Lance angled his face away from me, focusing on his run. I finished wrapping my hands and turned toward the punching bag, landing a few hard jabs before looking back at him. “This doesn’t change anything.”
Lance glanced toward me, his head bobbing with his long strides, a cocky smile on his lips. “No, I wouldn’t imagine so. But at least it’s got you thinking.”
I blew out an exasperated breath then began working on beating the shit out of the punching bag and envisioning that I was taking my anger out on all those who deserved it. Jimmy, Lazarus, Andrew—but for some reason, I couldn’t conjure an image of Cal. What Lance had said had gotten me thinking. If he’d grown up believing he must obey the Order for the sake of meeting some kind of standard set by his father, I could see how difficult it would be to undo that in a few weeks. And his faith in me certainly spoke volumes given that kind of upbringing. Maybe I would succeed at beating Lazarus. I focused on that thought as I pummeled the bag, my sense of foreboding rocketing away with each strike.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Venturing into the Woods
An hour later, my arms felt like rubber and my hands hurt like hell. Lance had given up on the treadmill long before and was busy running through katas with his sword.
I unraveled the tape from my hands, noting with dismay how red and swollen they looked. I’d beaten the shit out of the bags all right, and now I needed some ice to ease the pain.
I watched Lance’s graceful movements as he thrust his sword in a slashing arch before ending the kata. “Can I ask you a question?”
He glanced over his shoulder, an eyebrow cocked as he slowly relaxed his final pose.
“Can you tell me where the lunar eclipse battle is going to be?” Cal was supposed to have told me but after the fight, I hadn’t really wanted to ask him.
Lance blew out a long breath as he sheathed his sword and laid the scabbard in the weapons cupboard. “Cal hasn’t shown you yet?”
I shook my head. “There’s a bit of a trust issue, you know? I have some trouble trusting a man who has vowed to kill me.” As much as I wanted to believe that Cal was acting purely on his sense of duty, that didn’t mean I accepted it. The more I thought about it, the less it made sense. I was still very hurt that the Order came first. After what he’d been though, losing his own mother in the same way—which I’m sure hurt like hell—I couldn’t imagine him wanting to do it to his own Huntress.
Lance pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. “So melodramatic. You know that Cal wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Wouldn’t or won’t?”
Lance shook his head, his playful expression gone. “He loves you, Morgan.”
I shifted my eyes to the floor. A deep burning pain ripped through me at his words and tears welled in my eyes. I fought for control, pushing away my pain. I’d cried enough tears over Cal, and I certainly wasn’t going to do it in front of Lance.
I steeled myself as I snapped my eyes back to his. “Are you going to take me to the battle ground or what? I want to see it before the shit hits the fan tomorrow.”
Lance contemplated me for a moment, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he thought. Then he turned back toward the weapons cupboard and grabbed his sword again.
“Yeah, I’ll take you out there, but you’re bringing these.” He turned toward me with the sai and their sheaths.
I took them from him, fitting the waist holster on as he’d shown me to do.
“And you’re going to wear this,” he added as he grabbed a bundle of cloth from the top shelf and handed that to me too.
“What?” Before I could finish the thought, I remembered. It was the cloak that Cal had made me wear when he first found me. The one he explained would keep me from Lazarus’s awareness. Before, when I had touched it, it hadn’t seemed like anything special—just a huge black cloak. Now as I held it, I felt the magic running through its fabric, pulsing on my skin as I reverently smoothed my hand along one of its folds.
“We have to go into the forest, so if you don’t agree to wear it, then I’m not going to take you.”
I nodded as I let the cloth unfurl, sweeping it around and over my shoulders until it settled there like a comforting shield. I closed the clasp at my throat and involuntarily remembered the last time Cal had done the same thing. How his fingers, brushing my skin, had sent shooting tendrils of desire through my body. And once again I was surprised by how much I mourned his touch. How much I missed him.
Lance nodded at me, his lips set in a grim line. “Ready?”
I nodded, my heart kicking up as apprehension took over. “How pissed is Cal going to be that we’re doing this?”
Lance rolled one of his massive shoulders back. “He won’t be mad if he doesn’t find out.”