A Court Of Nightmares

Chapter Fifteen The Shadow Singer

The creaking in the floorboards echoed in the manor as I slipped out into the chilly yard. It was still a dark gray, but peeking out into the horizon was the sunlight itching its way through. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night after the fight between those Darkbringers, especially with the conversation I had with Jalen. But nothing can top how overbearing Ignes and Mia were when they rushed into the manor. Eager to talk to me about what I had done, Ignes was impressed for the most part, while Mia was confused about how my powers could have progressed so much in one day. They both refused to answer any questions on the males and what had happened to them after a wave of shadows fell upon them. Saying that it was better that I know nothing of it so that it won't make me feel guilty. Which only made me feel ten times worse contemplating the possibilities of if they were even still breathing or not.

"You're late," a deep voice rang through behind me. I huffed turning slowly around not having enough energy to deal with his crap today.

"By two minutes."

"Still late."

I rolled my eyes, looking straight at Devlon's scrunched-up face. At least he was still normal throughout all of this madness. His wings were tightly at his back along with his usual weapon arsenal strapped to every part of his bulky body. Which annoyed me for some reason if it wasn't for the fact that I had no experience with weapons. Maybe last night would have gone down much more smoothly. And I wouldn't be at risk of being found out by Rhys's inner circle.

I crossed my arms tightly in front of my chest. "When are you going to teach me how to wield a weapon?" I asked, staring at all the shiny daggers at his sides.

Devlon mimicked me, crossing his arms as well. "When you learn how to attack instead of defending yourself in hand-to-hand combat. It takes years to be able to perfect the moves and with you so out of focus I doubt you will get there any time soon." He responded rather flatly. Surprisingly without his usual annoyed tone, how odd.

I shrugged, he did have a point. I was distracted, there were too many things playing on my mind. Then I have to either get better or teach myself how to use the weapons I parade around with.

"Then we have some work to do, correct?" I said, getting into position, rolling my shoulders. Devlon gave a cynical smile, it was the only time he seemed happy. Which meant that he knew he was bound to send me to eat dirt one way or another.

We circled each other staring intently, looking for any weak spots. Devlon knew all of mine easily. His mind was wired to find all the weak spots in any opponent he'd face. I bet he could even do it in less than a minute. With the number of wars, he had seen and lived through there was no doubt in my mind what he was capable of. Which was the only thing we seemed to understand about each other. In the life that I was dragged into I wasn't living. Especially in this world, you do everything you can to survive. Even if it means you will never live a day of peace. At least, I learned that as much from everything that has happened. That was the only thing I seemed to understand the most.

We circled each other again, and at this point, I let myself be open. Loosening my position by slumping my shoulders. Devlon eagerly took the bait, jabbing straight at my right shoulder which I deflected. His lips twitched a bit, as I kept letting him strike me over and over again. There was no doubt that he could have knocked me out two punches ago, but we weren't having a real fight. As much as Devlon's dismay he was just sparing me. We kept going like that for a bit until his movements began to slow. His bulky weight finally weighed him down a bit as he tried calculating his next move.

So I took advantage, letting him follow me as I made my blows. I tried to uppercut him, leading him to step back. I kept walking back towards the house where Ignes and Illias finally stepped outside to watch. Devlon blindly followed, fully thinking he had the upper hand. We moved more and more towards the stairs and Ignes dragged Illias away from the steps before we could make it near.