On Monday, I woke up to three loud knocks on my door.
Oh, no. Training. I rolled out of bed and realized that my phone, which I’d sometimes been using as my alarm clock hadn’t gone off. We’d decided to move training to the mornings instead of evenings so that I could save my nights for homework. What an adventurous life I lived.
“Coming,” I cried out and dragged myself to the door. Theo was ready to go in his sweatpants and tank top; his biceps were extremely distracting. I stared at them before rubbing my eyes. It should be illegal to be that cute and ripped. You could say that about all the Council boys, though. Apparently, shifter men (and women!) were blessed with great genetics and a bizarre love of fitness. I waved my phone around, showing the alarm messages that I’d slept through. “Sorry, it didn’t go off.”
“No worries,” he said brightly. He was brighter than anyone I’d ever known. Like looking into the sun. Too much for five o’clock in the morning. “Get dressed! We’ve got a special guest today, and we can’t be late.”
Special guest? I nearly forgot to shut the door before getting dressed. In a minute, I threw on my workout clothes. I might have to request more from the servant staff at the rate I was going through them so fast. I didn’t like having to drop my clothes in the laundry every day after sweating through the garments. I told Theo as much as we headed towards the gym.
“Don’t worry,” he said with a snort. “The house servants use partial magic to clean everything. How do you think everything is spotless?”
I gaped at him. “You can use magic for cleaning?”
He laughed all the way down the special hidden elevator, which was located in Dracus’ hallway. Dracus, an actual drop-dead gorgeous prince from the Land of Dragons, was waiting for us in the secret underground gym. Today wasn’t looking promising.
“You’re the special guest?” I asked as we approached. The Head of the Core Council returned my question with a calm gaze, as always. He was dressed in workout clothes, a tight black short-sleeve shirt, and black joggers. Where Theo was large and brawny, Dracus was chiseled out of stone. His muscles looked as hard as ropes beneath his skin. I swallowed the grit in my throat. This Dracus threw me off. I was used to seeing him covered head-to-toe in fine fabrics, perfectly tailored for his frame. His hair wasn’t slicked back for the day. It had a small curl to it naturally. Was this really our resident prince? I rubbed my face to be sure.
“You’re one minute late,” he said sharply with his arms crossed. I had to force the muscles in my face to stop from rolling my eyes. Yes, this was Dracus. “I’ll be your teacher today, Fiona. You’ll be learning the art of Dragon Fist, my homeland’s own special form of martial arts.”
I blinked, still feeling the sleep in the corner of my eyes. “Great.”
If he’d heard the sarcasm in my voice, he didn’t address it. My muscles felt sore, just looking at him. Theo clapped a hand on my back.
“Warmup time! Let’s get your muscles ready for today.”
They were trying to kill me in this place. It was going to be death by working out.
Theo put on some rock music, and we went through our warmup drills, which he’d trained me on through the weekend. Twenty minutes later, I was sweating and regretting wearing a light-colored top. You could see the sweat from my breasts and under my arms a little too well. Fantastic. Dracus didn’t seem to mind. His intense dark eyes were trained fully on my face as he stepped towards me.
“Fiona. Dragon Fist requires an immense amount of mental effort. Theo and I have discussed your training program. I’d like to train you twice a week, and he’ll take the other days. Given the limits of your current physical state, we’ve decided that you must take Sunday for rest. Moony will be supplementing your meals with higher protein amounts. You’ll also be taking a protein shake on your mornings to school. We’ve provided every supplement you need in it,” he explained.
“Is there like shifter steroids in the shake?” I asked. The idea of strange multi-vitamins from a shifter kitchen made me nervous.
His nostrils flared. “No. Nothing like that.” He tapped his chest. “You must find the strength within to go on. We won’t be giving you any magic potions.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Do we have magic potions?”
“Irrelevant,” he said, lifting his hand to quiet Theo, who had opened his mouth. Ummmm, I would very much like a secret magic potion to make this process easier. But arguing with Dracus was literally arguing with a dragon that has too much of an attitude. What he said, we did. That was the careful dance of the Core Council.
Without saying anything, he suddenly moved towards me. His fist flew towards my stomach. I threw my arms over my core and cried out, surprised by the motion.
“There,” he said and used his other hand to touch my hands, which had flown upward to protect myself. His touch sent an electric shock down my forearms. “That’s your natural reaction. You’re doing what most people do. You’re trying to stop the attack, but you’re panicking.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to punch me!”
“We also weren’t expecting Angela to drug and kidnap you,” he said solemnly. He drew his arms away from me and put them behind his back. “I want you to be ready for anything. Especially at Beast Academy.” His eyes glittered. “Anything can happen here.”
“Clearly,” I muttered and rubbed my arms. “You’re giving me the creeps.”
“Maybe start with something less intense,” Theo suggested from the side. He was stretching; he’d piled dumbbells next to him for his own workout. My heart fell. No chance of getting rescued then by the resident teddy bear. He shot me a thumbs up.
“Very well,” Dracus said. “Let’s start with meditation. I want to examine your mind, Fiona.”
I wanted to groan but didn’t. Prince Dracus wouldn’t stand for it.