I allowed that to sink in. As grave and terrifying as the thought was, it was my reality now. I needed to take this seriously…. More serious than I was now.
“I’m here. I’m ready to learn,” I said, wanting him to believe me.
Nodding, Ace seemed satisfied by my response. “Great, let’s see what you’ve got,” he added.
“What?” I was clearly confused.
“Hit me. Throw a punch so I can see what we are working with,” Ace instructed.
As many times as I had imagined punching Ace in his smart mouth, thinking it and doing it were completely different ideas. Could I really hit Ace?
“Like, just hit you?” I asked, my voice shaking a bit.
“Yes, just throw a punch,” Ace said, pretending to punch the air.
I looked down at my feet and spread them apart a little. Like I had seen in the movies when people go to fight. I clenched my fists and struck out at the air.
Ace let out a loud belly laugh that had my own body shaking. He was laughing at me.
“That’s not fair. I did what you said and now you laugh at me?” I cried out.
Ace stepped back, bending over and holding his hands to his sides. I watched this unfold as heat seeped into my face. I hated that he was making fun of me. I was trying to be serious. Trying to do as he told me, but this would never work if he made me feel like a fool.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Ace calmed himself down. “You are right. I’m sorry. I just thought you would know how to fight.”
“Well, I don’t,” I said, looking down.
Placing his hand under my chin, Ace forced me to look up at him. “Lizzie, you have more fire in your soul then anyone I’ve ever met. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I truly thought someone with your stubborn streak would have been in at least one fight in their life. But, I was wrong.”
Our eyes met and the connection locked us into one.
“Thanks,” I said, my lips trembling from the overwhelming sensations flooding me.
My breathing hitched and I could feel Ace’s pulse racing through his touch. He quickly stepped back and dropped his hand from my chin. “Here let me show you.”
I watched as Ace set himself up and then threw his arm out in a precise hit that caused the air to ripple around me. He quickly lifted his leg and kicked, bending at the knee as he kept his balance with the other leg.
The action and movement was swift and clean, but I could tell it was lethal, too.
“I don’t know if I can do that,” I admitted.
“Yes you can. Just try. I won’t laugh this time, I swear,” he lifted his arms up in defense, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Ace was trying and that was saying a lot.
I steadied myself and then threw out my arm, punching at the air like Ace had done. Then, I lifted my leg to kick, but I lost my balance and stumbled back.
Moving at lightning speed, Ace was there to wrap his arms around my waist and catch me before I could fall onto the mats covering the basement floor.
Gasping, this time I couldn’t help the way I responded to Ace’s touch or being in his arms.
The air around us grew thick and heavy and it was difficult to breathe.
“Better,” Ace muttered, his hands still firmly placed on my hips.
My hands held his muscles and I could feel them vibrating under my fingertips.
“Thanks,” I stated, my eyes wavering from his. In that moment, I wanted to look anywhere but at Ace.
Ace regained his composure like nothing had happened. To him, nothing probably did happen, but for me, something shifted in the atmosphere and all sense of strength that I thought I had seemed to disappear. My head was filled with thoughts of Ace and I knew it was beyond ludicrous to ever think about him in any way other than Maylee’s brother and my trainer. But still, that slight possibility of something more stirred deep inside of me.
“You need to work on your form and, more importantly, you need to get out of your own head,” Ace said, his eyes refusing to look at mine directly.
Nodding, I accepted his insight like I knew what he was talking about, even though I didn’t.
“Are we interrupting something?” a voice asked, drawing my attention away from Ace.
Turning, I saw two people standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching me and Ace with amusement twinkling in their eyes.
“I told you I was training with Lizzie today,” Ace mumbled, running a hand through his raven colored hair.
“Yes, we know. However, we had to meet the ever elusive Lizzie,” the guy said, sauntering into the room. His steps were deliberate, but graceful all the same. He had the same dark hair as Ace, but his features were softer and fuller than Ace’s.
“Thomas, this isn’t the time...” Ace began, but was quickly cut off.
“Ace, just calm down. We won’t scare her away. We just wanted to meet her,” the female said, approaching me.
I noticed Ace tense up and that caused an alarm of panic to go off inside of me.
Sighing, Ace stared between the pair before introducing them to me. “Lizzie, this is Thomas and Nora. They are my cousins and members of Crow Haven.”
His tone was sharp and full of disdain. I couldn’t help but think how strange that was for him to feel some type of way about people who were his family and just like him.
“Hi,” I waved, unsure of how I should respond now.
“Maylee has told me so much about you,” Nora offered, her voice high-pitched. She had long, blonde hair that curled at the ends. She looked more like a supermodel than a supernatural creature.
Funny, Maylee hadn’t spoken a word about either Thomas or Nora, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
Thomas walked up to me and smiled, his pearly white teeth flashing before me. His closeness caused my heart to race and my breath to falter for a moment. I noticed Ace drew near us, too.
Thomas took a string of my hair and wrapped it around his finger.
“Hey,” Ace shouted, smacking Thomas’s hand away from me.
I flinched and jumped back, fearful of what was about to happen next.
“We are just playing around, calm down, Ace,” Thomas laughed, but there was no humor in his tone.
“Why don’t you just leave us alone. We aren’t done training,” Ace stated, getting in Thomas’s face.
They were chest-to-chest now and they appeared more like MMA fighters about to square off, rather than family.
“I think Lizzie needs to understand more of the history of Crow Haven and her aunt. Maybe that will light a spark inside of her so her training will be more intense,” Thomas sneered.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, cutting into their headed discussion.
“See, Ace. She wants to know,” Nora said, a wide smile growing over her face. She took my hand and led me over to the far corner of the basement. We sat down on the mats and I felt like a child being led to story time.
Ace remained in the middle of the mats, watching us with careful eyes. He clearly wasn’t enjoying this interruption.
“Seems like Ace hasn’t given you the full story,” Thomas said, tisking as he glanced back at a scowling Ace.
“He’s told me enough so far. I understand the danger I’m in,” I replied, coming to Ace’s defense.
I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to come to Ace’s aid, but I couldn’t stand seeing Thomas and Nora make a mockery of him.