Moonlight's Ambassador (Aileen Travers Book 3)(22)

Liam's gaze was sympathetic. "It'll only get worse from here on out."

I set the glass down hard. "Let's go."

I didn't want to talk about my drinking habits. Not with him. Not when he was the reason I recognized the difference in the first place.

He held my gaze for a long moment but didn't fight me on it. Somehow that made me feel worse than if he had.

*

A hard blow to my stomach forced my breath out of my body. I fought the instinct to curl around the sore spot and kept my hands up, protecting my head from the follow-up fist.

"Move faster," Liam ordered, his voice so calm that just listening to it made me want to tear out all his hair—especially given the number of bruises already dotting my body. The man hit like a sledgehammer and had about as much mercy as one too. "Stop. Letting. Me. Hit. You." Each word was punctuated by a blow. One to my chest, one to my back, a kick to one thigh, a fist to the side of my head.

"I. Am. Trying." I tried dodging and received a cuff to the other side of my head for my troubles.

"Try harder," Liam barked.

It wasn't like I hadn't been trying for the last hour. He was faster. Stronger. And he wasn't afraid to use either against me. It was like trying to fight someone while standing in quicksand. My mind was willing; my body had to slog through a soupy, glop-like mess. Any benefit the blood might have afforded me had disappeared long ago. I was back to healing human-slow and feeling every one of the spots Liam targeted.

"Come on, soldier. Do something. Do anything."

I gritted my teeth and swung, knowing he wouldn't be there even as I started to move. He slid to the side, his lips turned up in that insufferable smirk he'd worn for this entire torture session. He kicked out with one leg, sending me crashing to the ground. My back protested as I hit with a hard thud. I lay there for a long moment, trying to get back my breath.

A movement out of the corner of my eye had me rolling out of range. Liam's foot landed where I'd just lain.

"Really? Kicking someone when they're down?"

He shrugged. "Your enemy won't give you time to catch your breath. Best you learn that here, where the worst you'll receive are some bruised ribs. Out there you could suffer a lot worse."

Nathan chuckled as he walked past us to the weight bench in the corner. "Don't let him kid you. He's just a perverse fuck."

We weren't the only ones using the gym in the basement. There were several moving from machine to machine. The human I met last night—I think I remember his name was Theo—was already lifting weights when Liam had forced this little training session on me. Nathan had joined us shortly after we arrived.

"You're a vampire. Use some of that speed I know you have," Liam ordered, ignoring his minion.

I was a yearling. The only speed I was capable of was the kind that allowed me to disappear after Thanksgiving with the family, so I didn't get stuck doing an entire kitchen's worth of dishes.

"Come on. Dig deep. Show me some of that stubbornness you're known for."

I'd really like to. If they ever gave me back my weapons, I'd be sure to.

We circled each other. Me, looking for a window. Him, probably trying to find a place he hadn't already abused.

Don't focus on the coming pain. Focus on what you can do. I wasn't going to beat him through strength or speed or even experience. It was clear I was outmatched in all three. That left trickery.

He threw a strike aimed at my face. Using one hand, I pushed it to the side and grabbed the back of his head with the other. I stepped forward, releasing the block and aimed for his head. He was gone before I could connect.

"Good, you're beginning to use your brain," he growled against my ear.

A heavy blow to the back of my knee and a hard push against my shoulder sent me crashing back to the ground.

"Again." He stepped towards me, and I popped to my feet. His smirk told me he'd planned to kick me again. Sadistic bastard.

He didn't wait for me to catch my breath, advancing on me faster than I could blink. The punch he threw was human slow. I slid to the side, already looking for the next one. There. I blocked, stepped forward, throwing several strikes and adding in a kick, trying to overwhelm his mind so that something might land.

It seemed to work. For a moment.

Out of nowhere, a force hit with the strength of a hurricane behind it. I crashed to the ground, the lights fading.

"Aileen?"

"You shouldn't have hit her so hard. She can't take our kind of damage," Nathan chided.

My eyes snapped open. Liam's concerned face above me and Nathan standing over him. I didn't think, just reacted.

I threw a punch, hitting him in the throat. He made a choking sound as I grabbed his arm and jerked, sending him off balance and rolling to a seated position on top of him. There was a shout behind me as my fists flew, raining down blows on his head, shoulders and chest as fast as I could move my arms.

Quick as a snake, he grabbed each wrist in an unbreakable grip, his eyes almost glowing as they peered up at me. His fangs peeked out of his mouth as he gave me a dark smile.

Before I could move, he rolled us over—me on my back, my hands held down next to my head, him wedged between my legs. "Knew you had it in you."

I snarled at him, beyond thought. Beyond reasoning. I lurched up, burying my fangs in his throat. He gave a guttural groan, his hands sliding from my wrists to cradle my head. Blood, that delicious giver of life, slid down my throat. It was nothing like that tepid stuff from my refrigerator. This was the real deal, sending energy zapping along my nerve endings.