She twirled the blade in her hand expertly, tossing back her ponytail as she slowly started to circle him. “You haven’t managed to yet,” she quipped back. “Don’t know why you think today will be any different.”
“When you two have finished measuring the size of your cocks perhaps we can see some training?” Karn’s harsh rebuke just made them both smile wider, Lily laughing happily at the coarseness of his words. This was the Karn she knew so well, the one who pushed her to be the very best.
She was flowing at Brandon before the laughter had stopped, her sword whistling through clear air as her opponent moved agilely out of the way. She spun and blocked his counterblow, the ring of metal meeting metal loud on the air.
They split apart, measured each other with shrewd eyes, slowly circling for a fraction of a second before they flowed together in attack once more. There was no more time for laughter or taunting words, they came together as lethal fighters each determined to be the winner of this little training session.
Kallum stood silently, just within the tree line, his eyes full of pride as he watched his sister match swords with the vampire almost four times her age. He’d been halfway towards pack lands when he realised he’d forgotten to ask the location of the Praetorian compound. Instead of turning back he used a skill not even Lily knew he was capable of.
He reached out with his senses as he dug deep within himself to find the spark of his magical powers. He let his mind fill with images of his sister, her scent, and the sounds of her laughter. His feet turned unerringly in the direction he knew he would find her.
Unlike the others, Kallum could track anyone he was bonded with as long as they weren’t blocking that bond. Now he stood watching his sister fight, his heart swelling with pride.
Her opponent was no slouch with the sword, his movements graceful and well thought out. Kal could see that he pushed Lily to be alert, to try and predict his next four moves in advance.
His sister countered all attacks, her own strikes well thought out and choreographed. He could tell she was tired though, because she let her guard slip a couple of times and received shallow cuts to the same arm twice.
That annoyed her, and he could sense her anger spark, but she kept it in check and managed to bleed her sparring partner with her next attack. She pulled her stroke though, to ensure she didn’t cut too deeply across the chest of the dark-haired male.
He realised they were both tired and that fighting with swords was dangerous when they were in that condition. His gaze swept to the male who must be Karn, trying to judge if the vampire was merely being foolish or if he had a reason to push them so hard.
Kallum was ready to intervene when Karn suddenly halted the match with one simple word spoken in a low voice.
“Enough.”
Immediately Lily and her partner lowered their blades grinning at each other with obvious affection. Kal didn’t know who the other male was but it was clear Lily liked him a lot. As he let his eyes quickly take in the position of all the Praetorians present, he opened up his senses to his sister’s emotional state.
Piercing hunger filled him instantly and he smiled slowly and released his shadowing skills, allowing his true scent to permeate in the air. The reaction was instant.
As all eyes turned to look at him; Karn’s expression, the usual blandness of an Elder, suffused in power. The other Praetorians began to fan out towards his position with no instruction being given. They didn’t come at him in aggression; instead they circled him, three immediately behind him, another three on his left and right.
Of the groups of three, one faced into the compound and two faced out towards the area surrounding them. Kal couldn’t help being impressed with how skilled they were, how they immediately adopted a protective position around him even though he didn’t need it.
Lily’s expression was priceless. The sword dropped from her hand and she stared at him in shock her mouth dropping open. Catching his sister off guard was no easy feat and he found himself laughing as he held up the paper bag he’d been holding down at his side.
“You forgot to pack your lunch,” he laughed softly, delighting in teasing her as his keen gaze checked that she was okay.
Lily gaped at her brother, confusion and joy flooding through her at the same time. She knew the other Praetorians were aware that he was Vârcolac and wouldn’t harm him; he’d released his true scent. But what was he doing here and why wasn’t Karn going ape shit about his appearance?
Her eyes shifted to Karn to find him not watching Kallum but instead focused on her reaction to him turning up. There was no surprise in his pale blue eyes, which meant he’d known beforehand her brother knew about the Praetorians and where she was.
He raised an eyebrow at her and his lip actually twitched in a half smile. “At least my throat will be safe from now on,” he drawled quietly.
It was his permission to reveal her true nature. Mac must have decided that the need for secrecy was past and informed his number two. It was the release she needed to give into the joy of having her brother close. She’d never been separated from him for so long and it had hurt unbearably to be apart from him.
Lily began to run, tears gathering in her eyes as she closed the distance and threw herself at Kallum. He caught her expertly, bracing for her body colliding with his, his arms strong and protective around her.
“I’ve missed you so much, Kal,” she whispered through her tears, her arms tight around his neck as she buried her head against him to take in his scent. An immediate feeling of total safety surrounded her. It cut through the misery of being separated from her family to leave an overwhelming feeling of joy.
“Missed you too, Lila,” he whispered back his own joy in each word as he hugged her close. He’d felt lost without his sister being near and frightened that one of his own was out there alone without his protection. He’d missed her on both levels and could only hold her tightly until his feelings of loss began to fade and he was once more secure in the knowledge that she was safe and well.
Finally Lily pulled back out of his embrace and reached for the paper bag still in his hand. “Burgers,” she groaned, her mouth watering at the scent of the meat hidden from her gaze. “I’m starving! Seriously, Kal, we may be able to exist on blood for short periods of time but it sucks. I was about to go wolf and hunt some poor little rabbit, I was so hungry.”
He pulled her ponytail playfully and let her have the bag. “Save some for me. I haven’t had lunch either, little miss greedy guts,” he teased though his gaze was shifting towards the sandy-haired vampire who was now walking towards them.
“You must be Karn,” he greeted the vampire. “Mac said he’d called and let you know I was coming.”
Karn appraised him for a long moment keeping his silence and then he nodded his head. “I’m well aware of the rules Mac set in place so don’t think you can pull any shit on me, Kallum.”