Fated By Starlight by Krista Street

Chapter 19

~ AVERY ~

“Oww,” I moaned when I landed on my back for what felt like the fiftieth time. Seriously, this freakin’ hurt. Nobody had told me that learning self-defense would be so degrading and painful.

“Up. Try it again,” Major Armund said from ten feet away.

We were in an indoor training room, and once again, she’d managed to flatten me with one hit. The woman hadn’t even broken a sweat since we left my squad mates a few hours ago, yet I felt so sticky and bruised that I didn’t know how I was going to survive another day without going to the healing center for a potion.

“Meyers, up,” she repeated sternly.

I sat up gingerly, my butt so sore it felt numb. I looped my arms around my knees, struggling to catch my breath. “Do most new recruits do this badly, ma’am?”

“Most, but not all.” A twinkle lit her eyes when she sauntered over. She held out her hand and pulled me to my feet.

“Now, again. Feet wide, knees bent, arms up. Since you don’t have spells to assist you, you need to use your physical attributes.”

I did as she said but gingerly. Even moving my legs hurt. “But if I’m ever in a crisis situation, ma’am, I’ll most likely be trying to escape from supernaturals that do have magic.”

“True, but they still have vulnerabilities even if their magic’s strong. And you may feel weak, but your magic is useful, especially in this circumstance. You’ll be able to immediately gage how strong they are, which means you’ll know what you’re up against. That could prove lifesaving.”

“Not if I can’t get away from them.”

“Also true, but that’s why you’re training with me.” She flashed me a smile then brought her hands up. “Okay, enough talking. Widen your stance. A wide stance gives you stability. Remember, you won’t be able to overpower anyone. The point is to incapacitate long enough to get away, which means you need to go for pressure points and vulnerable areas. To review, you’re aiming for here, here, or here.” She moved her hand to her eyes, the base of her throat, then the nerve in the midline of her thigh.

I had to say, when it came to working and getting down to business, Major Armund didn’t mess around. Already, I’d learned about areas on a supernatural’s body that were perfect for attack. Well, at least the areas on witches, sorcerers, female werewolves, sirens, psychics, and half-demons. Well . . . most half-demons.

We hadn’t gotten into fairy, male werewolves, or vampire anatomy yet. She said that since they were the most powerful supernatural creatures, she would train me to deal with them later.

Considering how badly I was doing on the less powerful species training, I figured it would be much later.

“All right, try again.” Without warning, she came at me. I dodged left just in time or I would have been knocked flat on my back again.

“Good!” she said encouragingly and came at me a second time.

I feinted right at the last moment.

She grinned. “You managed to avoid being pinned twice now, which means you’re still free.” She mock punched me, but I jumped back, swallowing my wince and how much that abrupt movement hurt. “You’re forgetting what your ultimate goal is. Remember, the threat is real, which means you need to escape. So what should you be doing now?”

“Distance,” I said, then locked my jaw and took another huge step backward as my nerves flared in pain. “I need to put as much distance between my attacker and me as possible.”

“Yes, and then?”

“Exit. I need to find my exit points promptly and get away from the threat.”

“Precisely.” She smiled, obviously pleased that I was turning out to be an apt pupil.

I smirked humorlessly. I may be magically weak, but I could memorize and prioritize like the best of them. After all, I hadn’t been accepted into the Institute for my looks. My straight-A grades and ability to remember details had been the real contributing factors.

Which meant I now needed to ace this training.

“All right, again,” she said.

∞     ∞     ∞

My body was so sore by the time we finished that afternoon, I wanted to cry. But for the first time since starting my three-month training stint at the SF, I was actually feeling more confident that I could survive a crisis situation in my upcoming job.

“How’d it go?” Charlotte asked that evening, as she kicked off her boots and plopped down on the living room couch.

I lounged across from her in the armchair. “My body is screaming at me, but it went well. Major Armund is a really good teacher.”

“That’s probably why Major Jamison called her in,” Eliza replied. A smudge of dirt marred her cheek, and twigs stuck in her purple hair from some drill they’d done requiring tree climbing. “Chris knows her. I guess she’s one of the most accomplished female fighters the SF has ever had.”

Wincing, I sat up straighter. “Really? What else did Chris say about her?”

“Not much, just that she’s a full-blooded werewolf and is from the Idaho pack. He was a kid when she left their pack to come here, so he doesn’t know her well.”

“Well, she really knows her stuff.” With a groan, I stood from the chair and headed for the kitchen, walking gingerly.

I was definitely going to need a healing potion before bed tonight. At least when I’d shown up at the healing center before heading back here, I didn’t feel too awkward. Rosalie had readily greeted me, and Cora had handed a vial over without even asking what I needed.

Charlotte flipped on the TV, and the supernatural news blared in the background. A story popped up about a coven of witches being captured in Germany. The SF believed they’d been behind several apothecary burglaries in which rare herbs were stolen.

“What should we do for dinner?” Charlotte called from the couch. “Make something or go to the cafeteria?”

I pulled out baking supplies from the cupboard. My legs hurt even standing, but baking would take my mind off things. I still hadn’t talked to Wyatt since his cool responses this morning.

“I’m going to make a batch of cookies. Do you want me to make dinner while the cookies are baking?”

“Um, yeah,” Charlotte replied. “If your cooking’s half as good as your baking, I’m nominating you to cook every night.”

Eliza stayed by the counter. “I also agree. The human food you cook is vastly superior to the cafeteria food. Do you want some help?”

I eyed her smudged cheek and the twigs in her hair. “It’s okay. You can go clean up if you want. I got this.”

“I wouldn’t mind a shower,” Eliza admitted, smiling as she let her magic loose, a glow humming along her skin. The dirt on her cheek vanished as a swell of her magic flowed toward me. “Even though I can use magic to cleanse myself, I’ve grown quite fond of the showers here. My village doesn’t believe in the modern ways, preferring the ancient ways of self-induced cleansing.”

With that, she twirled around and headed to the bathroom. I was left gripping the counter as her magic dispersed.

One thing I’d come to learn about Eliza? She was much more magical than I’d originally given her credit for. Now that she’d acclimated to the lesser magical environment on earth and was no longer suffering from fae lands withdrawal, her immense power was impossible to miss.

Thinking of Eliza’s brief sickness, and our dual plunge into the river, reminded me of my commander. I eyed my baking ingredients, an idea forming.

After seeing how much he enjoyed the sponge cake on Saturday, I figured he’d welcome a batch of homemade cookies, and there was a recipe I’d been working on that I’d almost perfected.

Smiling, I began mixing ingredients. I could bring him a plate of cookies and talk to him privately—truly privately—without anyone around to see or hear us. Then we could figure out how we were going to keep seeing each other.

That fluttering began in my stomach again as I mixed the wet ingredients. Even though Wyatt had been aloof and cool today, I knew I hadn’t imagined his behavior on Saturday. I may have been drunk, but I wasn’t that drunk.

Which ultimately led me to believe that his detached demeanor this morning was due solely to our audience and not his feelings.

Some of my uneasiness evaporated as I cracked the eggs and whisked them in a separate bowl. If I showed up at Wyatt’s doorstep with a plate of warm cookies, alone in his building with nobody to see us . . .

A memory of our passionate encounter stole my breath as my smile turned into a grin.

∞     ∞     ∞

It was near eight in the evening by the time I made my getaway. Since I didn’t want my teammates knowing about my interest in our commander, I had to wait until Eliza and Charlotte were occupied.

At last the opportunity arose when Eliza escaped to her room to conjure a magical connection to the fae lands. She wanted to speak with a friend from her village, which meant she would be busy for at least an hour. And Charlotte finally vanished in the bathroom to shower, which left me alone in the kitchen.

I snatched the plate of cookies I’d set aside and made my way out of our apartment to the commander’s quarters at the end of the living barracks.

The evening was warm, the scent of rain still lingering. Small puddles collected on the sidewalk, still present from the afternoon rain shower, but it wasn’t until I reached Wyatt’s building that I realized I had two problems.

One, I had no way of getting in, and two, I didn’t know which apartment was Wyatt’s.

Crap.

Biting my lip, I stared at the locked door, wondering what I was going to do when the door swung open and a fairy emerged.

“Hello.” He was tall with bright orange hair and a dagger strapped to his waist.

“Good evening, sir.” He was about to turn away, so I asked, “Sir, would you be able to tell me which apartment belongs to Major Jamison?”

“You’re looking for Wyatt’s apartment?”

“That’s right.”

He looked me up and down. “And you are?”

“Private Avery Meyers. I’m one of his new recruits.”

“Place your hand here.” He nodded toward the glowing scanner by the door.

I did as he said, and magic enveloped my skin. “Welcome, Avery Meyers,” the robotic voice stated. “Access denied.”

I gave the fairy a quizzical look.

“Just needed to confirm your identity. We don’t get many new recruits wanting to access the commanders’ barracks.” He placed his hand on the scanner, the robotic voice welcoming him back, and the door clicked open. He held the door open for me. “Wyatt’s on the top floor, two doors down on the left. Have a good evening.”

“Thanks.” I breathed a sigh of relief as I stood in the doorway. “Would you like a cookie for your trouble?”

He raised an eyebrow. “What kind of cookie?”

“Toasted pecan with dark chocolate.” I fished a cookie out from under the plastic wrap and handed it to him.

He took a bite and was about to turn away when his eyes widened. “Bless the Queen, where did you get these?”

“I made them.”

He took another bite, his eyes closing as he chewed the soft cookie. Two bites later, it was gone. He dusted his hands off as a swell of magic cleansed the butter from his fingers. “That was quite possibly the best cookie I’ve ever consumed.”

I grinned. “Thank you, sir. It’s my own recipe. Would you like another?”

He readily held out his hand, so I dropped a second cookie onto his palm. “Much obliged.” He gave me a small bow. “And if you’re ever inclined, feel free to drop off a plate of those lovely delicious biscuits at my door. First floor, first door on the right.”

After the fairy commander left, I took the elevator to the top floor. As soon as I stepped out, butterflies began flapping in my stomach. While this had seemed like a good idea back at my apartment, now I wasn’t so sure. Was I being too forward? Too presumptuous?

But then I remembered what I knew of male werewolves.

Nope.

Wyatt liked me.

Plastering a smile on my face, I stopped in front of his door and knocked. Footsteps sounded on the other side before the door swept open.