I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. He wanted to get a rise out of me, he was angry. Slowly blowing the air in my lungs out, I met Ryder's narrowed eyes as he cracked his neck. Unease had me mentally groaning.
"You know I didn't mean it that way."
"I know what you meant." He bent his knees slightly and got ready, done talking about the matter. "Get into the stance I showed you."
I was sure saying the words in front of Jaxon had made things worse.
I hesitantly widened my stance, following his instructions. For the first time this morning, I felt a hint of unease that was laced with fear as I faced the man before me. I was sure he had been holding back in his attack, choosing to focus on defending against mine rather than counter, but I had a feeling the last few minutes had changed that. I had given him more than enough reason to want to retaliate. I knew I would if I was in his place. Just thinking of another non-existent girl touching him in a way I had yet to had my blood boiling. I couldn't imagine how he felt knowing that I would and have.
"Ryder-" I started in hopes to calm him down somewhat before having to face his beat down disguised as training, but the rest of my sentence was cut off as I ended his name with a panicked screech while flailing my arms to keep from falling back.
Flailing my arms to maintain my balance, I clutched at my pounding heart as shallow breaths rushed in and out of my mouth. With wide eyes, I turned my head to look at the scorched path the ball of flames had left in its wake through the bushes behind me. The hole was almost perfectly circular. A few of the drier leaves were still burning in blue flames.
A grunt accompanied by curses left my lips when I was once again struck by a flaming ball I failed to see coming. The soft grass below was a blessed comfort on already sore knees as I landed, my hands saving me from a breakfast of soil and grass. Still a better option than anything Jaxon prepared. My teeth ground down in frustration as my fingers curled into the ground. I could feel the soil become trapped beneath my nails, but it was a small price to pay for the odd comfort the action gave.
It was going to make it all the better when my hit left a visible mark to showcase my victory. I hadn't landed a single hit on him yet, but I was about to change that and wipe the smirk off his face that grew as he step closer.
My own lips couldn't help but curl up a hint when I caught his eyes roaming me over for injuries. That resulted from his own actions. The reminder had my lips flattening before he could see me enjoying his concern.
"Talking can get you killed in battle," he said as he finished his visual scan.
I scoffed softly. Pushing myself up, I rose to my feet while dusting my knees off. It was pointless given how stained they already were from my repeated falls.
"You know what else can get you killed in battle? Anger. You see to have a lot of that lately, don't you Mr. Fox," I said mockingly in a voice reserved for talking to cute animals and babies. I couldn't help but cringe at myself as the words reached my ears.
Hearing me call him out only pronounced the anger I was talking about. He was different than he was back when it was just me, him, and Ares. We all were Cassius had brought us to his realm. It was like the air changed us. I knew, in reality, it was the weight the events we barely survived left for us to carry, but it was easier to try to look for solutions to things such as jealousy compared to the mental anguish that was left from facing death. I had a feeling the near-death experiences hit the other harder than me. I always knew how easy it easier for me to die, but it seemed to be a wake-up call for the men that prided themselves in their strength.
His eyes darkened as my words hit their mark. His smirking lips pressed down and tightened into a thin line.
Guilt had me second-guessing my words, but his eyes reminded me that he was the one who didn't want to have a nice chat. It could get me killed apparently. It could also...
