Page 59 of The Firebrand
When he removed her fingers, she noticed a boner prodding at his zipper. The guy was a horny bastard.
“No, but some breeds are stronger than others.” He gestured toward a woman across the room, one Braelyn recognized from their jaunt to the Elysian Isle. “Sabine over there is a celestial nymph. Since they’re weaker, she works out daily to compensate.”
Doing squats with a barbell, the bombshell Firebrand rose with the heavy weight on her shoulders, her legs quivering. Up. Down. Up. Each motion revealed well-defined muscles in her arms and quads. Though her sun-streaked hair was pulled away from her face, damp wisps escaped the hold as she sweated from exertion.
Sabine was hot. Puffy lips, perfect skin, lots of leg showing beneath hip-hugging shorts, a narrow waist, big breasts exploding from a snug exercise top.
Braelyn refused to look down at her own meager chest. The comparison would devastate her ego.
“I wouldn’t want to piss her off. Strong and gorgeous. I hope she’s not smart, too.” Triple threats were every girl’s nightmare competition. Braelyn pointed to a couple sparring on the mat. “What about them?”
A black-haired woman squared off against a man, ignoring the blood dripping from her shoulder wound. Her opponent, with a gash in his abdomen, lunged at her.
“Galena is an Amazon. Big time female warriors. The male’s a warlock. Tyr. Great skills, but young. Since they’re using practice blades, their injuries will heal quickly.”
“Did we come here to shame the ugly, weak human?”
Rein’s gaze swept from her toes to her head. At least he didn’t laugh. Or agree. “No. I need a safe place to stash you while I chat with my boss about the attack. Since we have time to kill before he returns from Darque, I want to see what you’ve got. You said you took a self-defense class.”
She tittered. “I was awful—unless my moves improved with time like some cheeses or fine red wines.”
Rein smirked, which was becoming his go-to expression. “Doubt it.”
“Hmph.”
“Nonetheless, you held off Jax for a while.” He scratched his jaw.
Braelyn nibbled on her lower lip. “I did. Say, the ninja kung fu stuff is important, but I need to know a few other things.”
“Like what?” He tugged his brows down tight.
“You told me the incubus could have sucked the life right out of me.” Braelyn crooked her head toward Sabine. “What about her? Other than beat the crap out of me for the talent portion of the Miss America Pageant, what can she do?”
“Celestial nymphs wield light. She’ll sizzle your eyeballs with it, start a fire under your pretty ass, or forge a bolt to drive through your heart.”
“Ouch. How would I stop her?”
“Shield your eyes or run like hell.”
“I fly like the wind. What are your gifts?” Braelyn’s brows arched above a wide-eyed stare. She waited for an answer. “Are you faster than a speeding bullet? More powerful than a locomotive? Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound?”
Despite his usual grumpiness, he chuckled. When he did, Braelyn wanted to roll in the warmth of his voice. “I’m an aberration. Something went screwy during my Awakening. My vampire is dominant, but my warlock and incubus are also strong. Mixes walk away with only one breed’s gifts. I walked away with three.”
“Can you be more specific?”
Rein spread his legs apart, a defensive stance. “I don’t broadcast my abilities—not to family, not tofrerons, not to enemies. Surprise is my greatest weapon.” He touched a finger under her chin, tilted her head up, and captured her eyes. “Are you afraid I can’t keep you safe? I can. I will.”
Braelyn chewed on her lower lip. After what had happened, she did trust Rein to protect her. What’s more, she trusted herself. With a little practice, that is. She cleared her throat, voice trembling from either the close call on the street or the nearness of Rein. “Do you have a shooting range at the stronghold? I’m a fair shot.”
“Guns are illegal on Scath and Darque.”
“Why? Come on. Don’t make everything a tug-of-war.”
“Time was, we scooped corpses into bags on the hour. If the Ministry of the Shield had paid us per gunshot victim, Firebrands would be millionaires. Once the lawgivers pulled their heads out of their asses, they hired a coven to maintain wards that keep firearms from working in our realms.”
Rein called out to Sabine, “Any more news on Melia?”
“Nothing to report.” The bombshell grunted, plopping the weights onto the mat and pushing up from the bench.
