Read Online Awakening by Caris Roane - Free Book Online Page B

okay? Hell, no. She wanted to lash out, to yell at Merl. Maybe this was his fault. After all, he’d come from Third Earth and had been hiding out on Second for fifty years if she’d understood his history correctly.
    Instead, she forced herself to be rational as she responded, “I’m fine. I’ll adjust.” Then she turned toward him. “Actually, you might be exactly what I need right now.”
    “Anything you want, ascender.” The grin he offered her made her roll her eyes.
    But she’d been around warrior-types most of her life, all very much like her brother Gideon who had become a Militia Warrior shortly after ascending. So, she didn’t take Merl too seriously.
    She responded, “Spoken like a man or at least a warrior. The thing is, I have no intention of just lying down for this princess-bitch so I’d like you to teach me how to fire a wrecking gun. Then I want to keep one of those guns in my possession for the next time these Third Earth assholes decide to bust into my garden.”
    He took a step closer, apparently unwilling to surrender the field so quickly. “Again, anything you need, I’m you’re man."
    She knew he was teasing, but his words and attitude were really unfortunate because she caught sight of Duncan not ten feet away. Duncan’s green eyes had turned dark with rage. She felt the breh-hedden sizzle in the air as he launched at Merl, slamming him against the far wall, adjacent to the open doorway.
    He might have had the advantage of surprise, but Merl had been a warrior and his true nature kicked into high gear. As Duncan rose off of him, fists up, Merl shot upright.
    Before Duncan could blink, Merl had gotten in an uppercut to his jaw, throwing Duncan’s head back. The momentum of the hit, laced as it was with Merl’s Third Earth ability, threw Duncan over the open front door threshold, all the way across the patio, and onto the lawn.
    “Fight!” Zacharius shouted.
    The sounds of a brawl-in-progress brought all the men and a wild-eyed Endelle flowing out the door.
    Rachel wasn’t too far behind because she’d caught Duncan’s cider scent and the breh-hedden had her in its grip all over again. For some reason, she liked that he’d gone caveman.
    Merl hadn’t exactly won friends with his flirt-with-anything attitude and the brotherhood cheered their latest member on.
    When Duncan stopped for a breather and Merl followed suit, Rachel couldn’t take her eyes off her breh. He looked magnificent with his eyes on fire, his muscles pumped for fighting, and his scent wafting over her like a layer of mist.
    Then he mounted his wings and the moment he did, a whole lot of stunned cursing went around the men. And why wouldn’t they be astounded; Duncan’s wings were now huge, bigger than most, and they were beautiful.
    Rachel put a hand to her chest and for a moment simply couldn’t draw air into her lungs. His wings were bigger than before though still green like his eyes and with powerful black bands around the edges.
    “Oh, my,” she murmured to no one in particular.
    “Shit,” Endelle said. “They’re almost as big as mine.”
    Duncan, however, shouted at Merl. “You giving up, Third ascender?”
    Merl, blood pouring from his mouth, hunched his shoulders in response and stripped off his red silk shirt. “Like hell.”
    His turn to mount and within three seconds, his massive black wings with row after row of soft violet bands caused another series of exclamations to flow around the warriors.
    And of course, an air battle was a whole new ballgame.
    Luken arrived suddenly. “What the hell is this? I’ll have steaks ready in about three minutes.”
    Endelle chortled. “Merl made a pass at Rachel and Duncan saw it.”
    “Holy fuck. Well, then.” He joined the other men and cheered as loud as any of them as Merl and Duncan flew at each other, wings tucked to gain speed for a moment then unfurling to do battle, fists and legs flying.
    Rachel felt dizzy in part because she was breathing