A Call of Vampires (A Shade of Vampire #51)(9)

Caia was petite and spunky, just like Vita, with medium-length pale blonde hair and bright green eyes with a hint of teal. Grace and Lawrence had some fertility problems, and had enlisted Corrine’s magic to help them conceive—back when they couldn’t remember Vita. Whatever spell Corrine had performed, not only had it helped bring Caia into the world, but it had also gifted her with strong fire fae abilities. It had taken Vita many years to summon her first flames, whereas to Caia they had come as naturally as breathing. All in all, Caia was not one of the best fighters in GASP where physical combat was concerned, but the things that girl could do with fire had already left me speechless.

Field and Draven were on the far end, giving instructions to some of our male recruits, including Blaze, Heath’s son and an eminent fire dragon. Heath had married Athena after his period of celibacy had come to an end—she was a full female fire dragon he came upon in the supernatural dimension—and they’d introduced their son Blaze to GASP at the green age of six. From what my dad had told me, Blaze was a terrific fighter and, most importantly, could transform into a full dragon thanks to his mother’s genes. He was also highly skilled in his use of fire, which was one of the reasons he’d recently been reassigned to the Eritopian base. Most of the female recruits in our base seemed to have a soft spot for the guy—taking a lot after his father, Blaze stood tall, with navy-blue eyes, short dark hair, and rugged good looks mounted on a broad frame with solid muscle mass. Of course, said female recruits were also disappointed to find out that, like Heath in his early days, Blaze had taken a celibacy vow until the age of twenty-three. I could practically hear their brains counting the years, months, and days until it was over.

It hadn’t taken the young fire dragon long to make new friends; he and Heron, Jax’s brother, soon became inseparable. Heron Dorchadas, also present and currently grimacing at his brother’s instructions, was an impressive specimen, as far as Eritopian vampires were concerned. The Mara was tall, dark, and handsome as hell—even I had to give nature credit for the gifts it had bestowed upon him. He shared many of his brother’s facial features, with black hair in a permanent bedhead tousle, jade eyes, and a nose worthy of Roman emperor busts, but he was slightly more slender than Jax, with toned muscles, broad shoulders, and long legs. The ladies, both Shadian and Eritopian, loved and hated him at the same time—sure, he whipped up a charming smile with ease, but his penchant for crude jokes nearly got him slapped a couple of times, and, in at least one instance, nearly set on fire (Caia did not mess around).

I turned my attention back to the Shadian females surrounding me, carefully analyzing each one as I noticed how comfortable they’d all gotten with their new lives in Eritopia. Hansa had taken a particular liking to Fiona, mostly because of her strength—she was another “warrior with deadly thighs”, so it didn’t come as a surprise that they’d gotten close. Fiona had inherited Yelena’s auburn hair, keeping it cut below the ears. Her eyes were the color of molten amber, and her physique didn’t exactly match her titanic strength. Sure, the athletic frame was visible, but she was almost two heads shorter than me, petite, with an overall sweetness that made each of her punches a devastating surprise.

Avril was my secret favorite of the bunch, mainly because of the foot-in-mouth syndrome she often displayed during social gatherings and dinner parties—she was my kindred spirit, so to speak. She’d come to The Shade with Marion, and Lucas had adopted her, raising her like his own. She had opted into vampirism at the age of eighteen, and even that didn’t stop her dad from being super-protective. But Avril was always quick to stop him from being overbearing (when she was around). Her medium height didn’t make her any less of a worthy opponent, and her beautiful face was often a distraction for our male recruits during training. Her oval face with heart-shaped lips and pert nose, complemented by her hazel eyes and long light brown hair with blond highlights was a recipe for heartbreak, and her hourglass figure didn’t help either. What made her truly intimidating to some, however, was her sense of smell—hence the “Hound Dog” nickname. Avril was an expert tracker—almost as good as if she were a werewolf. She’d learned how to smell the chemical changes in any creature, thus being able to detect fear and other intense emotions. She could read some of us like open books.

As for Scarlett, she was a phenomenon all on her own, given her incredible speed. She’d also been turned at the age of eighteen and was Avril’s niece by marriage, technically speaking, but they got along more like sisters. She had warm brown hair, which she often combed straight into a ponytail to “help with aerodynamics”, she’d say, and Jeramiah’s sky-blue eyes. She was as tall as me, with an athletic physique, ample curves, and long legs that she used to their maximum capacity.

“Okay, girls, I’m going to take turns with you,” I announced, addressing Avril, Scarlett, and Fiona. “We’ll focus on physical combat for now because I want to assess your offense and defense skills.”

The three vampires nodded firmly, each clad in her black training suit and sneakers. I’d advised them to wear some fingerless gloves, at least, because I had a hard head, and it wouldn’t have been the first time they’d ended up grazing their knuckles while trying to punch me.

“Well, I see you didn’t bother to take my advice.” I nodded at Fiona, who put her bare hands up with a smirk. As usual, that made my skin crawl. That girl could beat me six ways from Sunday, and, judging by the look on her face, she was hell-bent on making it seven ways from Sunday.