Page 11 of Detonation
Serenity's mates are truly masters of their elements and they’ve taken the time to work with us all individually to bring us up to speed. With her fourth mate, Reese—a water mage—deceased, Serenity has taken on the task of training Luke herself.
As I prepare to defend myself, Logan smiles at me. “You have done a tremendous job developing your defense magic in such a short time,” he admits. I put my hands down as he claps me on the back. “Now, we need to focus on your offensive magic. You may not realize it yet but air, in tandem with offensive and defensive fighting, can be deadly.”
I note that his short, black hair is drenched in sweat, strands plastered to his forehead, as his blue eyes flare with determination. Pride that my brothers and I put up such a fight against these experienced warriors fills me. And I notice how comfortable I feel with Serenity’s mates. I’ve never been one to make friends easily but I’d dare to say that these men have become almost friends to us.
I narrow my eyes at him, suspicious. “I’m afraid to ask but do I need to have my guard up right now? I’m completely spent but just let me know and I’ll collect myself for another round.”
A corner of his mouth tilts up. “As tempting as it is to dump you on your ass again, you’ve given us everything that you had to give to us today. If you all keep up like this, you’ll be ready to go to her in a few weeks at the most.”
A ball of lead lands like an explosive in the pit of my stomach, bringing me to my knees.
Logan grabs my shoulder. “You okay, Zedd?”
I look up with wet eyes. “Weeks?”
Don’t be a baby, Zedd. Did you really expect to be ready after a few days?
Logan sighs and he drops to sit down in front of me, stretching his long legs out in front of him. He tilts his head to the side. “Zedd, have you ever heard the saying, ‘we’re only as good as our weakest link?’” When I don’t respond, he carries on, “When it comes to our mate ties, if we see one of our brothers or our mate in danger, we will sacrifice our lives for each other without a moment of hesitation. We have to. Selfishness doesn’t come into play with a family like ours.”
Nodding, I absorb his words. I think about giving my life for my family. Without a doubt, I would do it.
He leans back on his hands. “As hard as it is to hear, that’s why you can’t go yet. You would all be laying down your lives for each other, trying to compensate for someone who hasn’t come into their powers enough yet. The true strength of a unit comes when everyone can trust each other to handle their own battles.”
My immediate response is, “But what if it’s an unequal battle and they can’t handle it on their own?”
He shakes his head and my brow furrows. “You have to trust that they’ll let you know when they need help. It isn’t your job to scan for who needs rescuing at all times. It isn’t your job to protect everyone.” He shrugs. “It’stheirjob to know their own limits, keep their egos in check, and ask for help when they need it. When you’re honest with yourselves and each other,that’swhen you become truly powerful. That’s when you’re ready.”
His words wash over me and I try to accept them. Logically, I know he’s right but the emotional side of me is resisting the truth in what he’s saying. Will I ever be able to not worry about them? And inbattle?It seems impossible.
“Look,” Logan says, “I know it doesn’t make sense right now, but I promise you that this training isn’t a waste of your time. Once we’re done with you, when you rejoin Lana, you’ll be able to stand by her side and trust that you can handle anything that comes your way—together.”
I chuckle. “I didn’t peg you as the motivational speaker of the bunch.”
Makes sense.With someone as crazy as Serenity as their center, someone needs to bring the logic to their group.
Lana’s cheeky grin and crazy sass flashes in my mind and I fall on my back on the ground, grinning up at the ceiling.
We definitely have a crazy girl as well.
I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Chapter Three
Ash
How can I feel pain here, captive, passenger in my own body? The image of Lana, broken and battered bymyhands, overcomes me. All I feel in this darkness is agony.
I swore to protect her.
How could I let this sadistic bastard put his hands on her? I let him take from her, steal a moment so precious and twist it into a memory that will leave a black mark on her for the rest of her life. All she’ll see when she looks at me will be the man who slaughtered her kingdom in their first life and the man who raped her in this one.
I’m responsible. I should have fought harder against him. I should have sought help earlier. If I hadn’t been so blinded by my ego, maybe the outcome would have been different. But no, I just didn’t want to ‘weaken’ myself enough to ask for help.
How will I ever regain her trust now? I don’t fucking know. But I know that I will go to the ends of the universe and destroy whoever the fuck stands in the way of my mate and me.
No.Sorrow settles in me.
The realization hits that I was never her mate to begin with. I wasn't one of her unit in her previous life and, after everything that has happened, everything that I havelethappen, I sure as hell don't deserve to be by her side in this one.
