17. Kali

"What are you doing, Pax?" Zan asked quietly.

"You want her to train. You can't do that with a clear head." Pax shrugged. "I can."

Zan didn't say a word, and I couldn't see his face as he faced his brother, but his posture was still rigid as he remained between Pax and me.

Pax sighed. "Come on, Zan. You know I won't hurt her. And you're right—she needs to be able to protect herself since she's staying here."

Viggo's laugh had my eyes darting to him. "Move out of the way, little brother. I want to see what Kali can do. Pax will take it easy on her…or I can do it."

Apparently, Zan would rather Pax fight me, because he finally stepped to the side before shooting me a look I couldn't decipher. His hands were clenched into fists, but he backed away until he was near Viggo.

"Pick it up, Kali."

Pax nodded toward the discarded stake on the dead grass, and I swallowed thickly as I crept toward it. I had no idea what to expect, even though I wasn't exactly scared of Pax. He wouldn't hurt me. He'd had many chances in the past, but he never had. Yet unease still slid through me as he prowled closer. I snatched the stake and straightened back up, my muscles tensing as I tracked his movements.

"So determined," Pax murmured, his gaze darting between my face and the stake in my hand. "Let me ask you something. If you had a chance to gain your freedom, would you try to kill us?"

My heart pounded against my ribs as we danced around each other. I already knew he was fast from when he chased me in the woods the night I met him. And if he had Zan's speed, then he was holding back right now. He remained a few feet away, matching my steps to stay in front of me.

"Killing any of you wouldn't set me free," I answered in a low voice. "I have nowhere to go."

Pax cocked his head. "You'd rather stay here? Where Amaros will control the rest of your life?"

"Pax," Zan warned, his voice laced with danger. "Don't."

Rage exploded through me, and my fingers tightened around the stake. But then I realized that this was what Pax wanted. He was trying to get me mad. To make me snap. He watched me cautiously, and I blew out a breath, calming my nerves so I could focus.

"You can fight against the other vampires here," Pax continued, his eyes locking on mine. "But when it comes to our family? Our father? You don't stand a chance. He'll make you bend to his will."

"No," I hissed, fury coating my voice. "I won't bend to him. Or to any of you."

Pax lunged, and I ducked to the left, swinging the stake and slicing his arm as he reached for me. A thin line of black blood appeared on his arm, but it didn't seem to faze him as he tried again to snatch my arm. I dropped to my knees, raising the stake and stabbing it into his thigh. He let out a grunt when I ripped it back out, refusing to lose my only weapon. I was fighting on pure instinct and rolled away before he could get a hold on me.

This was different from going against Zan. There was no hesitation. In the back of my mind, I knew I couldn't kill Pax. But that didn't mean I was going to let him overpower me without a fight. I was barely back on my feet when he came at me again. This time, I didn't even have a chance to escape. His fingers wrapped around my throat, and I let out a cry when he yanked me toward him.

His grip was firm, but not painful. I could still suck in breaths as I struggled against him. He grabbed my wrist when I tried stabbing the stake into his side, and I went still, trying to figure out how to get out of his hold with my one free arm. I heard Zan say something but refused to look away from Pax.

"Break my hold," he ordered quietly. It seemed like he was barely exerting any energy to keep me in place. "If you can't get out of this, then you don't stand a chance even against a regular vampire."

I narrowed my eyes, my glare scathing as he taunted me. Before he could do anything else, I moved my free hand between our bodies and grabbed the stake out of my trapped one. This time I went for the inside of his elbow and stabbed deep into the tissue to force him to release my throat. He let out a pained noise, withdrawing his bloodied arm while still keeping a hold on my wrist.

I swung the weapon toward his neck, and he finally let me go as he stepped out of my reach. My confidence surged for a moment, but then he moved again. He was as fast as Zan, and I didn't have a chance to do anything as he kicked my legs out from under me. We fell to the ground, his hand staying behind my head to cushion the blow.

He was straddling my chest, and he blocked my next attempt to stab him before his head shot up, his eyes widening. Then he was violently ripped off me so fast that it took me a second to realize what had happened. Zan threw him to the ground feet away before lunging at him again. My breath caught, seeing his eyes wild with pure rage. His movements were just as out of control as his features, and a chill raced through me, seeing just how ruthless he could be.

"Fuck, Zan," Pax ground out, jumping to his feet right as Zan swung his fist into his jaw. "I barely touched her."

"She's mine," Zan growled, his voice nearly shaking from anger.

Scrambling to my feet, I backed away as Pax tackled Zan to the ground. Their moves were so quick that it was hard to track what was happening. Zan kept the upper hand before Pax flipped him onto his back and threw another hit. My gaze snapped to Viggo as he slowly walked toward his brothers, watching the fight with a frown.

I was rooted to the spot, shock engulfing me that Zan was fighting with his own brother. Did Zan really think that Pax would have hurt me?

"You don't even trust me with her," Pax forced out through heavy breaths as he ducked away from Zan's next attack. "What the fuck does that tell you?"

"What was this? A test?" Zan snarled, that realization only seeming to spur him on more. "Because of your stupid fucking theory?"

Pax landed on the grass when Zan knocked into him. "Stupid? I think this proves me right."

I bit my tongue, confusion rocking me. What theory? Before I could voice my question, Viggo stepped in the middle of them, shoving Zan away.

"Calm the hell down before someone sees you two fighting," Viggo snapped, pushing Zan back again. "You're losing it. You wanted to see if she could fight for herself. That's what Pax was doing."

Zan blew out a shaky breath, backing away. "Well, that's fucking done."

"You want her to be able to protect herself?" Viggo shot back. "Then she can train with us."

I wasn't sure whether Viggo was arguing because he really thought I needed to learn how to defend myself better or just to get under Zan's skin even more. Either way, his words only enraged Zan further.

"She doesn't need to fight," Zan snarled, his chest heaving. "She has me. Whoever tries to get to her will have to fucking go through me."

I stared at him, my body buzzing with so many emotions that I couldn't fucking think straight. Even with all the things Zan had been keeping from me, how could I deny that he cared about me? How much, I wasn't sure. But his reaction to Pax touching me? He couldn't fake the anger that was rolling off him in waves.

Pax brushed dirt off his shirt, shooting Zan a pointed look. "I'm right, and you know it. Even if our father doesn't think it's possible, what you just did proves it is."

Zan's eyes finally landed on me. His jaw was clenched tight, and his stare was almost quizzical when I met his gaze. Then he glanced back at Pax, looking much calmer than he'd been a few seconds ago.

"It proves nothing," Zan grumbled, running a hand through his tousled hair. "I'll be back later."

It was almost like he was avoiding eye contact with me before he spun around and walked away. The darkness swallowed him up moments later, and I was going after him before I realized it.

Viggo stepped in my way. "He needs some space, Kali. Come on. Let's go home."

"What were you talking about?" My eyes swung to Pax. "What did all that prove?"

Pax hesitated. "Not for me to say."

I lifted my chin, pushing my shoulder into Viggo as I shoved past him. "Then I'll go ask Zan."

Viggo grabbed my arm. "You don't even know where he went."

I knew exactly where Zan was going. That realization had my pulse thudding unevenly. I shouldn't know Zan that well. Shouldn't be able to guess what he was thinking or doing.

"Let her go," Pax said quietly. "She's probably the only one he'd admit it to."

Viggo rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll go with her. That little show proves she needs one of us to watch her."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not standing right here," I snapped, my eyes flashing with annoyance. "I can handle myself. I have my entire life."

"She's not wrong," Pax murmured, coming closer. "She's strong. Maybe not compared to us…but against regular vampires? She has a chance."

Even if that was meant to be a compliment, the resignation in his voice ruined that. Viggo glanced at his twin with questions in his eyes before he looked back at me.

"Really?" Viggo mused with a small grin. "Then maybe I'll spar against you next time so I can see for myself."

"I don't think we should try that again," Pax muttered. "Not after seeing how Zan reacted."

"Point taken." Viggo motioned for me to start walking. "Let's find Zan so I can go find something to eat. I'm fucking starving."

I strode forward, ignoring his last words. He wasn't talking about human food, and I didn't bother to ask how he was going to feed. Pax had an entire freezer of blood bags that he usually drank from. But Viggo enjoyed blood straight from the vein. Though, from what I could tell since being here, he usually chose humans willing to let him feed, like Dee. Zan…I'd barely seen him feed. When he did eat, it wasn't when I was around.

I headed down the empty street, hearing Viggo's footsteps behind me. I didn't need him to lead me to Zan, but I was sure my argument wouldn't change anything, so I stayed quiet as I moved toward the edge of the city.