26

A R Y A

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"That's enough for today." I took the bow from Georgie and placed it on the stone table. She held up bravely. Her shots became more and more accurate and precise, as did her dance. She was a good student - ambitious and willing to practice hard. Just like me back then. “Go collect the arrows, then you are free for today.”

"Understood, “Tazim”." With a vigorous nod, she stalked across the field to the target and collected her arrows, her long black ponytail bobbing back and forth. Despite her arms and legs shaking from exhaustion, she held herself upright. “Aee”, she would be an excellent warrior.

I ran my hands over the piles of different weapons as I heard loud hoots and shouts. A whole horde of people had gathered around two soldiers and watched the sword fight spellbound.

Curious about which warriors were being so fussed about, I approached the crowd and squeezed through the thick wall of werewolves. And then I saw her. Like two whirlwinds they swung their swords, one more accurate than the other. Clanking blades met as one sword after another was parried. Aramis and Xenos were truly a sight not to be missed. Tanned sweaty muscles shimmering in the setting red sun, their serious, concentrated faces twisted into a militant grimace and their blazing wolf eyes. It didn't take me two seconds to see the joy in those very eyes and to know that these wolves had been friends for centuries. They knew each other by heart now.

Nonetheless, Aramis was a tad faster, and his slashes were a tad more powerful - as one would expect from a demigod. And instead of making Xenos look weak next to him, it was the exact opposite. I hadn't heard of anyone who could challenge the Lycan apart from Serdas - his late cousin. That a mortal werewolf was a match for a demigod said more about him than anything else. And damn “aee”, he was hot to watch.

I clawed my hands into my tight-fitting dark blue top, but that didn't help in any way against the heat that was already in my body and kept sliding down.

The deadly moves of the two picked up speed and the onlookers grew louder as the fight intensified towards the end, ultimately bringing down Aramis Xenos.

The crowd cheered while Aramis laughed and helped Xenos to his feet and the two brotherly high-fives. Aramis had a big grin on his face as he turned to Zaira who was also in the audience holding her son in her arms. He slapped his chest and grinned. "Well, who's the biggest?"

Zaira laughed up at him while Koray shouted, "Dada!"

"You say so!" Aramis picked Koray up and threw him into the air, only to catch him again and ruffle his hair fatherly. It must have been a great token of love that he turned away from Koray again and looked at Zaira with him in his arms – with so much tenderness that I felt very livid.

At that moment, before I could stare at the two any longer, someone else stepped into my line of sight, and the heat from earlier suddenly came back.

"Did you like the fight?" Xenos asked as he stopped in front of me. His chest was heaving quickly and violently in the fight so I was all too aware of his sweat glistening burst.

Trying not to start drooling, I tore my eyes away from the rock hard chest and toned stomach and looked into his face. His blond hair shimmered reddish in the setting sun, which bathed the entire evening sky in dark orange. You'd think he'd be a demigod too - he looked so flawless.

When Xenos raised a suggestive eyebrow, I cleared my throat. ““Aee”, very. You are an outstanding warrior."

"Oh yes?" He cocked his head and smiled at me, something that did a thousand things to me. The smile on his face was new, unfamiliar, but it suited him well. He should smile more often. “I” wanted to make him smile more often.

He caught one of my fine braids. "Do you think I'm a better warrior than you?"

I hesitated for a moment, but then I wanted to smack myself so much that I almost flinched from his comment. Xenos didn't want to corroborate me, didn't want to offend me. He “played” with me. So I stood on tiptoe, leaning on his hard shoulders. "There's only one way to find out." Then, in a flash, I bit his ear, just as he had done to me several times last night - and not just on my ear.

He growled and grabbed my waist. "You can try, “kitten”."

"Well then, what are you waiting for?"

His teeth snapped at me, but I dodged him and wriggled out of his arms, laughing.

"No bow and arrow?" he asked as I reached for a sword on the stone table and drew it to me.

I turned to him with a flirtatious smile and swung the sword in the air. "Don't worry, I won't cut you."

"Well, if that's so." He grinned, his eyes sparkling as he waved his fingers at me. "Come on baby, show me what you've got."

I tightened my grip on the sword and twirled my wrist. I had dedicated my weapon with care. It wasn't as heavy as Xenos', but light and delicate, for while Xeno's strength was his strength, mine was his speed. A quick look at the silvery blade. “Well then, let's start the dance.”

He was the first to attack. I skillfully parried his blow, paying attention to his feet, which steps he made before he started a blow, how he defended himself and how he dodged me. Meanwhile, I dodged his attacks as best I could, caught his sword blows, and gathered all the necessary information.

"Is that all kittens?" he asked as he made another attack, almost defeating me in the process. But at the last moment, I averted his sword with mine, fluently pivoted, and launched an attack on his left flank myself.

"Don't worry, I'm just getting started," I countered with a grin, then took a deep breath, tightening my grip on my sword and concentrating on my core. And then I let go. I wasn't the dancer in the dance, I was the dance itself. I took my steps as lightly as the air, swung my sword as passionately as fire and avoided his as flowing as water. We circled each other like shadows, blades on blades. Blows we parried and dodged each other. Speed increased, Xenos getting stronger and more precise with each swing as I followed his pace. It was liberating - there was only the here and now. Just xenos and me. His eyes flickering with hot blue flames and teeth flashing in a grin whenever I deftly dodged it.

Another swing of the sword, I turned sideways and bent so that his sword couldn't touch my stomach, but too late I dodged his foot, which knocked me to the ground. My back hit the dry grass hard and took my breath away.

He was about to help me up when, swinging my legs in the air, I jumped up without using my hands to support myself. Landing in a crouch, still holding my sword, I blew my hair out of my face and grinned defiantly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Tired already?"

His eyes sparkled in surprise. "A dry sense of humour, skill, and courage not found in the best soldiers." He shook his head in disbelief. "God you are perfect."

My heart skipped a beat at his look and his words, but I jumped to my feet and prepared for another attack. Of course he was fast enough to stand up to me. We were going so fast it felt like the world was spinning around us until he threw my sword away with his on impact and I felt the sharp blade against my neck.

Just three seconds, then he drew his sword back. My breathing was fast and heavy, and the grin was still visible on Xeno's face.

"I guess the winner is clear." No criticism, no smiles or ridicule. Just Xenos, whose eyes still had that lovely expression he used to give me.

I exhaled in relief and found there was no knot in my stomach. No crushing emptiness trying to suck me in. Pure joy shot through my body and I wrapped my arms around his neck, laughing. "“Aee”." The winner was clear, and it was me. Because the goddess sent “him” to me.

His sword fell to the ground with a clatter. "Well I guess you didn't quite understand “who” defeated “who” here."

I felt his smirk on my hair and leaned back in his arms, which he now wrapped around me. I smiled and shook my head.

"No?" He tilted his head again and laughed. "Well. Then I want you to grant my wish now.”

I widen my eyes. "What wish? You don't have a wish."

“Of course, the winner always gets a prize.”

"Since when? That wasn't worth mentioning at the beginning.”

"Then you should be careful not to challenge the game of a wolf in the future."

I rolled my eyes, but the corners of my mouth twitched. "In order. What is your wish, my king?”

"A kiss."

I raised my brows in surprise. I saw the mischievous glint in his eyes, but I couldn't figure out how on earth a kiss meant anything else. "It's supposed to be a kiss." Even if it was just a kiss, it wasn't “just a kiss”. It never was with Xenos. Just that intense gaze, with which he followed my every movement, as if he was afraid of losing sight of me, caused my whole body to emit waves of heat and woke me up in a state of turmoil.

I gently stroked his small stubble as I stretched my mouth towards his and then kissed him slowly. It started hesitantly, leisurely, until the grip on my hips tightened, his tongue parted my lips, and he took the lead with a growl. Dominant and demanding, so that I could only press myself against him, moaning softly and wishing we were back in the broom closet – or in his bed. “Aee”, his bed, that was definitely more comfortable.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly heard loud clapping and hooting. I jumped back immediately, but didn't get very far as Xenos was still holding me. So I leaned back as best I could to look around. A whole crowd of people who had shorn of us and are now whistling at us. They must have gathered by our fight, but Xenos had me so captivated that I didn't even notice them.

My bare chest trembled under my hands and I tilted my head up to him. My mouth fell open, then I jabbed my finger into his chest, which was still trembling with silent laughter. "You did that on purpose!"

A sly smile. "You think so?"

“God, was I embarrassed!” I put my hands over my face and buried it in his neck while his pack whistled at us. I knew exactly what he had done. As well as having hickeys and bites all over me for the last two nights, he had also tagged me in front of all his members. He might wait with that final bite on my neck that would bind me to him for good—but until then, he marked me as much as he could.

He kissed my hair and I heard his smile in his voice. "You are my queen. Everyone should know that.”

I blinked away the burning tears. If only he knew what those words evoked in me. He stood by me so much, even after all the hardships I had put through. He wanted me so badly that he didn't miss a chance to make it clear to everyone. He'd been like that from the start, even to his closest friends he hadn't hidden how much he wanted me.

Maybe there will always be a part of me that will be sad. Who mourns my homeland and longs to reach for a vine, hear Rowtag's shitty jokes, and endure Father's pride in his famous “Katuza” over me. But that was okay because the aching emptiness, the hole that had been inside me before was no longer there. “Aee”, a part of my heart ached and cried, but Xenos filled it with joy and happiness like I could never have dreamed. Maybe I had lost my homeland, but not my home - this was right in front of me. And I hoped it would stay that way forever. Because in Xeno's arms, I felt more like I belonged than in any other place.

“He “was my home.

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