Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1582 - 24 : Triple Threat

*Briella*

After a good shower, I smiled at myself in the mirror while getting ready. I was thankful that Drius decided to stay. At first, I thought he would just keep trying to get me to go back home, or he’d just go back without me. But he surprised me. He decided to stay and help me beat back the shadowy scrouge that was plaguing Celestial City.

I brushed out my dark, damp hair and picked out a clean sports bra, black tank top, and wide-legged, olive-colored cargo pants. When Drius and I would spar against each other back in training, that was the color of our training uniforms.

“I hope he notices,” I said to my reflection as I tied my hair up and left my room.

I spotted Drius in the living room, hunched over something. The rhythmic scrape of metal on a rough surface filled the room.

“Whatcha doing?” I asked. Drius straightened up from the sofa, smiling softly.

“Just sharpening my throwing blades. Your dad gave me this whetstone before I left.” My hazel-eyed best friend slicked back his dark hair.

“Really? Let me see.” I sat down next to him. He handed me the damp whetstone. Sure enough, it had my father’s insignia on the back.

I saw Drius’ knives glinting in the light. It reminded me of how when we were first training, we’d be awful at maintaining our blades, but he had improved by leaps and miles.

“Remember when we’d spar? I think I had the winning record if I remember correctly.” I grinned, elbowing him lightly in his toned upper arm.

“Only by two, but then again, who’s counting? Wait. Are you wearing those colors on purpose? Black and army green?” Drius chuckled a little.

“Maybe.” I smiled, happy he remembered.

“Those were great days. Our fathers loved watching us go at it like cats and dogs.”

“Yeah, they did.” I smiled remembering the proud look on my dad’s face when I’d get a successful takedown.

“You know, your father has made some great changes in Drogomor. He’s helped put into place better environmental policies that not only benefit conservation but also took into account farmers’ concerns.” The dark-haired man next to me spoke as he picked up the whetstone and sheathed his knives.

“Really? That’s awesome. I always knew my father was a great strategist. I’m glad he’s able to make a difference like that.” My heart burst with pride.

“Your mom has been empowering a lot of women to start their own businesses. They both have achieved a lot since you and Kai have been away,” Drius continued. I was continually left in awe at what my parents were doing back home.

“I hope one day I’ll be able to be a great leader like both of them, helping their people and doing good,” I murmured, thinking about Kai already helping all the refugees in Celestial Valley, and my assignment in Celestial City.

“They really miss you and Kai. They want you to be home,” Drius continued. My heart twisted in my chest.

I didn’t think Drius meant to guilt me, but it hurt, nonetheless.

“I know they miss me, but they’re both adults. They’ll be fine while I finish up my business here and Kai helps stabilize the situation in Celestial Valley,” I repeated to Drius, hoping that it would put the discussion to bed.

Instead, Drius leaned back against the sofa and tipped his head back, the muscles in his jaw flexing.

“Bri, the situation here is dire, can’t you see that?” The dark-haired man gritted his teeth, staring me directly in the eyes. “If that shadow monster killed a woman, please don’t take it lightly.”

I balked a bit, narrowing my eyes.

“I’m not, trust me. I’m not doing this because I want to be some hero. I’m doing this because I may be the only one who can stop these shadow monsters because of my magic. You weren’t here, Drius. You didn’t see how the shadow creatures caught the people here off guard.” My skin got hot, and my voice raised.

“Alpha Ray should’ve given those shadow creatures more consideration before telling you to handle them.” Drius’ hazel eyes darkened and frowned deeply. My shoulders raised in defensiveness.

“Hey, like Roy said, the Alpha here is doing what he thinks is right to protect his people. I know we make a funny team, but Kryzen, Roy, and I work well together.” I fought to calm my frayed nerves.

Drius opened his mouth to retort, but just then, the front door swung wide open.

Silhouetted by the streaming sunlight stood Kryzen, his sandy hair glowing in the sun.

“Kryzen,” I said turning toward him. As much as I welcomed the distraction, I noticed the alarmed expression on his chiseled face.

“I hope I’m not interrupting something.” He frowned, lasering a look at Drius. “We got a problem.”

“What’s up?” I stood up, trying to read Kryzen’s face.

“There were sightings of shadow monsters in the downtown shopping district,” Kryzen reported, his voice serious. “There aren’t any casualties reported, but we don’t know how long it will stay that way.”

“We need to go now. Let me get my dagger and boots.” I nodded and grabbed the special dagger that Mathias gave me, and the thrum of Embervalian magic flowed through me.

I sheathed it on my belt as I laced up my combat boots.

“Okay, Roy’s already set and so am I.”

“Good. I won’t let anyone else die on my watch,” I stated, my voice lowered like a threat as I finished tying my boots.

“I’m coming too,” Drius announced, lacing up his boots, his muscles flexing under his white T-shirt.

“Fine, just don’t slow us down,” Kryzen stated, his eyes burning like embers.

“I won’t,” he bit out to Kryzen then turned to me “I’ll be by your side, Bri, don’t worry.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. As much as I valued Drius and knew he certainly wouldn’t fall behind, I didn’t need a babysitter. I needed someone who believed in me.

We suited up. Within minutes, we were out the door on the way to the bustling shopping district. No one said anything on the way. Drius stuck closely to me on my left, and Kryzen walked beside me on my right.

I fought the urge to tell the dark-haired man to my left to give me some space, but I became distracted once I saw the state of the shopping district.

“Wow, they must’ve cleared everything out before we got here. It’s totally deserted,” Kryzen pointed out. I swallowed.

An eerie energy clung to the air, making my hair stand on end.

“I’m sure Alpha Ray isn’t taking any chances, and neither should we. Everyone stick together and be on guard.” Roy said, his gloved hand resting on the pommel of his saber.

I scanned the shuttered shops and buildings, the metallic tang of adrenaline pooling in my mouth. I had no idea how to fight these things. I only hoped my magic would be able to activate and be more effective than last time.

A harsh whistle and a gust of icy wind blew past all of us, whipping leaves and litter across the street and our hair past our faces. A sixth sense for magic was needed to know that this was no ordinary breeze.

“Draw your weapons!” I called out, drawing out my Embervalian dagger.

The elaborate dagger buzzed in my hand as the enubed magic sang through my bones. However, I couldn’t focus on how well the perfectly balanced dagger felt in my grip as a horrific shriek peeled through the shopping street.

We all whipped around, blades high, to see not one but three shadow creatures encircle us, hissing and screaming. Their eyes, dark as pitch, seemed to slice into my soul as they raised their overlong, bony arms fingers curled into crescent-shaped talons.

I switched the grip of my dagger into a hammer-fist style for defense as I assessed how they’d strike.

“We need to fan out before they strike!” Kryzen called out. He dove to the right to target the one closest to him. I heard Roy yell out from behind me, his boots slapping the flagstones of the deserted pedestrian street.

It was time to prove I could hold my own. The shadow closest to me was still swaying from side to side, probably sizing me up. I was formulating my next step.

Just then the shadow dove at me, talons drawn. I heard similar yells of surprise from the others. I lost track of Dirus as I dodged to the left, sticking out my dagger lengthwise along my forearm to parry the blow. Instead of feeling the bite of a blade or an impact of force against my dagger, the shadow veered off, screeching.

Were they afraid of my dagger?

“I think they’re scared of our blades!” I heard Kryzen call out.

If they feared us, that meant they knew we could hurt them. I flipped my dagger to an offensive stance, holding it like a sword.

“Okay, tall dark, and ugly, let’s dance.” I grimaced and lunged toward the hovering shadow creature.

I struck out for his chest, and the creature dodged neatly, dispersing its magic essence around where my blade would’ve bitten into flesh and bone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Drius also engaged in battle, throwing one of his knives at the creature between the eyes, only for it to dissipate where the blade flew through.

“C’mon, fight me,” I taunted, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

The shadow in front of me elicited a low rumbling noise that I could only identify as a dark chuckle as it spiraled up in the sky and vaulted at me at full speed. I anticipated that, pivoted, and ducked to the left, driving my dagger into the shadow’s chest and flicking the blade upward at the last minute.

It did the trick.

The shadow’s essence dispersed where I had originally thrust but not where I flicked up.

I was rewarded with a high-pitched hiss, but not the scream I wanted. The resistance that met my dagger felt like it was just a light scrape, not a deep slash.

The creature’s arm swiped out and knocked me back. My side hit the ground hard. I felt the impact rattle my teeth. I used the momentum to tuck into a roll to pop back up, but I already felt the dull ache of pain where the creature hit me.

I staggered to a standing stance, my arm bleeding from scraping the ground and the tip of a claw. The cut the very tip of the monster’s claw sliced was so clean through my flesh that it could’ve been a razor blade.

Panic spiked through my bloodstream as I realized that I wasn’t doing enough damage. If my best strike could only result in a dull scratch, but its claws were like razor wire, this would end very badly.

“Whatever you do, avoid the talons!” I heard Roy call out. I knew I wasn’t the only one having trouble avoiding the shadow creature’s attacks.

The sinister monster in front of me spun around, circled me, and sprung up. The tip of its tail hit my wrist with a solid thwack. My dagger flew from my hand, skittering across the flagstones.

The shadow creature loomed over me. My Embervalian dagger was too far for me to lunge to get it in time. I brought my hands up in a defensive position, knowing that the viciously sharp talons curled above me would soon shred me into ribbons.

I couldn’t find it in my lungs to scream. Panic had sealed them shut. I couldn’t believe it would end this way before I could even learn my magic better.

Suddenly, a solid form leaped in between me and the shadowy form. I moved my arms away from my face to see Kryzen standing in a low stance between me and the malicious creature. His toned back flexed beneath his ripped jacket as a brilliant violet circle rippled out of his hands.

I paused for a moment in awe of the sheer concentration painting his chiseled features. His eyes glinted hard in anger.

“Get lost, you cowards!” Kryzen’s voice deepened into a bone-rattling shout that would’ve scared me if he had directed it my way.

Kryzen’s magic forcefield rebuffed the shadow creature’s attack. It shot up into the sky, clacking and warbling. The two others joined the one I had fought in the sky. It almost seemed like they were conversing.

Instead of concentrating on their interaction, my eyes were glued to Kryzen’s sharp jawline and the fire in his eyes. The way his caramel hair had blown back and the dirt and grit that marred his cheekbone stirred something deep within me.

The way the broad planes of muscle toned his back, and the bulge of his pecs and biceps straining from maintaining his magic forcefield sparked my bloodstream with tingles of arousal.

The three shadow creatures gazed at each other and scattered in three different directions in the sky before dissolving completely.

Kryzen saved me.

And he didn’t look half-bad doing it.