A Call of Vampires (A Shade of Vampire #51)(14)

I looked over to the other guys, and noticed Blaze had been left without a sparring partner. Patrik had retired to the door to confer with Draven, Jax, and the elder Novaks. Bijarki noticed, too, and briefly glanced at Caia before he called the fire dragon over.

“Blaze!” he said. “Get over here and spar with Caia. Can’t have you standing around so idly!”

Blaze instantly nodded and crossed the Plateau at a sprint. He was the spitting image of his dad, Heath. His dark blue eyes fixed on Caia as he reached us. He looked at Bijarki for a moment, pressing his lips together.

“Are you sure?” he murmured to Bijarki, then settled his gaze on Caia again.

“I’m positive, Blaze. Do not underestimate your opponent,” Bijarki replied. “Use both physical combat and fire skills. Reps of five minutes with one-minute breaks in between.”

Bijarki then focused on teaching Harper some new moves, while Caia moved closer to Blaze, her teal eyes glimmering. They both nodded to each other, and assumed their fighting stances.

“I’ll, uh, be blowing fire in my human form,” Blaze stated, his tone slightly awkward. “I’m a bit large for this platform as a dragon… I might topple a few columns.”

“Okay,” she replied, offering him a small smile. “I’ll start, then.”

Caia moved, flipping open her lighters and summoning a long fire whip, which she lashed at Blaze so fast, he had to jump back a couple of feet to avoid a burn. It caught him by surprise, but he didn’t immediately use his own fire. Instead, he dodged her strikes until he managed to close the distance between them.

Caia turned three hundred and sixty degrees with her fire whip to amplify the impact of her next lash, but Blaze dropped down and swept her feet from under her. Caia fell flat on her back with a grunt, her flames extinguished, and Blaze offered her a hand. She took it, and he helped her up with a pull that brought him a little too close, their faces inches away from one another.

They seemed entranced, until Caia took a deep breath and reignited her lighter, this time fashioning two short fire batons. The flames seemed more concentrated than her previous sword forms, reminding me of the incandescent blade that Ori had used against Azazel.

“I definitely didn’t expect that,” Blaze warned Caia. “Your skills are impressive.”

“I would like to see yours, too, while we’re here,” Caia replied with a smirk, then came at him with a succession of fiery blows. Blaze pulled back, dodging the hits, then blew a strong fire column at her, prompting Caia to bring her forearms together in a cross and immediately turn her batons into a thick, flaming shield. It worked well, but the strength of Blaze’s fire pushed her farther back, forcing her to take a knee.

Caia bellowed against the sheer force of the fire column, summoning her abilities to come out in full, and her shield burst out with an explosion so powerful, it canceled Blaze’s attack and threw him backward. He landed several feet away, and needed a minute to shoot back up to his feet.

I couldn’t help but clap at the sheer display of strength and skill from both of them. Caia wore a proud grin, putting her lighters away and lifting her index finger in the air.

“Sorry if I got a little too intense,” she said. “I can tell we’re being screened for something today, so I figured I’d give it my best.”

He chuckled, then nodded with appreciation.

“You most certainly did,” he replied, his voice a touch lower than usual.

There was a twinkle in his eyes that reminded me of my first few days around Bijarki, back at the mansion. I could see the attraction—it didn’t need explaining. Blaze then frowned and looked away, focusing his gaze on Bijarki and Harper’s training.

He was probably seeing Caia now for the first time, in a way. They’d grown up in The Shade during the Eritopian time lapse, but my sister had spent most of her time within the Residences community, while Blaze lived on the other side of the island, with the dragon folk.

I knew his dad Heath and our mom had gotten close at one point before dad had come into the picture… which made this little potential coupling all the more interesting. I couldn’t wait to see where it might lead.





Anjani





The day I’d never imagined I’d experience was finally here.

My wedding day.

My heart was thudding, wrestling against my ribcage as Corrine made the final adjustments to my dress. All my favorite girls were with me, along with members of my new family: Hansa, my sister and my best friend; Serena, Aida, and Vita, the unbreakable trio who had helped us regain freedom for ourselves and our people; Victoria, Jovi’s mother and a woman who inspired me on so many levels; Vivienne, Jovi and Aida’s grandmother and truly a sight to behold, the epitome of grace and vampiric elegance; and Viola, a Daughter of Eritopia with a mind of her own and a heart the size of Calliope.

Aura and Almandine were busy giggling and braiding silver orchids into my long, curly black hair. They gathered the braided locks and twisted them into a loose, flowery bun resting on the back of my neck. I would’ve loved to have Izora, Hansa’s only living daughter and my niece, with us but she’d been sent to a therapy camp to recover from her severe war trauma. Hansa had been very quick to notice the signs and didn’t like talking about it much, mainly because it broke her heart to see Izora so quiet and sleepless. Watching her sisters die at the hands of Sluaghs and Destroyers had taken its toll on the young succubus, and her caregiver had told us Izora wanted some time alone with her inner ‘demons’, to heal on her own. Izora was a young warrior and, much like her mother, needed solitude to heal. It didn’t make Hansa too happy, but she respected the girl’s wishes. We didn’t want to interrupt her treatment, and her physical and emotional health was far more important than my wedding day.