Des'Tai: Book Two

146: Faye

The final day of the trials was the most grueling. Not only was the heat and humidity index insanely high, but our numbers were higher than the days prior. Everyone wanted in on the action, qualified or not. It was a good thing Knox had required all of our Watchers to be on duty because fewer got knocked out in the first round of essence technique and agility. I'd had to pull Rayne from her regular duties to help me keep track of the numbers; there were far too many elves for me to catalog on my own.

Mid-way through the morning, Rayne and I stood side-by-side comparing notes. We had to have Knox divide the group in half, some working with Ty and Rune while Maverick and Nero managed the others. Knox was overseeing the whole works, and in his standard fashion, things were, thankfully, regimented beyond belief.

"Here's the criteria we're interested in for the strength round," I pointed out some notes I'd taken the day prior. "If anyone falls below a five, they're out."

"Got it," Rayne continued to browse my notes as she shuffled her papers.

"Hey, you had Quickbay this round, right?" I asked as I saw Rayne's thumb pass by his picture. "How'd he do?"

The megawatt smile Rayne shot my way could've been blinding, and despite her creamy chocolate-colored skin, you could tell she was blushing. Leaning towards me and glancing over her shoulder in search of someone, she whispered low enough I barely heard her.

"Faye, he's fucking perfect."

"Okay, why are you whispering? If he's that good, we want him."

"No, girl. Look over by the squat stand."

As I went to straighten my stance to find him, she pulled me back down.

"...but don't make it obvious!"

"Rayne, they're all being scrutinized. I think they expect we'll be watching them," I shook my head as I leaned back from her and swept the area in search of Sybil's brother.

Once my eyes landed on him, I found he was chatting with his sister as she pointed in our direction. His gaze instantly met mine, and his lips curled up into a side-grin before he raised one of his hands above his head to wave. I flashed him a toothy smile and waved back.

"I think my panties just melted," Rayne sighed as she stared over her shoulder. I'd give her one thing, Blaise was one hell of a male specimen. His smile was warm and inviting. He had defined abs, long legs, and muscular arms, but nowhere near what Fenrir had looked like the day before. I watched as he pulled his dark brown shoulder-length locks back into a small ponytail. Looks aside, I was more interested in how well he would acclimate to our family. With a body and smile like his, he couldn't be hurting for female attention. We already had one cocky playboy; we didn't need another. Although, maybe Aja could chase him for a while...

'See something you like, love?'

Ty's voice in my head caught me off guard, and I realized I'd still been surveying the potential Watcher. I searched the crowd until I found those gorgeous grey orbs that made my stomach flip.

'Ever considered a threesome?'

'What?!'

I couldn't help but giggle at the aggravated tension and concern tainted with anxiety that flooded our link.

'Calm down. I was just kidding. Rayne's fallen in love with Blaise already.'

It took a while for Ty's anxiety to diminish, but just as he wasn't interested in Sybil, there wasn't a thing about her brother that tempted me, not in the slightest. And as the day wore on, I forgot all about the Quickbay potential. The elves we had in front of us today were working hard, and cutting them wasn't coming easy.