair.”

His face fell, wiping the beautiful smile from his face, but light and amusement danced in his eyes. “Okay, Ava. You asked for it.”

He whipped his wand through the air and I pushed out with a stronger, tougher shield.

His spell hit with the strength of a hurricane and I took two steps back as I wrapped both hands around my wand.

Holy shit, he was strong.

I clenched my teeth and focused on making the shield stronger, bigger, wider.

He flicked his wand back and forth, until I felt the sting of his spell on my face. A technique I’d never seen, but one I obviously needed to learn.

Then it was gone, and he dropped his arms. “I win that round. So, we move onto the next one.”

“Bullshit. Why? Because you got a fleck on my skin? That’s not the end.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Listen, Ava, this is a simple test, okay? It isn’t a battle. As soon as they score on you tomorrow, they will stop the challenge immediately, give you a mark, and move on to the next thing.”

I lifted my chin and dropped my arms, relaxing my magic for a moment. “Well, what sort of score would you give me?”

He shrugged. “About a six. You need to be more flexible and channel your magic faster.”

Anger boiled in my belly, and I clenched my fists. Despite my attraction to him, I had the overwhelming urge to punch him.

I hated to lose, especially when the opponent found me “easy” to dispense with.

“Fine,” I snapped. “Thanks for the critique. What’s the next test?”

“Offense. You attack me and I see how strong you are in that mode.”

I nodded and gripped my wand with one hand. “What sort of attack would you like?”

His eyebrows fluttered up. “Surprise me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Not seriously, anyway.

His smile was a little too smug, but then again, he was almost immortal. Right?

“You won’t hurt me, Ava.”

I gripped my wand, already speaking the first words of my casting spell inside my mind.

“That sounds like a challenge,” I said.

His lips tipped up even more. “Give me your best shot.”

Maybe I could just knock him on his ass? Would serve him right for underestimating me.

I flung a tackling spell at him with as much strength as I’d ever used on anyone.

He didn’t even move.

He must have a shield up. That spell would have put both my sisters in the dirt. It had several times before, in fact.

I grinned and inched forward, testing the boundaries of his spell with ice. The shape of it was like a giant globe. Clever, and obviously very effective.

He grinned beneath his bubble as my snow filtered down and wrapped around his shield, testing its limitations.

But had he protected the floor beneath him?

I cast my magic down and set fire to the ground beneath his feet.

He hopped between one foot and the other, grimacing, but amusement lit his eyes. I laughed at seeing the crack in his shield.

I let the flames grow and box him in, inside his bubble. Sweat formed on his face. With a grin, I pulled the spell back.

He wiped his arm across his forehead. “That was very good.”

Excitement shivered through me. “Any more?”

“Well, they do have a straight power challenge, but generally they don’t do that with the witches. It’s a warlock challenge.”

I marched over to the far wall and faced off against him once more. “Let’s do it.”

He grinned, but I didn’t feel arousal shoot through me.

Good. Hopefully I’m getting immune to him now.

“Raise your wand,” he instructed, and I did. “Now fire at me with all of your strength.”

“What’s going to happen?” I asked.

“Our magic will connect, weave around, and then one of us will drop our wands.”

Why would that happen? Because one magic would dominate and overcome the other? “Because it loses?” I asked to clarify.

He nodded and raised his wand.

So, this was a true stand-off.

My locket was singing. I didn’t need her help… did I?

Shit! With an internal groan, I grabbed for the necklace and my mother’s voice whispered inside my mind.

Plant your feet, straighten your spine, and when your hand begins to burn, triple the strands of magic like I taught you. Like a rope, remember?

If things weren’t so intense, I would have laughed. My mother’s competitive streak was as wide as mine. With a nod, I released the locket.

I corrected my posture and sucked in my core, centering my body and stabilizing myself to the floor.

Tavlor met my gaze. “Ready? And go.”

I threw pure magic at him, a single thread of white-hot power.

Tavlor’s magic came back, traveling over my single thread so swiftly, my fingers cramped on my wand with the strength of his power.

I hissed at the pain, but refused to give in. This was what my mother had been talking about.

I conjured two more threads and, beginning at my wand, wove them along my magic, adding strength, adding power. Slowly, I shoved Tavlor’s spell back at him.

He began to falter, his feet slipping on the wooden floorboards.

I focused harder, wanting to prove to him that I wasn’t weak.

He grabbed his wand with both hands. “How are you….?”

“Don’t hold back,” I said through gritted teeth, as sweat beaded on my forehead and my legs shivered with stress.

Damn it, he’s strong.

He grunted and pushed back.

I pulled one of my hands away from my wand and put my palm in the air, pushing against his power with as much force as I could.

Tavlor growled, his biceps bulging, his teeth exposed in a grimace.

I pushed harder than I ever had in my entire life.

Tavlor dropped his wand and my legs gave out beneath me. I lurched forward and fell to the ground.

Tavlor crawled over to me and pulled me into his arms.

We were both panting. The air around us was electric, sizzling with white magic.

He caught my gaze, and his eyes narrowed. Between breaths, he asked, words slow and deliberate, “Who the hell are you?”