Soul Bound

Chapter 14

First thing in the morning, Annaliese ripped the blankets off the bed, singing like a songbird from one of the Five Hells. "Rise and shine, recruit!"

Groaning, Eva tried to pull the blankets back over her head. She was all for getting up with the sun, but she hadn't slept well and, honestly, this bed was a slice of heaven she wasn't ready to leave yet. "Just a little bit longer. Please."

Snorting at her sad attempt to hide from the orange light filtering through the window, the evil Knight yanked the blankets again, tossing them to the other side of the room. "Orientation starts when I say it does, newbie. But," she added after seeing the heavy bags under Eva's eyes, "we'll take it easy today. First off, wardrobe!"

Eva reached for the clothes Grayson had acquired for her yesterday. Annaliese was on her in a flash, slapping her hand aside before she could grab the leather pants. A determined, fiery light filled her pale gray eyes as she blocked Eva access to the apparent affront to fashion on the floor.

"I will not be seen in the hallways with you in that. Where did you get them from?"

Eva scratched the back of her head, peering around her new partner at the tunic and pants. They were clothes Eva would have picked out for herself. Practicality and comfort was all that was required in the woods.

"Grayson got them for me."

Annaliese's eyes rolled across the room. "Of course he did. He wouldn't know how to dress a woman even if he was given an instruction manual. Typical male."

"I like them."

Eva felt a need to defend him. What he had done for her was kind and far beyond anything she expected out of him. If he was here, he would have said something against Annaliese's detestment.

The Corporal pinned her with a "don't talk back to me" glower. "Just wait until you see what I have lined up for you, then we'll see how you feel about his taste."

Her promise sent a nervous tingle down Eva's spine. She had seen women in dresses, had heard of the layers upon layers of skirts that weighed them down. Donning that much fabric was against every self-preserving hunter instinct Eva had.

She wasn't sure what to make of her new partner yet. Last night she was kind and easygoing, but this morning... she had far more energy than Eva knew what to do with and seemed determined to raise Eva up to her level. Which Eva was not eager to do.

Anna took the choice away from Eva when she grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the apartment.

It was early in the morning. The sun barely reached the window at the end of the hallway, let alone went as deep into the corridor as they were. While Eva relied on her dragon vision to see, Annaliese appeared to know the hallways like the back of her hand, each step taken confidently and efficiently. They reached the ginormous staircase without bumping into a single person.

"Where is everyone?" Eva wondered aloud.

Annaliese, two steps ahead of her, peered back at her, eyes brimming with the zesty life force she seemed to run on. "Asleep or in the gym. Most Knights don't wake up for another two hours."

"Why are we up so early?" Eva tried not to sound perturbed, but she could have used a couple more hours of sleep under her belt.

"You're a hunter, aren't you? Jacob told me you woke up at sunrise every morning. You've gone through a lot of change lately, so I thought you'd like to keep at least one thing the same. Am I wrong?"

Eva paused on a wide platform that led to the next floor. It also appeared to be the floor they were looking for, as Anna veered off the stairs, entering the vestibule. Eva hadn't considered trying to hold on to her previous life. As far as she was concerned, it was as pointless as it would have been to douse the fires that brought Brar to its knees. But it warmed Eva's heart that Annaliese would do something like this for her. It gave her hope. There was still some good in the world. Darius hadn't trampled it all down to nothing. Maybe there could be something more between her and Annaliese aside from this partner-mentor relationship forced upon them. None of the women in Brar had taken to her, but Annaliese didn't shy away from a sharp weapon--made apparent by the sword strapped to her hip--or the idea of hunting.