Chapter 13: Amri

Let the fun begin my ass.

We left breakfast, a silent Damion in tow, and went straight to the courtyard at the backside of Melford to start our ‘training'. I had no clue what to expect, since Vincent and Zain both wouldn't elaborate last night, but even with no expectations, I'm surprised.

Zain said today we were going to figure out what we needed to work on, and after being at this for two hours, we have concluded that what I need to work on is absolutely everything. If this were a movie, a cool, inspirational song would be playing, and I'd be kicking ass and taking names – but it's not. Instead, I'm hunched over myself, hands on my knees and heaving for air.

"I think…I might…throw up."

Zain laughs beside me, looking like a Greek god instead of someone who just forced me to run half a mile with him. "Catch your breath, we're far from over."

I groan and sit down on the ground, laying backwards to look at the sky. "Why, God? Why me? "

"I'm far from God but if that's what you want to call me, I'll accept the compliment."

I raise my hand, flicking Zain the bird and rolling my eyes when all he does is laugh at me.

He gives me until my breath evens out before his foot nudges my side. "Alright bunny, time to get up."

He helps me to my feet, and I look over to see Damion watching us – as he has been all morning. He won't say a damn word to me, but his eyes haven't left me since he came to escort me to breakfast.

Over the next hour or so, Zain forces me to run through a series of drills so harsh they would seem extreme even for the military. Lunges, sit ups, pushups, squats, more and more running. Exercises I don't even have a name for.

Damion, thankfully, called his sister asking her to bring us some water after Zain asked when the last time I had some was – and I answered with I couldn't remember.

"Can we please go to lunch?"

I can't ever remember being this hungry, and the lunch bell rang fifteen minutes ago.

"Not yet. You still owe me another fifty lunges and three more laps around the courtyard."

"Zaiinn." I drag his name out, whining like a child while my body feels like an old woman's.

"Bunny." He takes my hand, pulling me toward him uncaring about the sweat that lines my body, making my clothes stick to me in unnatural ways. "Give me those last few things and we'll break for lunch and a shower. Deal?"

I start to groan again, but movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention. "First, water break."

I start walking over to Damion talking to Jyl at the corner of the courtyard but stop when I see the expression on their faces. Damion looks upset, and Jyl looks angry. I can't hear what they're saying, but their waving arms and hand movements are enough to tell me whatever they're talking about, it's not good. Minutes tick by with them still talking, and with me eyeing the water bottles in Jyl's hands.

I hear Zain come up behind me and lay his hand on my waist. "Twin trouble?"

"I'm guessing. I can't hear what they're saying, so shut up and maybe I can tell you."

Zain chuckles behind me as we continue to watch the pair in front of us, who seem oblivious to the watchful eyes on them. I see Jyl turn toward me and start walking.

"Jyl, just stay out of it!" Damion starts to walk after her, but she pushes him away.

"Not going to happen, baby brother."

He rolls his eyes. "I'm only two minutes younger than you!"

Jyl stops in front of me, looking down at Zain's hand on my waist before looking up at me.

"I'm going to say this once, and only once. You better figure out what the hell is going on between you and my brother. I've never seen hm like this and I'll be damned if anyone but me makes him miserable. Clearly," She looks down at Zain's hand again, "there is something more going on here, but Damion is in too deep now. So, fix it, or I swear to God, your rag team of misfits will be answering to me."

My eyes widen at her words, her threat, but I don't get angry. I understand why she felt the need to confront me – I'd do the same if I were in her position. What surprises me is the fact that once again, Damion felt comfortable enough in his relationship with his sister to tell her what's going on. I don't think I've ever had anyone like that in my life before.

I nod at her, accepting the water bottles she's handing out.

"I don't know what you two are preparing for, but I like when a woman can defend herself. Let me know if you ever want an extra sparring partner."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

She shoots a half smile my way before walking back toward Damion. She says a few more words to him, and then she leaves.

"What the hell was that about?" Zain's voice is borderline angry. I hand him a bottle of water and walk back to the middle of the courtyard where we were training.

"None of your business."

He stops me with a hand around my wrist, twisting me around so he can look me in my eye. "Amri. There are no secrets in a relationship like ours."

I take a deep breath, looking back at Damion before answering, "You didn't even want me in this relationship."

His fingertips grab my chin, gripping it tightly and using it as leverage to move my face around to look at him. He brings his mouth down close to mine, exhaling his breath over my neck and chest. The proximity reminds me of last night and the precarious position Vincent found us in.

He drops a lingering kiss on my lips, moving too quickly for me to even kiss him back.

"I'm beginning to see the light."

We trained for another half hour before Zain called it quits – thank God. We all then walked to lunch, where Zain continuously looked back and forth between Damion and I to see who would talk first. Turns out, no one did. It was a completely silent, awkward lunch.

Zain stared at me, I stared at Damion, and Damion stared at a wall. I kept opening my mouth to say something, to say anything, but nothing ever came out. I couldn't decide what to say. Should I apologize – again – for asking him to be in a group relationship? Should I try to explain myself – again – and my reasoning behind asking him in the first place? Or should I open my heart and give him whatever fucked up pieces my life has left behind?

I couldn't decide. And next thing I knew, lunchtime was over. Damion walked us back to our rooms for a shower and said he would be back to collect us in twenty minutes. So here I am, eighteen minutes later hoping he comes to get me before he gets Zain so I can talk to him alone.

Turns out, though, that my hopefulness has got me nowhere, because three minutes later I see Damion appear in the window of my door with Zain standing behind him.

He unlocks the door and leads us back out to the courtyard, stopping at the edge where he stayed earlier and allowing Zain and I to continue to the center.

"Earlier we did some basic exercises to see where you stood on agility, stamina, and strength. Now, we're going to work on your self-defense. "

I level him with a look. "Self-defense?"

He nods. "Yep. The Underworld is a dangerous place, especially for humans. Our souls are purer so therefore, creatures there will seek us out. And who knows what creatures you'll come into contact with."

"But you'll be with me. And so will Callyx and Vincent."

"But what if we're not?"

I look at him in confusion. Why would I be left alone in the Underworld? He seems to read my face because he shakes his head.

"I'm not saying you will be I'm saying what if. We want you to be fully prepared for when it's time to join Vincent, and that means being able to protect yourself. Besides, wouldn't it be better to know how in case you ever need it instead of relying on a man to do it for you?"

He's got me there. He knew exactly what buttons to press to get me to agree, no matter how sore my body already is.

"Fine, how do we start?"

He twirls his finger in a circle, "Turn around."

I do as he says, waiting for further instruction, but he doesn't say anything else. Just when I'm about to turn around and ask him what to do, he springs himself on me. His hands close around my throat and my body gets pulled backward toward his.

I go to scream, but his hands have such a tight grip that nothing comes out. Has he snapped? Is he trying to kill me?

I struggle against him, digging my nails into his arms and scratching him so hard it bleeds. I wiggle my body, trying to get him to let loose, but it just makes him hold me tighter. His foot kicks the back of my legs and sends us both to the ground, taking what little breath I had left in my body.

He holds me there, one hand on my neck and one hand in my hair pulling my head backward.

"What the hell!"

I hear running and see Damion's shoes stop in front of me.

"Zain! Stop it! You're killing her!"

Zain laughs from behind me, "Oh, now you care, do you?"

"You son of a bitch!"

Zain's hold on me disappears, and I look over to see Zain holding Damion's fist in his hand.

"Are you seriously trying to hit me after what happened last time?"

Zain stands up, keeping Damion's fist in his hand.

"You were about to kill her!"

"I wasn't going to kill her! I was testing her to see how far I could get before she either got me off of herself or passed out. How else am I supposed to judge her skill level?"

"Maybe by not killing her!"

"I wasn't going to kill her!"

"What the hell is going on here?"

I sit up, surprised to see Vincent standing by a light pole on the edge of the courtyard, watching the scene between Zain and Damion.

"Hello there, siren."

"Hello Reaper."

Zain releases his hold on Damion, turning around to look at Vincent. "Casanova here thought I was trying to kill Amri while we were training. "

"So, he tried to hit you?"

Zain nods, walking over to me and helping me off the ground. "I'm sorry if that hurt, bunny, but it's obvious you don't know the first thing about protecting yourself."

I take a deep breath, placing a hand against my throat when a twinge of pain hits me.

"It's fine. Just…warn a girl next time."

"Do you think the creatures will warn you before they attack? No. They'll sneak up on you in the dark. Play dirty and cheat. They'll do anything for only a sliver of your soul." Vincent's voice is cold as he talks, making me shiver in a way he's never made me before from the distance in his voice. If Vincent is worried about these creatures, then it's obviously more serious of a threat than I thought.

"I didn't think about that."

"And that's why you're getting trained."

I roll my eyes at Zain's words, brushing my hands off on my pants and looking over to Damion to make sure he's okay. But he's not looking at me, he's looking at Zain who is now talking to Vincent.

"She needs more work than I thought she would, we need to bump up the timeline."

"Eight months, Zain, that's all we can afford."

"Push it back. If they would grant anyone leniency, it would be you."

They? Who is they?

Damion seems to have the same question, because he walks over to Zain. "They who?"

Zain turns to Damion, a smirk on his face. "This is mate business, why don't you see yourself out?"

"Zain!" I stare at him, open-mouthed at his words. I look over to see Damion clenching his teeth and shaking his head before he walks away, back into a path that leads down into the woods.

"That was uncalled for, and you know it."

"I told him before; he can't handle you. All he's doing now is proving that."

I scoff at him and follow after Damion, jogging to catch up after I see how far ahead of me he's gotten in the few seconds it took me to follow after him.

"Damion!" He ignores me, continuing his trek further into the woods. "Damion, wait! Please!"

He stops then, leaning against a tree and looking up at the sky. "What, Amri? Come to rub it in my face a little more than I'm not part of your little group?"

"What? No. Of course not." I come to a stop beside him, looking up into his blue eyes to find them shining with unshed tears. I take his hand in mine, smiling softly to myself when he doesn't pull away. "I came after you because Zain was wrong to say that. I know why you said no to being a part of this, and I understand."

He stays silent beside me, a brief squeeze to my hand the only answer I get.

"I also wanted to tell you, though, that I don't want to lose you. I've only known you for a month or so, but I don't need any longer to know that I love you. Having you shut me out this past week...it's been hell. I know this is a lot to ask of you, it's a lot to ask of anyone, but please, Damion, think about it."

He nods, but I keep going, needing him to know how serious I am. "You heard them, I only have a few months to get ready, and then we'll be leaving."

"You'll be dying."

I wince. "Not…exactly. "

"You will, Ree. I know what this relationship really means. You'll be dead. Zain will be dead. You want me to die with you."

I suck in a breath. "I…I didn't think about it like that."

"Yeah, well I did. And I don't know if I could do that. I don't know if I could leave Jyl behind."

"That's what you two were arguing about earlier."

He nods. "Yeah. I was telling her I couldn't do it because of her. We're the only family we have left."

"And what did she say?" I whisper.

"She said to follow my heart."

My eyes widen. His sister…the same one who acted all cold to me earlier, told him to follow his heart. She didn't call him crazy or threaten me for putting her brother at risk. No. She wants him to follow your heart.

I open my mouth to ask him what his heart is saying, but a twig snaps behind me. I turn to see Zain and Vincent standing a few feet away, looking like they heard every word. I guess now Zain knows what's been going on with me and Damion lately.

"Hey, Casanova. You left me alone out there; and here I was thinking you weren't allowed to do that."

Damion scoffs, letting go of my hand and walking past Zain going back toward Melford. Zain looks at me and Vincent once more before he turns around and follow Damion out of the woods.

"You invited him to be a mate."

"Am I not allowed to do that?"

Vincent walks closer to me, eyes never once leaving mine. "On the contrary, even though I am the Reaper, the mating bond orbits around the female. She is considered the primary of the bond. You want something, and most of the time we will agree. That means agreeing to new mates when you feel the urge to recruit one."

"You make it sound like we're going off to war."

He shrugs. "Who says we aren't?"

I stay silent, not knowing what to say but at the same time, wondering what it is that him, Zain and Callyx are hiding from me. Training, war talk – there's obviously something more to this mating bond that they haven't told me.

Vincent sighs, his form flickering between his human form and his Reaper one, the pale white bones shining in the sunlight. "You told him you loved him."

I take in a deep breath. "I didn't know you were listening."

"Does that change your answer?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Then it doesn't matter if I was there or not." He steps closer to me, causing me to back up into a tree. The bark digs into my back, and I stare up at Vincent's black eyes locking me in place. "What does matter, little siren, is that you one day say those same words to me -and mean them. That even if he doesn't agree to be our mate, you realize you have three others who would rip their own hearts out, who would burn the world to the ground just to hear those three little words you spoke to a man who is rejecting you. So, hear this, little siren, you do not bow to the whims of man when you have gods worshipping at your feet."