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The Black Star arrived at Regin IV the next day. Dawn met Harum and the others in the training room as promised. Her mood was high off the declaration of interest from Venik the night before. Unnatural desires, her ass. She grinned as she entered and received a cheer from the group already inside.
Her brows twisted in confusion. Gorsun, Biryn, Harum, and Callie stood next to three large Vassi men Dawn didn’t know. Harum waved her in with a proud lift of his brow ridges. “Here she is.”
Another Vassi who Dawn didn’t know came in behind her. The newcomer crossed his arms and inclined his head. “I would like to see you spar in person. I have heard much about it but could not show myself before.”
She blinked. “Who are you?”
“I am Anders Ulti. The Commander had me acting as one of your guards.”
Had Venik gone back on his promise already? “I told him I didn’t need anyone watching me anymore.”
Anders smirked. “That is correct. I’m here to watch now that I don’t have to hide my presence. I would be honored to be allowed to observe.”
Dawn relaxed and grinned. “I don’t know if it’s much of an honor but you’re welcome to watch.”
Competitions had inured her to the nerves of being watched and fighting in front of others. She trained and sparred for a living. There wasn’t room for shyness and she never underscored her skills. Dawn knew she was good and that was pride talking, not arrogance.
Harum gestured to the three men she didn’t know. “Lom Dawn, these are the pilots from the War Birds we assisted yesterday.”
“More like dead birds,” Callie said with a lip curl.
While no one quite laughed outright, Dawn saw humor glittering in a few of the midnight gazes from the members of the Black Star. The pilots, however, growled. The one in the middle had his hair braided into a single tail at the center of his head. There was a scar across the flat bridge of his nose and one of his nasal slits had a jagged tear across it.
“Yon, Sifa, Murik, this is the lom from Earth, Dawn Reavers.”
Three sets of eyes pinned Dawn to the spot. Goosebumps pebbled her flesh in response from the way they stared. It wasn’t the disinterested or ill at ease glances she got from the Vassi onboard the Black Star. Something insidious slid through their menacing gazes and gave off strong, threatening vibes.
Beside her, Anders stiffened. Dawn ignored her former guard and tipped her chin up. “Lims.”
Harum missed the byplay since the others stood slightly behind him. He shot her an approving look. “Would you be amendable to sparring with Callie for a demonstration?”
Callie looked startled but moved away from the corner in eager agreement. She wore a tight sleeveless black shirt and knee length pants in the same color. Dawn gave Callie a fake smile of sympathy. “Sorry, I made a promise to someone special not to challenge sore losers anymore due to safety concerns.”
Anders snorted and quickly muffled the sound. Harum placed a hand over his mouth for a brief second and hummed non-committal like under his breath. “I see. That’s not a problem. I know you two are evenly matched.”
“Evenly?!” Callie snarled.
Harum continued without glancing at her. “Biryn can—”
“I’ll fight the soft skin,” Yon, the one with the single braid and scarred nose, interrupted.
Dawn narrowed her eyes and locked her lips on the retaliatory comment she wanted to make at the name he used for her. She’d heard it plenty of times, including from Venik but none made it sound as ugly as Yon just did.
“Sure,” she said before Harum could refuse.
He startled and Anders stepped in front of Dawn. She yanked on his shirt and moved him out of the way. “I have to put on the armor though. Vassi hit hard as fuck and we wouldn’t want little old me to get hurt for real when this is just a demonstration round.”
Not waiting for an answer, she moved toward the wall and the shelving where the armor for her use was kept. More than ever, Dawn was grateful for the slim black reinforced suit as she slid it up her legs and jammed her arms in the sleeves.
Briefly, she considered how Venik would feel about her taking on someone who clearly had a problem with her. It definitely fell under his warning not to let anyone hurt her.
But Venik didn’t get to control her actions because they’d declared interest in each other and there was no way Dawn was letting this cocky jerk hurt her.
Yon grunted and his fellow pilots moved off of the blue practice mats to hold up the wall on the other side of the room.
Once she was geared up, Dawn scraped her hair back and twisted it into a tight knot. Only a fool would leave something like that to chance. Her opponent seemed like the type to use anything to his advantage, including pulling her hair.
Yon met her at the center on the mat and Harum raised his hand. With a pointed look aimed at Dawn, he said, “First bout for twenty. Then we’ll evaluate if there’s a second.”
There’d be a second. Dawn withheld her smirk. She could guarantee Yon was going to want one. “Got it.”
“If I call a halt to the match, each of you stops immediately. Understood?”
Dawn nodded but Yon’s guttural voice snapped, “Let’s start.”
The area for one-on-one sparring was fairly huge, allowing enough space for broad maneuvers. Vassi tended to fight in close contact and rarely parted more than a few inches. Dawn eyed Yon’s huge fist and tree sized legs in the black shorts he wore.
He noticed her gaze and his brow ridges slashed together. His lips curled in a snarl. “Are you reneging, soft skin?”
“Nah.” Dawn laughed at the confusion that flickered over his features. Translator probably failed on that one. Slang from Earth didn’t always have an equal word in alien languages she’d noticed shortly after her time here and vice versa.
“Match, begin,” Harum called from across the room.
Yon’s black eyes gleamed and he lowered into a crouch and flicked his claws out.
Wow. He meant business. None of the Vassi had ever used their claws when fighting against her. Dawn brushed the random thought off and launched toward Yon. She turned her one hundred and eighty-degree pivot into a full three-sixty. Knee up, she walked her kick up Yon’s chest.
When he stumbled back, she followed up with two rapid strikes to the back of his right leg and another kick to his back with her left as soon as he fell forward. He slammed to the mat on his face. There was stunned silence. She hadn’t touched him with her hands once.
“What in all of Kazija was that?” one of Yon’s friends muttered.
“Match, challenger, Dawn Reavers,” Harum finally announced.
Yon roared and surged to his feet, chest heaving. His claws clicked ominously. “Again!”
Harum eyed Dawn and heart steady, she gave a short nod and backed away to the starting point again. Tension hummed on the air and everyone’s attention was riveted on the two of them.
“Try that again and I’ll break your leg in half.”
It wasn’t the first time someone told Dawn that. She focused on Yon and didn’t respond.
“Begin!”
Harum’s command sent Yon into motion. The familiar pattern of the knubtu vibrant attack was easily recognizable. Dawn adapted to the blow aimed for her face and leaned back slightly, hips twisted and sent her palm forward to Yon’s chest.
It wasn’t a powerful enough hit to move him but with her legs braced she delivered a solid strike and connected with bone.
A minute later, Yon choked off a groan and lurched to the side. He came at Dawn faster than before and a claw caught her at the hip. She danced away on the balls of her feet and risked a look down. Thankfully the armor had prevented any injury.
“Dawn?” Harum questioned her hesitation.
She turned to respond and signal now was a good time to stop because Yon had intended to hurt her with the slash. Before she got the words out, the other Vassi swiped at her again and only her quick reflexes kept him from slicing her face in half.
Due to the angle of how he’d come toward her, no one saw. Yon smirked. “Do you want to quit?”
“Nope.” She popped the letter p on the end and leaped away on a twist then darted in with a combination of punches. Yon staggered back. If he wanted to up the intensity a notch, she’d up the intensity.
Dawn ran forward, leaping into the air for a corkscrew kick. Her booted foot hit him in the face and the crunch of his nose breaking was loud. She landed lightly in a crouch behind him.
Yon’s roar shook the walls. Anders moved from his squatted position near the door. Dawn rose and waited. Yon spun around to face her. Yellow blood spatter covered him from nose to chin. “How did you do that?”
She frowned. His question had come out in a calm tone. Was this a trick? If so, the teacher in her was eager to explain and fell for it. She dropped her hands to her side. “I took the knubtu vibrant attack you used earlier and reversed it, then added one of my trick kicks as a finisher.”
Everyone was silent. Harum, Gorsun and Biryn closed in, forming a protective barrier around Dawn. Even Callie took up a stance on Dawn’s left. Not that Dawn needed their help. She was perfectly capable of taking Yon down as she’d already proven with her skills.
“Impressive as always,” a new voice said.
Excitement skittered down her back and Dawn turned. Venik stood inside the doorway. Due to their recent conversation last night, she ran toward him and jumped. He caught her in his arms, and glided his temple across hers as she hugged him. Dawn almost melted into a puddle.
“I didn’t expect you here.” Her mouth stretched in a wide grin.
Venik awkwardly patted her back and eased her away. His bland expression, along with the suddenly quiet room, warned Dawn. She checked over her shoulder and the others stared. She pressed her mouth close to his ear. “Sorry, I got carried away. Do Vassi hug?”
Venik shook his head and whispered back, “Public affection is frowned upon after a certain age. Even then, nothing this physical.”
Had she embarrassed him? She didn’t want to start on the wrong foot when a relationship between them was already outside of his cultural norms. She eased further away and cleared her throat. “I was showing the pilots from the rescue a few moves.”
“I noticed. Continue. Unless you’d like to spar with me. I was particularly interested in that last strike combination you used.”
There were gasps behind them. Dawn checked and the Vassi present weren’t even pretending not to be shocked. Out of the side of her mouth, she asked, “Is that taboo? You aren’t doing this to prove a point, are you?”
She would not have this thing they were doing ruin his reputation. The corner of Venik’s mouth curved up. “There is no point, indira. I promise. Only fun and learning.”
This was no more about learning than his appearance being an accident here. Someone had snitched and commed him. Harum and Anders, who avoided her gaze, were the most likely culprits.
Venik walked away and ripped his shirt off over his head with a careless yank and tossed it to the side. His broad chest flexed, the muscles cut and well defined.
“I’m challenging the female from Earth,” he announced.
Dawn was torn. Part of her wanted to cheer in excitement. She’d sparred the holo program against the Venik A.I., never thinking she’d have a chance against the actual man. The last time they’d fought in real life, he’d almost killed her.
Also he’d called her indira, so she kinda wanted to swoon at his use of the Vassi endearment for treasure. When he said they were trying this relationship, he really meant it.
And she got to fight him in a training session. Giddy, Dawn spun around and met Harum’s gaze. “Is that okay?”
Harum closed his mouth with a snap, glanced from Venik to her and back. Finally, “Yes. You and the Commander can spar. It will be a rare joy to witness as he doesn’t often accept or issue challenges anymore since he left the military.”
Dawn tossed Venik a dark look over her shoulder. Not proving a point her ass. He met her accusatory glare with a bland gaze in return.
“Great. Can’t wait,” she said peevishly.
Venik’s dark eyes gleamed and the wonder of him teasing was almost too much to take in. It was a complete reversal of the man who’d been temperate in regards to his dealings with her before.
Signaling from the center of the mat, Harum waited. Dawn joined him and Venik took his stance opposite her.
“Single bout, Commander?” Harum asked Venik.
Dawn rolled her eyes at the preferential treatment.
“It should be enough,” Venik said, eyeing Dawn with a smirk.
Impossibly her nipples hardened and she got wet. His arrogance had that effect on her. They broke apart and Harum left the space to them.
“Begin!”
From her experience with the AI, Dawn had an idea of Venik’s fighting style under knubtu. She parried and danced around him, managing a quick hit to his torso with her fist. The flex of an arm muscle, the twitch of a thigh helped her avoid his stronger strikes.
Then he sped the pace up and everything changed. They battled like two opponents equally matched until the moment Dawn expected him to go low and away. Instead, he pivoted and lashed out with his hand, gripping her throat. Her feet left the floor on a woosh as he pinned her to the wall.
Memories of the last time he’d had her in this position rose and the breath lodged in her throat as her pulse hammered. His eyes beamed down on her like the black pits of hell. She shivered uncontrollably, wondering if he’d forget his promise in the heat of battle.
Reflex kicked in as her arm reared back. Venik leaned in close and rubbed his temple alongside hers, then whispered, “You never have to fear I’ll harm you like that again, Dawn.”
He released her and spun away from the sharp blow she’d aimed for his neck. Overcome with pleasure and the temple touch, Dawn grinned. Aside from that fraction of a second when she’d let fear take hold, she was immensely enjoying matching her skills against Venik
There were shocked gasps and commiserating groans as she and Venik went after each other with lightning sharp moves. He blocked her kick with a forearm and caught her ankle once with a cocky head shake.
Pleasure akin to sex bubbled through her veins. Dawn slashed, swung and punched in an erratic pattern and was able to land half the blows. But to her dismay for every one of her strikes, Venik landed a teasing tap to her hip or back as he glided around her. It wasn’t the pure linear pattern of knubtu she expected from him or any Vassi.
Soon Dawn grew winded but could have continued for hours for the sheer joy or matching wits with someone as skilled as her. Not many had come close in years.
“Done,” Venik declared, catching her fist in his hand inches from his face. His teeth flashed at Dawn. “You’re getting tired.”
As much as she wanted to protest, it was the truth. Dawn pouted. “Bah. I still haven’t regained my full stamina.”
She dropped her guard and blew out a breath. Thumping filled the room. Venik pounded his right fist to the left side of his chest, adding to the sounds. Dawn glanced around. Even the visiting War Bird pilots thumped their chests. “Wh-what’s going on?”
Harum grinned. “You are worthy, Lom Dawn.”
“I want to know how she already knew several knubtu steps,” Yon snarled, clearly still angered to have lost. “Someone had to show her.”
“I gave her one lesson. I planned to do more, but I’m no longer sure it’s necessary,” Harum filled in, but his gaze remained puzzled as well.
Dawn didn’t know how to explain. Fighting always came easy to her.
“How long have you had adaptive prediction ability?” Venik asked her as he reached for his discarded shirt and pulled it over his lightly sweat covered chest.
Dawn swiped at her brow and the build of sweat from their challenge. She had no idea what he meant but Callie cursed. “That explains so much.”
“That’s it. That’s how she beats us,” Harum muttered.
Callie came over and bowed to Dawn. “I would apologize for my lack of honor at the last session.”
Dawn’s mouth dropped. Ignoring Venik’s smug look, she told Callie. “That’s fine. Thanks.”
To Venik, Dawn asked, “What’s the adaptive prediction thing?”
“Your brain recalibrates after viewing certain things and adjusts accordingly. It’s a great skill to have in fighting.”
“How come you beat me if I have this thing?” To be honest, she was a bit perturbed she’d lost after studying the holo combat Venik so closely.
The corner of Venik’s lip curled up and his eyes gleamed in obvious amusement. “Because I don’t fully subscribe to a clean form of knubtu. You’re not the only one with adaptive prediction ability. On Earth, I watched you fight. I incorporated kicks after that. Once I observed you fighting Callie, I meshed those few changes with what I’d already learned about your style.”
“Cheater!” Dawn accused though she was amazed and suitably impressed.
The Vassi gasped in shock, but Venik only laughed, drawing more shocked stares. She’d never heard of this skill he mentioned, but it explained her abilities back home so well.
Venik opened the door and tipped his head in her direction. “If you’re done here, join me, Dawn.”
A cheer went up as she removed her armor and hung it back in the shelving closet. Bemused, she waved at the others and followed him out. “What was that all about?”
“You earned their respect. You challenged a Vassi and held your own.”
She frowned. “They didn’t do that when I bested Callie.”
“Callie wasn’t the former High Commander.”
Dawn couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Arrogant jerk!”
Venik grinned. A full fledge grin and Dawn’s heart tripped over itself to keep up with her escalated breathing.