A Story of Fire and Darkness (A ToG and ACoTaR crossover)

The Portal Part 2

   Feyre's POV

        I dart forward, slashing with my sword. Cassian  barely moves fast enough to dodge the lethal blow and launches into an attack of his own. The sun beats down on us in waves, relentless, heat rippling around us. I block and parry, duck and side-step. And when he forces me to yield that first step back, I snarl. 

     Cassian chuckles darkly, and attacks with even more ferocity. After he's given me a small scratch on my upper arm, I go wild. We had already established that we were not to use magic, for fear of hurting Mor and Amren. Who watched from behind us. I was sure there were already bets going. On both of us, probably.

     No, I didn't dare let my magic loose. Instead, I let that-- that fighting instinct within me loose. Let it control my limbs and narrow my focus into something razor sharp. Cass doesn't know what hit him when I attack. He swore in a long, steady stream. I swung my sword and when Cassian lifted his sword to block the swing, his arms trembled, just a little bit, but enough to tell me that he was getting tired. My eyes met his and I gave a feral grin, snarling a bit through my teeth. His eyes narrowed, but with him distracted, he didn't see the blow when it came.

    And as I snarl, wielding to that ancient, wild part of me that roars with the savage fighting instinct, I can see why he loves this so much. It's exhilarating, the hidden grace, the dangerous dance with steel and strength.

    I drop, swift, strong, sure, and sweep-kick his feet from under him. He hits the ground hard, the sound of his jaw snapping shut echoes in my ears. He snarls a curse, his eyes lighting up with fury. He leaps up, and tries to go on the offensive again. But when I give him a shallow cut on his cheekbone, he gapes at me in shock. And when I knock him to the ground again, he freezes. When he tries to get back up again he found my sword tip at his throat.

   "I win," I panted breathlessly. He snarls half-heartedly and takes the hand I offer him. The muscles in my arm almost give out as I haul him onto his feet. Once he was standing, I became aware of slow clapping behind me.

    I didn't know when we'd started training but, sooner or later, Mor had found her way up to the sounds of us training, Amren close behind. Then Mor had suggested we duel, that mischievous glint in her eyes.  I limped over to the couch, muscles trembling and aching, dripping with sweat, legs unable to support my weight anymore. 

   I plopped down on the couch next to Mor, barely making it in time.

   "Ewww. You're all sweaty!" Mor hissed, scooting away. I waved a hand in dismissal, my head falling back to rest on the back of the couch. A glance at Cassian said he was almost as exhausted as I was. He was leaning on the wall next to Amren, panting. His wing tips were almost touching the ground. He touch his cheek gingerly, wincing slightly. His eyes met mine and he smiled slightly.

    "I'm going to win next time." I laughed.

    "In your dreams, maybe." I smirked a little. "Cassian, I hate to break it to you, but you're getting pretty old." He snarled little, even as his eyes lit up with amusement.

    "And I've barely broken you in," he said with a terrifying grin on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him. 

    "Aaaaand here he goes." Mor sighed. 

    "What are all you squawking about up here?" I didn't see Rhys until he was behind me. I startled a little bit as his hand brushed my shoulder. 

    "Feyre grew fangs and beat up Cassian." Amren said, casually studying her nails. Cassian growled at her, too tired, it seemed, to come up with a retort of his own.