Consumed (7 page)

“I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be up here.” My words came out embarrassingly shaky, since he was running the tips of his fingers along my collarbone. I felt him shrug one shoulder carelessly.

“I wanted to see you.”

I gestured to the sight below us, wincing in sympathy as a Pagori was sent away. “Did that happen at your try-out?”

“Yes. Two of the recruits gave in to their bloodlust and tried to have a taste of the human’s blood.”

By the time the test currently taking place was over, two more Pagoris had been sent away. It was no surprise, really, since the breed had an overpowering bloodlust. “Poor things.”

Sebastian exhaled a disappointed sigh. “I had such high hopes for them. Shame.” He left the room in a blur, most likely intending to wish them well.

“The second part of the try-out will test you physically,” Jared announced as he, Sam, and Evan led the females outside.

“What happens out there?” I asked Salem, since we couldn’t follow.

He brushed his nose against the sensitive spot behind my ear. “Several Pagoris from the legion are waiting at the fringe of the rainforest. Each recruit will have to reach the end of the forest in the fastest time they can. But…it’s not as easy as it sounds. They won’t be allowed to step on the ground – they can only use trees, rocks, and logs. Also, they won’t be allowed to use their gifts, because this is all about their physical abilities. As if that doesn’t make it tricky enough, they’ll also have one of the Pagori squad members chasing them.”

I gaped. “What? But that’s crap. I mean, these girls aren’t trained.”

“That’s why they get a ten second head start. But if they’re caught, it’s game over. And they go home.”

I sighed. “I feel kind of...guilty.”

“Why would you feel guilty?”

“Because I got offered a spot in the legion without having to go through all this.”

“That’s because you proved you can cope. You controlled your bloodlust during the battle to protect The Hollow. You showed that you’re damn fast –”

“Yeah, but that’s only because of my gift.”

“Doesn’t matter. Yes, your gift gives you an edge. But it’s about more than speed, or all the Pagoris would win this test at every try-out, wouldn’t they? It’s also about agility, about using every physical strength you have. Agility is a strength of your breed.”

“How did you know I was up here?”

He nipped the tip of my ear. “I followed your scent when I caught it outside.” He inhaled deeply. “I smell it, and I think ‘mine’. Have you accepted the reality that we’ll be ‘more’ yet, Ava?”

I twisted in the seat to face him. Instead of dropping his arms, he clasped them around me. “Look…I don’t think we’d match well.”

“Explain.”

“We’re different.”

“Explain harder.”

I knew just how to make my point. “I’ve accepted Sam’s offer to join the legion.” His eyes narrowed the
tiniest
bit, and I smiled. “Don’t like that, do you?”

“I want you safe.”

He wanted to lock me in a tower where I’d never come to any harm. “Aw, ain’t you sweet,” I cooed, patting his chest. A muscle in his jaw ticked as a scowl surfaced. Ooh, he was offended again. How amusing.

“No, Ava, I’m not. Never mistake me for a good guy.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know, I know: you’re the biggest, baddest, scariest thing out there.”

He tilted his head. “You’re not afraid of me at all, are you?”

“You’re too sweet and cute to be scary.”

His scowl deepened. “I’m
not
sweet, and
I’m
not cute.”

“Cutely manly, then.”

A growl seeped out of him. “No. Now, you were saying why you think we don’t match.”

“You’ll try to take over, Salem. My independent streak will drive you crazy.”

He arched a brow, unimpressed with that argument. “That all you got?”

I lifted my chin. Fine, I’d give him the whole truth. “I’m not easy to deal with. I’m cheery. I fidget. I like singing. And dancing. And watching girly movies. I’m a dusk person. I giggle a lot – which annoys even me. I hum for no reason and usually don’t know I’m doing it. Most people fear normal things like spiders. I have an illogical fear of dying in an elevator. I can handle blood and gore, but if you show me anything that’s luminous yellow, I’ll freak the fuck out. I –” A finger against my lips cut me off.

“How about you let me talk now? I
should
find you annoying. Happy people generally get on my nervous. You don’t. Maybe that’s because I know there’s more than one side of you. You’re not flaky and flighty. You’re smart, you take shit seriously, and you’re dependable. And you can kick ass like no one’s business. Yes, I’ll probably try to take over. It’s in my nature, just like being chirpy is in yours. But I’ve noticed that you’re quite capable of taking me on. So I really don’t see the problem.”

He honestly didn’t see the problem, I realised. Nothing I’d said made any difference to him. “You are so ridiculously stubborn.”

“This isn’t stubbornness. This is me knowing exactly what I want and being determined to get it.” He cupped my chin. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t want me.”

“Will you leave me alone if I do?”

“No.” His gaze pierced mine as he whispered, “Lie to me, baby.”

I couldn’t. I wanted him, whether he was good for me or not. Whether I was good for him or not. And it
was
wrong to reject him purely based on what others had done before him. But…“I need to know a couple of things first. I heard that you’ve had some fun with the humans round here. If you think that’s going to keep happening –”

“There hasn’t been anyone for me since you got here. I don’t want anyone else.” The stark sincerity in his voice made it impossible for me to doubt him.

“One more thing. You’re very guarded, Salem. You keep a part of yourself locked away. It’s not bad. But I need to know if it’s something you’ll do with me. You can’t ask someone for everything if you’re not prepared to give everything back.”

Releasing my chin, he brushed his knuckles down the column of my throat. “My head…It’s something that’s better left alone. If you go digging in there, you won’t like what you find.”

The shadows in his eyes made my chest ache. “I want everything.”

“Then you’ll get it. But when you go looking for things best left alone, when you find out what you want to know and then try to leave, I won’t let you go. Know that now. Decide if ‘everything’ is
really
what you want. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

Maybe. “Everything or nothing, Salem.”

A hint of humour flashed in his eyes. “And you thought you couldn’t take me on.” He licked along the seam of my mouth and I opened for him, moaning when he drove his tongue deep inside. Damn, the guy could kiss. It was raw, consuming, and dominant. Sealing a deal with a force that said there was no going back. “Later, when we’re alone in my bed, I’m finally going to find out how every single part of you tastes.”

“Presumptuous bastard.”

His mouth curved slightly. “It will happen. I’ll be so deep inside you, it’ll almost hurt.”

“I get to taste too.”

“If you’re good.”

Picking up movement in my peripheral vision, I noticed that the interviewers were leading the recruits back inside. Returning my attention to the try-out earned me a nip to the neck. “I want to watch. You can have my undivided attention later.”

Another nip. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“The final test is combat,” Sam informed the females, who had reformed into a line.

Only eight remained out of the seventeen recruits that had progressed to the second task. Three Pagoris, three Kejas, and two Sventés. Naturally, I was rooting for my own breed, so I was pretty disappointed to find that there were only two left.

“Now you get to dazzle us with your gifts. It’s not about if you win or lose. It’s about showing us what you’ve got. If any of you have a gift which is fatal on impact, you need to step forward now. I’ll have one of my squad members temporarily weaken it.”

Three of them claimed to have gifts that could badly injure, but none were lethal.

“Then let’s begin,” proposed Jared. He matched up two Kejas, who wasted no time in attacking. The first had a gift similar to Butch’s, which allowed her to ‘repel’ what came at her as opposed to deflect. Even her opponent, whose ability was to secrete ash, couldn’t get close to her. Naturally, the first female therefore won.

Next Sam paired a Sventé with a Keja. The Sventé had enhanced reflexes, allowing her to stay out of reach. The Keja was pyrokinetic and rather impressively created a baton of fire. But no matter how hard the pyro attacked, she couldn’t reach the Sventé. She did manage to clip her once or twice with a fire ball, but not enough to cause any real damage. It was an example of how defensive gifts could be more effective than offensive gifts at times.

As such, the Sventé won, which severely pissed off the Keja so much that she threw a tantrum and demanded a rematch. The other breeds of vampire could be quite prejudiced against Sventés, and it obviously hurt this particular Keja’s pride that she had been defeated by someone she viewed much weaker than her.

I gawked. “What an uptight little bitch.”

Sam actually laughed at the Keja. “I think it’s time you went home. I need people who’ll follow orders. I’ve ordered you twice to get back in line. If you can’t even do that, then you’re no good at all to me.” Her back ramrod straight, the Keja stormed out of the arena. Knowing Sam, I was betting she would have seen the potential in the Keja and still considered her for the squad if she hadn’t just blown her chances.

A Pagori and a Sventé were then set against each other. The Sventé had a seriously impressive gift. Simple and defensive, but impressive. Her skin was impenetrable. That meant that no matter how many weapons the Pagori conjured out of thin air, nothing harmed her. Obviously, then, the Sventé won. Unlike the Keja, the Pagori didn’t go postal.

The remaining two Pagoris were then paired up. The first Pagori attacked instantly, shifting into a black jaguar and launching herself at the other Pagori…who strangely didn’t move. Then, just as the jaguar neared, the animal suddenly halted, shaking her head. Even more shocking, it then started doing the freaking mamba.

“Mind control,” whispered Salem. I realised he was right. The panther was under the complete control of the other Pagori. “Impressive.”

“Totally. But so is the jaguar.”

I felt Salem nod. “They’ll both have Coach’s attention.”

Calling an end to the duel, Jared instructed the females to return to the line. Interestingly enough, the jaguar-shifting Pagori didn’t appear to remember a single thing about the other female taking control…It sort of left a gap in her memory.

Sam approached the Sventé who had impenetrable skin. “It’s clear that you’re protected against physical objects, but are you protected against psychic attacks too?”

The Sventé shook her head sadly, clearly sensing how much her acceptance into the squad might hinge on that answer.

Sam just gave her a quick nod before addressing all of the recruits. “Please remain here while we” – she gestured to Jared and Evan – “have a quick chat.” The females turned to each other and began talking quietly, most likely wishing each other good luck.

I turned my attention to Salem. “Do you think any of them will be chosen for the squad?”

Salem’s expression was pensive. “It’s hard to say. Coach never does what I expect her to do.”

“She’ll badly want to choose another Sventé,” I predicted. Sam hated that our breed wasn’t acknowledged as strong.

“Yes. But she’ll pick who deserves to be picked. She won’t let herself see them as Pagoris, Kejas, and Sventés. She’ll just view them as potential members of the legion.”

He was probably right. From what I’d heard, Jared – who had once been prejudiced against Sventés – had denied her a place in the squad at her try-out, despite that she’d been much more powerful than the rest. She wouldn’t repeat such an injustice.

It was a few minutes before the interviewers made their way back to the line. The chit-chat among the recruits immediately stopped.

Jared spoke. “You all performed excellently – even those of you who lost the duels. But as my mate said earlier, we already have five. Being a member of the legion is gruelling and requires discipline, control, and a damn strong stomach. There will be two more rounds of try-outs after this, meaning there will be another forty vampires for our consideration at a later point. From this particular round, we have selected two.”

I frowned. “Just two?”

Salem propped his chin on my shoulder. “Seem harsh to you?”

“I just feel bad for the others.”

“People’s feelings can’t be taken into account. If Coach, Jared, and Evan don’t feel one hundred percent sure that the recruits can cope – physically and emotionally – in the legion, they can’t accept them. Not just because they won’t be effective members, but because one of two things can happen: they’ll psychologically break, or they won’t live long.”