What lies beneath

CHAPTER FIVE

DEMIN

Demin had been up since before dawn.

Sleep had been eluding him lately. It came when it wanted to, not much more. It left him with long stretches of silence in which every sound in the palace seemed impossibly distant and magnified.

Demin leaned against the balcony of his apartment, staring out toward Ravenwood as the sky began to lighten.

The forest was silent.

Demin's fingers curled around the balcony railing.

There was something in the distance, something moving behind the trees.

He couldn't see it. He didn't need to. His wolf had seen it.

The strange sound that had come from somewhere deep inside the trees was repeated once more. Then, somewhere farther away, a bird's cry.

Demin's eyes narrowed. For a long moment, the world seemed to sharpen around him. He could hear the rustling of leaves, the hush of animals moving beyond the trees edge, the distant swish of bare feet against the ground many miles from the palace.

The sounds ceased.

Demin's wolf subsided.

He let out a slow breath and released the railing.

It wasn't the first time he'd sensed things that no other shapeshifter would have, and he doubted it would be the last.

By the time Demin reached the Iron Grounds, the others were already there. Drake was securing the leather straps around his wrists while Truz talked to one of the younger warriors. Kanem stood nearby, stretching casually as though he hadn't been waiting for the last fifteen minutes.

"You're late," Kanem called when Demin came close enough to hear.

Demin shot him a sidelong glance. "You're early."

"Same thing."

Drake looked up from where he stood and smiled. “Don't encourage him.”

"I don't need encouragement." Kanem said.

"That," Truz said, walking toward them, "is precisely the problem."

A familiar laugh sounded from the path leading to the training grounds.

Rein.

She came onto the grounds with her camera slung over her shoulder, surveying the small group with open amusement.

Kanem's face immediately lit up. "Well, now I understand why you're late."

Demin looked at him.

Kanem simply smiled. "I'm calling you."

Truz turned to Rein. "I didn't know you were going to watch the drill."

"I wanted to take some pictures. You said the Iron Grounds were worth seeing."

"They are," Drake said. "Just don't stand too close."

Rein shot a glance at the large arena. "Why?"

Drake smiled. "You'll find out."

The training began.

Rein hovered near the edge of the grounds, snapping pictures as the warriors engaged in their morning sparring matches. She captured the quick, fluid movements of bodies, the way the dust swirled beneath their feet, and the way tension seemed to fill every corner of the arena whenever a combatant came forward to oppose another.

Demin barely registered the camera.

He'd trained here often enough that the sounds of muscle moving, feet sliding against the stone floor, and the press of others surrounding the arena were familiar.

Kanem, however, was unusually energetic.

He moved through his first match with the same languid ease as ever, but there was a restless edge to his movements that Drake picked up on almost instantly.

When Kanem's first opponent stepped away, he turned to Demin.

"Your turn."

Demin didn't move at once. "I wasn't called."

Kanem's grin widened. "I'm calling you."

Truz let out a sigh from the sidelines. "You two really can't go one morning without doing this?"

"Apparently not." Drake's gaze went to Rein. "I think she's decided to join us."

Rein lowered her camera slightly.

Kanem noticed. "Come on, Dark Owl. Don't make me embarrass myself in front of the photographer."

Demin stepped forward.

"You already do that with me."

Drake laughed.

Kanem's smile never wavered, but something in his dark eyes sharpened.

"That's better."

They faced off.

For a long moment, neither moved. Then Kanem struck.

The first blow was swift enough that more than one of the younger warriors gasped, but Demin blocked it, pivoting off the balls of his feet as soon as his balance allowed. Kanem twisted, aiming the back of his leg at Demin's thighs. Demin leapt up and over, landing lightly before pressing his shoulder into Kanem's chest.

Kanem was thrown backward.

He laughed. "That's all?"

Demin said nothing.

Kanem came at him again.

For the first time, Demin met him head-on.

Their movements were too fast for most of the others on the grounds to follow. Every strike met a block, every thrust was parried. Every opening was filled and refilled so quickly that no one could see how it was done.

Rein's camera never stopped.

She had expected training.

She had not expected this.

There was something disturbing about watching Demin fight, in the way that he didn't move with the flashiness of Kanem, or the precision of Drake, or the strength of the other warriors. There was no wasted motion, no unnecessary steps at all.

Kanem saw her watching.

His next punch was stronger than the first.

Demin blocked it, but it sent him back several steps.

A hushed murmur went through the other warriors.

Kanem smiled. "There you are."

Demin straightened. "You wanted a fight."

"I did. Now stop talking."

Kanem laughed. He moved in again.

This time, Demin shifted his stance.

Something inside him changed.

His senses sharpened so suddenly, so painfully, that his wolf surged inside him with an intensity that threatened to lunge outward.

He could hear it all. The pounding of hearts, the swish of feet against the sand at the edge of the arena, the shutter of Rein's camera clicking in measured rhythm with her breathing.

He moved.

Kanem didn't have time to do more than gasp before Demin caught his wrist, hauled him off balance, and sent him sprawling onto the training mat.

A shocked silence filled the arena.

Kanem chuckled, already regaining his feet. "Fine."

Demin held a hand out to him.

Kanem took it. He stood and regarded Demin for a long moment. “You're getting irritating.”You say that every time."

"I mean it more every time."

Demin released his hand.

Across the arena, Rein lowered her camera. She had captured every second of the match. For a brief moment, her eyes met Demin's. Then she turned her gaze away.

Demin turned from her. Something in him was left restless.

Not because of her. But because of that strange moment inside his match with Kanem where his wolf had surged far beyond what he would have expected.

He flexed his fingers once.

At the edge of the grounds, Kuafa stood motionless. He had watched the entire match. His gaze remained on Demin.

Much later, when the warriors had begun to clear the grounds, Waseber found Kuafa waiting beside the path.

"What did you see?"

Kuafa didn't answer at once. His eyes remained on the arena.

"His wolf is waking."

Waseber's expression tightened. "It shouldn't be."

Kuafa turned and looked at him. "Perhaps," he said quietly, "it was never meant to stay asleep."

Neither of them spoke for a long moment. From the far side of the grounds came the sound of Rein laughing at something Drake had said.

Demin glanced in their direction. Then he turned away.