Warrior (Relentless #4)(94)

“I know you miss Nate and your friends, but it’s not like you won’t see them again. And you aren’t alone here. You’ve made some new friends, and you have Tristan and Chris and me.”

“Until you go off on one of your missions again.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you missed me?” I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. She wouldn’t be angry if she didn’t care.

“No.”

“I have no plans to go anywhere for the next month so you are stuck with me for a while,” I said, hoping to reassure her.

“Lucky me,” she grumbled, and I laughed, glad that she seemed more at ease.

“Where did you go?”

“It was a job, clearing out some nests,” I answered soberly. “Nothing you want to hear about.”

“You were looking for the Master, weren’t you?”

“You don’t need to worry about him anymore,” I said.

My words only upset her more. She stopped short and put her hands on her hips.

How did I make her understand that she no longer had to fear the Master? We would find and eliminate him, and all she had to do was train and settle into her new life.

“I’m not a child, Nikolas, and I deserve to know what is going on. If you can’t be open with me, you can go find someone else to train.”

I let out a harsh breath and grabbed her wrist when she turned to go back the way we’d come. “I see you are still the same pain in the ass.”

“Takes one to know one.”

I couldn’t see her face, but I heard the smile in her voice.

“We found where we believe Eli was staying in Portland, and there were signs that the Master could be in Nevada. It’s not surprising since Vegas is the perfect place for vampires to blend in and hunt. We hit a nest in Henderson and that led us to two more nests near Vegas, but none of them gave us anything useful about the Master. Whoever he is, he is well hidden and his followers have no idea where he is.”

She looked at me expectantly. “So, what happens now?”

“Now we train while someone else looks for him. A Master is no small matter, and the Council has made it a priority to find him. They’ve already sent extra teams to the US dedicated to hunting him. It is only a matter of time before he is found.”

We continued our walk until she let out a small gasp and broke into a run. I followed at a normal pace and found her standing at the edge of the lake, glowing with happiness.

I knew how she felt seeing the lake for the first time. I discovered this place a few days after Tristan and I came to the valley, and I used to come here to swim and be alone. I’d even considered building a small house here, but I’d never gotten around to it. It pleased me to know she loved it here too.

“This is incredible,” she gushed. “I can’t believe people don’t come here all the time.”

I smiled. “Not everyone loves the woods as much as you do.”

“Then why did you bring me here?”

“Because I’m not like everyone else.” I sat on a rock and motioned for her to take the one next to me. “Let’s talk.”

She sat hesitantly. “I thought we were going to train.”

“We will, but first I want to talk about your training. Callum told me you don’t seem to want to use your Mori strength or speed.”

“You talked to him about me?” she asked defensively.

“Of course. I needed to understand the problem so we can fix it.”

Talking to Callum had been a good idea. He might not have been the right trainer for Sara, but he was observant. He’d told me she was sensitive about her Mori whenever he tried to talk to her about it, and he suspected she was afraid of the demon. In his defense, he had no idea about Sara’s history or her unique ancestry, which made him unqualified to help her get past her fear.

She gave me a skeptical look. “You think you know what my problem is?”

“I have several theories. The first is that you are so used to suppressing your Mori that you don’t know how to do anything else. Demons are afraid of Fae magic, which explains why your Mori doesn’t fight for control like mine would if I kept it locked away. You need to learn to loosen your control just as you would exercise any muscle. It takes practice.”

“That’s it then?”

“That is one theory.” My gaze locked with hers. “My other theory is that you are afraid.”

She rubbed her hands on her jeans. “Why…would I be afraid?”

“I was there in the wine cellar, Sara, and I saw what happened when you let your demon out. I also saw the fear on your face when I asked you about it the next day. It terrified you how close the demon came to controlling you. But that would never have happened.” I hated bringing up that night in Portland, but she had to face her fears if she was going to conquer them.

She paled and turned her face away. “You’re wrong. It almost did.”

“No, it didn’t. Look at me.”

Her eyes met mine again, and I saw her distress.

“I would not have let it take you,” I said firmly.

“But if you hadn’t gotten there when you did, I –”

“You would have done it on your own. You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. The demon might have gained control for a short time, but you would not have let it stay that way.”