Blood Before Sunrise

and straight-up street brawl. I took a hard left to the ribs and doubled over in pain, disappearing before Xander could land a second blow. He’d broken two of my ribs, but, thanks to my preternatural healing, the damage was repaired before I became my solid self again. I managed to connect my fist to his kidney and followed through with a kick to his knee. He went down, but only for a moment before launching himself at me with renewed vigor and a punch-kick-punch combination that had me retreating rather than fighting back.

“I don’t know about you,” Xander said, his words coming through pants of breath, “but this is turning me on.”

Oh hell no! I almost tapped out of the match, just so I wouldn’t have to think about Xander being aroused. It was a good strategy, though. He’d resorted to messing with my head when he realized I could hold my own in the fight. A thought struck me, and I slowed my assault. We could go on like this for hours, until one of us tired or until someone intervened, not willing to risk an injury to the king. I imagined Anya would be the first one to throw her body in the path of that bullet. But I didn’t have all night to ponder the possibility of taking her down too, so, like Xander, I changed course.

“You’re turned on?” I asked, making my voice sound especially breathy. “Why is that, Xander? Do you like it rough?”

He stumbled, and I used the opportunity to deliver a kick to his gut. Lust sparkled in his eyes, and a smile stretched across his handsome face as he recovered from the kick. I tried to hide my own smile. I had him in my crosshairs, and he was going down. Leave it to Xander to always be thinking with his dick.

“You need to be made love to by a proper man.” He ducked my left swing, and then my right. “Not that sad excuse for a lover you keep at your apartment.”

His slight against Tyler gave me pause, and he used the opportunity to jab me with his elbow. Damn, another broken rib. I groaned, struggling for a deep breath while the bone knitted back together. Asshole. “You think you’re the man to give it to me, Xander? I doubt you could handle it. I’m not some compliant groupie, ready to fall back with my legs spread just because you snap your fingers.”

I blocked Xander’s roundhouse kick and parried a misthrown punch. “I like a challenge,” he said. “I bet you’re very good in bed.”

“I am.” Xander’s attention drifted as his eyes fastened on what cleavage my V-neck shirt revealed. “Wouldn’t you like to know how good?”

Bang! Kill shot. Xander paused, his mouth hanging a little slack. Glazed-over eyes and the whole nine yards; I’d used his psychological ploy against him to great effect. Playing the seductress, I walked rather than charged, letting my eyes drop coyly past his waist. My gaze raked him from lean sculpted torso to broad muscled shoulders, and when I’d made my way back to his face, his eyes burned with passion. Hips swaying, chest rising and falling with my labored breath, mouth parted just enough to allow my tongue to pass over my lips, I should have earned some kind of award for my performance. Now within touching distance, Xander reached out his hands, and I took them gently. He dipped his head to mine, his warm breath caressing my face in heavy pants. His gaze was locked on my lips. I tilted my chin up, pausing at the intensity of his expression. Xander didn’t look so much the arrogant king as his lips moved toward mine. Rather, his expression spoke of longing.

Using my own body for momentum, I fell backward and gripped his hands. I bent my knees, felt my lower back make contact with the mat, and braced my feet against Xander’s stomach. In the blink of an eye, I catapulted him over my head, and the sound of the air leaving his lungs in one painful rush put a smile on my face. I joined the light and reappeared just in time to stomp my foot down on his neck. Raif had had me in the same position my very first night of training. I knew from experience it wasn’t pleasant to be on the receiving end of this particular maneuver.

“Do you yield?” My voice was no longer that of an infatuated girl, but it carried the hard edge of a fighter. I stomped down on his neck a little harder, just so he’d know I meant business.

Xander cursed under his breath, and his face turned a lovely shade of crimson. The desire burning bright in his eyes faded, though it shocked me to see the flame had not gone out entirely. “To you?” he said, his voice a low growl. “I would yield my throne.”

My insides twisted-just a little-at his words. I increased the pressure on his neck for two full seconds before removing my foot. “I win, then. I keep my money, I keep my job, and punishment is considered given.” I turned my back on him and headed for the door.

“It nearly killed him,” Xander called out. “He loved his child. And Illiana? Worshipped her.” I turned around to find Xander sitting upright, an elbow resting on a raised knee, his other hand massaging his throat. “He was right to kill that Oracle for allowing his wife to sacrifice her life. I would have done no less in his situation. Everything he cherished has been ripped from him. When we couldn’t find you for two whole days,” Xander said with a sigh, “that pain replayed itself. I could see it on his face, the worry. He wouldn’t admit it, but I saw it nonetheless. Raif cares for you, Darian. Do not cause him pain again.”

A knife twisted in my gut would have been no less agonizing. I didn’t want to hurt Raif. On the contrary, I longed to help him. I knew in my gut that Delilah wasn’t bullshitting me. She’d have used the Enphigmale to put an end to Raif if she could have. But since her plan hadn’t quite worked out to her advantage, she’d tried to use her knowledge of Brakae’s whereabouts as a bargaining chip. She had to know her days were numbered. There was no advantage to offering the information if she wasn’t ready to back it up. I just wished Raif could see beyond the hurt of his past to find the truth that I felt in every bone of my body. I could reunite him with Brakae if he’d just stop being so stubborn. His orders to quit looking for her only slowed me up. Sneaking around with someone I felt less than comfortable with would hinder my ability to find her quickly. Instead, I’d had to resort to deception. Raif’s pain would be short-lived, and he’d forgive me the grief I caused him when I reunited him with his daughter.

Xander stood and began to stretch. The king once again, he paid me as much attention as he would a pet. “I’ll find a way to get a rematch out of you,” he said absently. “You won’t win a second time.”

His words were meant to be arrogant, but I knew better. He’d enjoyed himself and would only be looking for another opportunity to play his games. I left the training room as a breath of air, the thrill of my victory buried beneath Raif’s sorrow and Xander’s arrogance. I couldn’t even be proud of myself for kicking Xander’s ass because I knew, somehow, he had let me win.

Raif was waiting for me in the foyer. I became corporeal before I entered the room, though what I’d really wanted was a stealthy escape, or a coward’s exit depending on your point of view. But avoiding him wouldn’t assuage my guilt at having caused him worry, so I straightened my spine and walked up to him, prepared to take whatever he planned to dish out.

“So, you won,” he said.

“You heard?”

“Everyone heard,” he laughed. “Really, Darian, you didn’t expect us all to close our ears and pretend not to listen. It sounded like an exciting match.”

I shrugged. “I think Xander got what he wanted out of it.” Some rough-and-tumble close contact, sweaty bodies and all. “Do you want to add to the torture I just had to endure?”

Raif attempted a smile, but it came off as more of a grimace. “I know you think you can take on the world, Darian. But have a care. It would be-unfortunate-if anything happened to you.”

Unfortunate, huh? Well, the words didn’t carry much emotion, but the expression on his face spoke volumes. Xander had told the truth. I’d managed to open some old wounds. I didn’t plan on letting Raif bleed for long, though. “Don’t worry, Raif.” I swung my arm and gave him a solid pat on the shoulder. “I’ll be careful.” Without giving him the opportunity to respond, I left.

My cell buzzed in my pocket as I closed the door behind me. I flipped it open to find a text message from an unknown number:

Midnight. @Seven. East Pike Street. Come alone.

– F

Well, at least he was kind enough to give an initial, though how the bastard got his hands on my number, I had no idea. How would I manage to shake Tyler long enough to meet Fallon? I practically had to apply for a furlough just to come to Xander’s this morning. I would be watched even more closely since my five-minute/two-day field trip. But I couldn’t waste any precious time. I’d find a way to meet him, even if it meant wishing Tyler and half of the Shaede Nation into a stupefied state. If Fallon was ready to help, I was ready to take the leap. He scared the shit out of me, I couldn’t deny that. But I valued Raif’s friendship more than that fear. I just hoped I could keep my unease at bay long enough to hear Fallon out.