7 Deadly Instincts (The Sinfire Chronicles Book 1)

When asked, Lilian pointed at Gray. “I might as well spar with an old friend, right?”

“As long as you keep the bloodletting to a minimum.” Settie frowned, her eyes going back and forth between the two. The cushions had all been stacked to the side and Settie had extinguished the fire, drawing the mana out of the lust rocks. She put a metal cover over the brazier so the fire wouldn’t get in the way of the sparring. She lit other standing on braziers so they had heat.

Lilian had her bloodless blade. Gray was given his.

“No sand to soak up the blood,” Tomi said loudly. “So don’t kill each other.”

“Why would I want to kill him?” Lilian said. “At one point, I loved him.” She laughed, and it sounded unhinged. “But don’t worry, Rynn, that’s in the past. I understand that with a magical core, love-making becomes a treacherous thing. Not that it wasn’t in Cradleport. I learned that the hard way.”

Lilian charged her weapon and it glowed a bright yellow. The buzz of the blade echoed across the cold, deserted landscape. Of course Squad 23 was the only to be out there so early. Other squads might’ve been satisfied with winning the one event but not them.

Gray was a bit impressed. She’d only had mana in her core for a short time—maybe a week?—but she was able to channel her mana so well. Every one of her meridians glowed with her rust-colored magic.

He charged his blade. “Let’s not talk about the past.” Damn, but he sounded like Settie.

“I agree.” The captain got between them. “First touch wins. No mana. From either of you.”

How could she be able to channel her mana into her meridians? This was the silly princess. She hadn’t grown up practicing like Rynn.

Settie continued. “I will proctor the fight. Repeat after me—by instincts strong and mana bright, the very first touch will win the fight.”

Lilian put the pommel of her sword to her chest and repeated the words, staring at Gray with rage in her eyes.

He did the same—minus the rage.

“Fight!” Settie shouted.

Lilian darted forward, struck his blade in a shower of sparks, and then danced back. “I really enjoy having magic. But the freedom is better. The freedom to do what I want, when I want. We talked about that a lot. We both felt like slaves.”

Gray then felt the rage the princess was obviously feeling, and he channeled that anger into his core. He wanted to end the fight quickly. It shouldn’t be a problem. While she’d been a pampered palace princess, he’d been in the arena, learning to fight—or at least watching the fighting. He feinted to the right, but struck left, trying to touch her leg with his sword.

It shouldn’t been as easy as that.

But the princess danced over the blade, and she spun gracefully and counter attacked.

Gray wasn’t ready. He only barely parried her attack, and he was forced back. She came forward, lunging for him.

He had her! He dodged and swept his blade around. He’d have to hit her head, but he wouldn’t use his full strength, so she’d be okay. It would be a good lesson for her, though.

She ducked and slid across the polished wooden platform and then leapt up, spinning gracefully.

She was sweating but smiling, a tendril of her golden hair hanging in her face. Part of her braid had come loose.

He could probably use that against her.

She then did a series of dance movements, spinning, gliding, leaping, around the platform. When she was close, she attacked once, twice, three times, and he parried each of her strikes. The buzzing clash of their magical blades was loud but somehow satisfying.

Sparks blinded him and he found himself pushed back to where the rest of the squad were standing on the eastern side of the pavilion.

“She’s good,” Midj said. “Wow. Standing toe-to-toe with Gray. Didn’t see that coming.”

Lilian walked forward, her core and meridians so alive with magic. “Do you remember the story of the sea god’s daughters?”

“Vaguely,” Gray said. “Something about the wind daughter versus the rain daughter.” He wasn’t there to talk. He was there to fight—and it should’ve been easy. She was new to the Belly. She was a princess. And the sea king wouldn’t have spent five seconds teaching his daughter how to fight. Every bit of time and gold would’ve gone to her brothers.

He struck at her, she parried his attacks, but it wasn’t like she was fencing. She was dancing.

Then he realized why she was so hard to beat.

He backed off. “The wind versus the rain. Which was more powerful and deadly? The daughters fought and while the rain could cause floods, the wind could cause typhoons. It was the wind daughter that won which spawned the idea of the wind dance.”

Lilian laughed, and it wasn’t a happy sound. “Grayson Fade, always so clever. I told you I practiced the wind dance but did you listen? No. You were just thinking about the next time you got see me naked. Admit it.” More of her bitter laughter.

His first instinct was to throw himself at her, to maybe use mana to end the fight. Settie wouldn’t be able to tell he’d channeled mana into his meridians. She couldn’t see the magic. He could.

The last thing Gray wanted was to rehash their relationship in front of the captain, his squad, and his bonded wives. Fighting her was hard enough, and he realized that it wasn’t just her surprising skill, which had completely caught him off guard. No, it was also their history weighing on him. She wasn’t just attacking him with her sword, she was attacking his mind with her words.

“Instinct strong and mana bright,” Gray whispered to himself.

“What? Wait? When had Gray seen the princess naked?” Tomi asked. Had she been sleeping? It sounded like it.

Midj squinted at them. “So is she Gray’s third wife? Why do I feel so clueless?”

“Fucking idiots,” Pinch groused but didn’t say more.

Princess Lilian giggled. “No, not his third wife. Just someone from his past which he thought he could run away from. He didn’t tell you how he used his love for me to steal a priceless ruby necklace from my bedroom.” She clucked her tongue at him. “Shame on you. But then, we probably shouldn’t revel in our sins, no matter how much power they give us. Aren’t you going to attack me?”

“You’re doing a fair job of attacking me. In all sorts of ways.” Gray took another step back. “I would try and defend myself, but it wouldn’t do much. I was poor, weak, and desperate. You said we both felt like slaves. Only one of us was an actual slave. The other was a fucking princess. If you can’t see the difference, I don’t want you on our squad.”

The mana in Lilian’s core flickered for a moment. That anger she felt had been disrupted for a second, but a second bit of magic was there, to fill it, something an even darker red, nearly black. What was she? Not just a princess, no, but like him, something different.

Her face continued to show an uncaring smile. She hid her feelings well…too well. “It’s not your decision, Grayson Fade. It’s the captain’s decision. And she spent a lot of time with me in Pubis Port.”

“Lilian—” the captain hissed.

Too late. The truth was out. Lilian didn’t seem to care. “After I got your letter, I sent mine, but then, Settie reached out to me with an offer I couldn’t refuse. She paid for the journey. I left the palace at midnight, with the help of a few serving girls and guards. Some of whom you know. And like me, you tricked them. I was far more honest.”

At this point, the sparring was with words not swords.

Gray kept his distance, expecting a trick. The princess had turned into a very wily appointment, in all kinds of ways.

“So your father doesn’t know where you are?” he asked.

Lilian laughed. “Like he would care. He had his sons. What’s a daughter to a king except an expense? I’d already embarrassed him by my behavior. Not just with you. And let’s be clear—you were the only man I had ever loved in that way. I’m sure you heard the rumors, but it was just gossip.”

“Hot gossip,” Tomi said. “Like this. Spicy stuff, Grayson Fade. You devil you. This is why you should just love ‘em and leave ‘em. Exes are the worst.”

The cat girl was ignored.

Lilian laughed more. “He hated that I practiced the wind dance. I tried to pretend it was just to pass the time, like my music lessons and calligraphy, but he knew the truth. Why else do you think I went to the arena to watch the games? I wanted that strength I saw, the lethal strength. Too often, my palace felt like a prison.” She waved a hand at him. “Yes, you were the actual slave. I created my own servitude. You have your fucking tragedy, Grayson Fade, and I have mine. Are we really going to compare out pain?”

It was Gray’s turn to laugh. “I suppose we’re doing that now, out in public, for all to see. I gave you back the necklace. I’m sorry for stealing from you and breaking your heart it seems.”

She lost her smile but still chuckled. “Don’t flatter yourself. My heart was broken long before I met you.” She then addressed the gobmacked Squad 23. “So that is the short history of my relationship with your Grayson Fade. I saw him in the arena, and there was something about him that I couldn’t ignore. We struck up a friendship and more until he stole from me. I sent him an unfortunate letter that I regret. And now, here I am, on your squad, hoping to grow in power and to help us win the Testing. What happens after that? I don’t know. But this…” tears suddenly glistened in her eyes. “This is a dream come true. It’s an escape that I never dreamed was possible. I will fight for it, with everything I have, because I never want to return.”

Tomi and Midj were silent, tears in their eyes as well. Of course, the goblin girl was holding the cat girl’s hand.

Pinch was fighting to not cry, her jaw muscles clenched like knotted metal cables under her skin.

Ames took Rynn’s hand and held it. Her voice was ragged. “It’s all of our story. There is no home for us. We live in ruin, among the demons, together, because in that cold place is a warmth we don’t have anywhere else.” Her voice cracked. “She’s not a demon, Gray. She’s not.”

Gray could’ve argued that point, but he decided it wouldn’t benefit the squad. He hated that he and this fucking girl had so much in common. Her heart break was different than his, but in the end, it was still heartbreak. A lifetime of pain was a lifetime of pain. She had known sorrows he would never know, and he had joys in his life that would forever be a mystery to her.

She was alone.

He had two loves, two women he was bound to until the end of time. What was his servitude and struggle compared to that?

Lilian let out a breath, relieved somehow, even as tears spilled down her cheeks. “I’m not a demon. I’m just a girl in the world. A girl with magic—”

A second later, she was running at him, and yes, she could fill her meridians with mana, so well, so brightly, that the rust color turned into a gleaming ruby red—far brighter than the necklace he stole.

She had poured every once of her core into her legs, so much, that her sword dimmed and turned back into normal metal. She dropped it.

Gray went to touch her, but she danced around his sword, whipping and wheeling and windmilling her body, even going on her hands for a moment, before leaping behind him.

It was like how Rynn had vented her core—but with Lilian, instead of blasting her core outside of herself, she turned all the energy inward.

She shoved him and he went flying, all the breath pushed out of his body. He rolled across the pavilion, completely out of control, until he struck the wooden pole, which made the whole pavilion shake.

Lilian dropped to the wooden platform, out of mana, her core spent.

But she didn’t fall on her face, or curl up in a ball, but sat on her knees, back straight, breathing hard. She was as white as a ghost and her eyes looked bruised. She was still upright because of the iron in soul.

Then Gray saw it—the red splotch next to her left eye, the start of her mana mark. It made sense. Marks on the face were more powerful than anywhere else.

Gray couldn’t breathe but he wasn’t going to give up. He hadn’t lost just yet.

He pulled himself up fighting the desire to breath, and even as his whole body wanted to gasp and clutch at the ground, he forced himself to march across the pavilion.

He touched his bloodless blade to the princess’s, chest, right above her shattered heart. “I win.”

Settie was suddenly there. “You do win. First touch is with the blade, not with hands, and besides, Lilian, you used mana. To great effect, but still, you broke the rules.”

Lilian laughed “Because I’m a fucking rebel.”

She then passed out cold onto the polished wood, gone from the world.