Tempest Unleashed (16 page)

He laughed.

When you’re fighting, you can actually read the other person’s energy?
I asked him, intrigued.
You can see how they formed their shield?

Of course.
He looked surprised.
Has no one ever told you that before?

No. I just thought you hit at it until you found the weakness.

Which is what you did to me earlier?
he asked.

Pretty much, yeah.

Wow. I’m impressed.

Why? It was sheer luck that I got the spear through.

No.
He shook his head.
It was sheer strength of will on your part.

I warmed, unwittingly, at the compliment.
It wasn’t as impressive as what you did
, I told him.
You sent that arrow straight into me.

Because you were facing me head-on. If you’d been to the side, I never would have gotten that shot.
He held his hand out about an inch in front of my chest and waved it up and down.
Always protect your midline.

Right.
I brought my right arm back up.
My midline.

The next half hour passed in a blur as Sabyn patiently showed me technique after technique, none of which I’d ever seen before. As we worked, I couldn’t help wondering why no one else had ever bothered doing this with me. Had Kona, Hailana, even Jared, relied on my power so completely that they failed to teach me even the most mundane blocking exercises? Considering how Sabyn had kicked my butt earlier, it seemed ridiculous.

Not to mention shortsighted.

Okay
. Sabyn finally stepped back.
You want to try out your new form?

I kind of did. Whereas training was usually something I suffered through, tonight I was excited. I wanted to see if Sabyn’s tips would help.

Absolutely
, I told him.

Good.
He moved back to the other side of the park.
Hit me with your best shot.

Seriously?
I asked him.

Hey, Pat Benatar knew what she was talking about.

Hmm. Maybe I’d been a little too suspicious when he’d been touching me earlier … I didn’t think most straight guys even knew who Pat Benatar was, let alone quoted her lyrics.

Shifting my body like he taught me, I threw up the strongest shield I could manage. Then I lifted my left arm and sent a blast of energy slamming right into him. It wasn’t as sophisticated as the spear I’d done earlier, but it was a great calling card, an announcement of my intentions.

He let loose with his own energy blast, and this time I managed to stop it and volley it back at him. Sabyn just laughed and let loose with another pulse of energy that rocked me onto my heels.

We continued this way for a couple of minutes, and then Sabyn did it again. Snaked an arrow straight through my shield and nailed me in the right shoulder.

My shield dropped—I couldn’t help it—and instead of waiting for me to raise it again, he pressed his advantage, coming after me full on now. Blast after blast hit me, knocked me back until he finally got one through my own energy bursts that landed me flat on my butt.

And still he didn’t stop advancing. I wasn’t scared this time, wasn’t worried. Even though he’d hurt me when he broke through my shield, he’d been pulling his punches since then, keeping me from getting my groove back but not actually hurting me.

Now
. He floated a little above me, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he stared down at me.
Ready to admit defeat?

Not even close.
I used every ounce of energy I had to construct a hasty shield, then braced myself for impact. This close it was going to hurt, even if he went easy on me.

Sabyn pulled back his arm and launched a blast straight at me, and it didn’t look like he’d pulled his punches at all.

At the last second, I rolled away from him. And then several things happened at once.

I sprang back up.

Sabyn let loose a powerful blast of energy at the spot he expected me to be.

A new blast of energy met it—one that didn’t come from me.

And then Sabyn was flying backward, tumbling through the water like a broken ragdoll.

I turned to see where this new threat had come from and saw an enraged Kona charging straight at me.

Chapter 13

Correction. Charging past me and straight at Sabyn.

Don’t even think about touching her
, he yelled at my sparring partner, his arm pulled back to deliver another energy blast. One look at his face and I knew he was out for blood.

I was up and racing toward him as soon as the thought registered.
Kona, don’t!
I screamed at him along our private path.

It didn’t even faze him. I grabbed on to his arm as he let loose and the blast went wide, striking a statue of Hailana that graced one of the park’s walkways. The huge thing went tumbling backward, landing with a crash that sent fish scurrying and waves flashing out in all directions. I stared at it, shocked. If it had hit Sabyn while he was unshielded, the blow would have killed him.

Kona, it’s okay
, I told him, holding on to his arm as tightly as I could. This time I spoke on the general pathway so Sabyn could understand what I was saying too. The last thing I needed was for him to get up and fire back on Kona. World War III would probably erupt right here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
He’s training me.

Kona’s silver eyes were wild when he turned to me.
Training you? It looked more like he was trying to kill you.

Sabyn drifted slowly to his feet, an insolent look on his face. Even the blood coming from the corner of his mouth didn’t soften the effect.
I would never hurt Tempest
, he said silkily—and a little untruthfully, but I didn’t feel the need to point that out right then.
Hailana has asked me to get her ready for battle.

Bullshit. Hailana would never be that stupid.
Kona was practically foaming at the mouth and I stared at him, shocked. I’d never seen my boyfriend like this, not even the times he’d stood up to Tiamat. He looked like he wanted to tear Sabyn apart limb from limb.

It’s true, Kona
, I told him, trying to defuse the situation.
Hailana appointed Sabyn my trainer.

Yeah, well, you’re going to have to find a new one because that’s not going to happen
. He positioned himself in front of me so that I had to float up and peek over his shoulder even to get a glimpse of Sabyn’s face.
Why don’t you go crawl back under whatever rock you came from?
he snarled at Sabyn.

For a second I couldn’t move—that’s how shocked I was at this whole bizarre confrontation. Kona rarely lost his temper and even when he did, it was never in such a chest-pounding, testosterone-fueled way. He’d liked my last trainer a lot, had joked with Jared even as he’d nursed me through the various bruises and sprains our sparring had caused.

Have you completely lost your mind?
I asked Kona, shoving against his shoulders.

Stay out of this, Tempest.

Stay out of it? It’s
my
training session you’re interrupting.

Not anymore. You’re through.
He turned back to Sabyn, and the look on his face was so powerful, so incensed, so
frightening
, that I probably would have fallen apart had it been directed at me. And I don’t scare easily.

Sabyn merely snarled back.

If I ever catch you near her again, I’ll kill you.

You can try
, Sabyn told him.

Oh, I’ll do more than try.
Kona slammed him with another blast, one that went right through Sabyn’s shield and hit him full-on. His nose and right ear started to bleed.

I shoved Kona out from in front of me.
Are you okay?
I demanded, rushing to check on Sabyn.

He’s fine
, Kona answered for him, throwing up a wall of energy between us so that I could do nothing but watch Sabyn weakly wipe the blood away.
Bottom-feeders like him always find a way to hold on to their tails.

He’s hurt!

He’s fine
, Kona snapped again.

Sabyn smiled at me even as he wiped blood from his face.
I am fine, Tempest. Let the little boy have his temper tantrum. It won’t change anything.

Kona stepped forward and hauled him up by the hair.
Stop it
, I cried, trying to use my own power to blast through the wall he’d created.

You don’t know what’s going on here, Tempest.

You’re making a mistake, Kona
.

Not about this guy
, he told me.
He’s been bad news from the day he was born—if Hailana doesn’t remember that much, then she’s obviously gone senile.

Maybe I’ve turned over a new leaf
, Sabyn said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

You wouldn’t know how.
Kona shoved him away with his free hand, hard enough that he ripped a chunk of hair out of Sabyn’s head.
Get away from Tempest and stay away from her. If I ever catch you near her again—

You’ll what?
Sabyn chose that moment to strike out, to blast Kona with every ounce of power he had inside of him.

I watched in horror as the energy struck Kona’s shield and then powered straight through it, knocking him back about thirty feet.

Kona was up in fifteen seconds, but this time he was bleeding too. He and Sabyn started to circle each other.

Stop it!
I yelled, but they both ignored me.

Desperate to put an end to this before one of them killed the other, I drew energy from the water around me, focused every ounce of power I had, and punched a hole right through the wall Kona had tried to lock me behind.

That’s it!
I shrieked, sounding like a crazy woman but not caring at all.
Don’t we have enough problems without the two of you acting like imbeciles?

He is a problem
, Kona growled.
That’s what I’m trying to tell you.

You’re the only one causing a problem right now
, Sabyn told him, striking out with a blow that should have knocked Kona into next week.

Kona roared, the sound so low and mean that it sent shivers up my spine. I turned to look at him, to try to calm him down, and felt fear skitter through me at the sight. His eyes glowed, his fingers were curled into claws, and he fairly vibrated with the need to rip Sabyn in half, though they were still circling each other. It was the first time I’d ever seen him like this and it reminded me, forcibly, of the fact that he wasn’t human.

He might be able to shift to human form, but Kona was selkie. As I watched him look for an opening to get at Sabyn, I finally realized just what that meant. In those moments, he was much more the animal defending what he considered his than he was the human.

Kona, please. Don’t do this.
I turned to Sabyn, who didn’t look any more civilized.
Please, just walk away. I’m so sorry—

Don’t apologize to him!
Kona reached for my arm, but I shook him off.

I was so furious with both of them that I could barely think, barely speak.

Don’t tell me what to do!
I yelled at him, the last of my patience eroded by his barbaric attitude.
Tiamat is on the verge of a major strike, we’re in the middle of a humanitarian crisis, and you two want to pick a fight like a couple of children. What the hell is wrong with you?

You don’t understand—

And you’re not trying to explain it to me, are you?
I waited, but Kona didn’t say anything and neither did Sabyn.
Fine, then, I’m done.
I turned and started swimming away.

Tempest!
Kona called after me, but I was too angry to turn around. Too angry to do anything but flip them both off as I swam away.

Judging from the choked sounds echoing behind me, I wasn’t sure which of the three of us was more shocked.