Page 104 of Wrath

“And you’ll continue to suck if you don’t practice,” I countered. “Do you want to suck for the rest of your life?”

Mary-Lynette muttered something too low for me to hear.

“What? I couldn’t hear that?” I cupped my ear and leaned closer to her.

“No.” She kicked her leg, her shoe scuffing against the wooden floor of the training room. “I don’t want to suck.”

“That’s what I thought.” I jerked my chin towards the target. “Again.”

“Wow.” The clacking of Atta’s heels preceded the shifter herself, dressed in a yellow gown that hugged her curves, her brown hair pinned away from her face. She moved to stand beside me, her gaze fixed firmly on the half-human, half-mage child I’d taken under my wing. “You really have a way with words.”

“I’m such a good daddy.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Don’t ever say that again.”

“Say what again? Good?”

“The other word.”

“Such?”

The look she threw me could curdle milk. “Daddy.”

She shuddered dramatically before refocusing on Mary-Lynette. The child took a deep breath, straightened nearly imperceptibly, and then tossed her magic at the target. This time, it came within a few inches, and warmth unfurled in my chest.

“You nearly got it this time!” I smiled broadly and began to clap.

“Let me guess.” Mary-Lynette gave me a droll look over her shoulder, encompassing more sass than someone her age should have. “Again?”

“Again.” I nodded in confirmation.

She muttered something about her other teacher being nicer, but I ignored her. I was the only being alive, aside from Atta and Z, who knew of her existence. She had no other teacher. Brat.

“How’s she doing?” Atta’s eyes softened as she studied the younger girl.

“Her training’s coming along nicely,” I answered. “She can summon fire on command now. We’ve been practicing her aim. It…needs some work.”

As if to punctuate my point, her next shot went wild, lighting the rafters on fire. I waved my own hand, and shadows immediately smothered the flames.

“It’s still surreal to think that humans and nightmares can procreate.” Atta shook her head in disbelief. “All this time…”

“We were told a lie,” I agreed.

Or maybe the world was changing. Maybe what was once impossible was now possible. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

“Yeah.” She pursed her lips before blowing out a breath. “I can’t stay for long. I have a meeting with the vampire representative in just a little bit.”

So far, only half of the council members had chosen to take our side in the war to come. The others were still loyal to the previous kings and were searching for ways to free them fromthe dungeons. I wished we could just kill them now and get it over with, but…politics. Ugh.

There was only one thing I hated more than politics, and that was diarrhea. Though, now that I thought about it, politics did give me diarrhea. Maybe there was a connection there?—

Focus, Axel.

“How’s our little friend doing?”

“You mean Z’s dear old dad?” Atta snorted and lifted a slightly trembling hand to fix a few pins securing her hair in place. “I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck he wants. He doesn’t appear interested in the war or any of the politics. He just keeps demanding to see Z.”

“Should she see him?” I asked, the thought squeezing my heart in an iron vise.

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