There was a reason Priti used this particular beach for her classes, and it was the same reason Ronan never surfed here. Inlets like Crispin’s Cove were protected—land cradled the water on either side, making for more manageable surf. It also meant rocky beach.
But this bit of coastline jutted bravely into the sea, fully subjected to the punishing waves—waves that, across generations, had battered the shoreline into sand. It was the favorite spot of many teachers, and good for things like wind sprints or hand-to-hand combat while knee-high in the breakers.
Ronan wouldn’t surf here. The waves were erratic and unpredictable beasts, cresting and smashing into the sea stacks. Not a great ride if you’re on a board.
“Good afternoon, my little birds, and welcome to Expeditionary Skills Training. ” Priti’s voice brought me back to reality. She always sounded so shiny, a lethal fighter with a sunny disposition. “Different missions demand different skills. As Acari Drew can tell us”—she gave me an appreciative smile that I didn’t deserve—“some missions require a facility with language or disguise. Others require no more than the simple ability to survive in the wild, and those are the skills we’ll be addressing this term. Basics like shelter, navigation, and”—she smiled brightly at Carden—“rock climbing. ”
Carden took over. Or rather, he bowled me over.
I was used to the flirty, naughty-boy Carden. This Carden was different. This Carden was pure Vampire.
He stood, arms crossed at his chest and legs slightly parted, straight and solid, like an echo of the granite pillars behind him. He commanded the class, and every eye on that beach was glued to him. “In a survival situation, there are three things you need to address above all others. I call them the three H’s. Heat. H20. Hunger. ”
“Don’t forget hatred. ” Some Acari h
ad said it in an attempt at humor or flirtation—I wasn’t sure which. She looked impressed with herself and her own bored superiority.
Carden slowly swung his gaze to her, like a wolf sizing up prey. “Aye. Hatred—an easy answer. But it’s the easy answers that kill you. ”
The girl’s face fell, her superior look replaced by a mix of contempt, resentment, and fear. In a few words, he’d turned her sass into a deficiency. Like she’d made a joke, and now we could cross her off the list because she clearly wouldn’t survive the week.
Seeing Carden now, I thought it miraculous that I’d found myself in his good graces. Was it only the bond? Would he have been just as disdainful with me if we didn’t have this chemical connection?
“Hatred is easy,” he continued. “Anyone can feel it. It’s the rare person who’ll face a life-or-death situation without emotion. Without panic. ”
Just then, it felt like he was the one without emotion. He was utterly removed from me, more like them than he’d ever been.
“You need to get your mind right,” he said calmly, “if you’re to survive this. ” He pointed to the water at his back.
Oh God. Were we going to go in the water after all?
I tuned in to the roar of the sea, a raging hum that filled my head. Its power was so great, it’d punched holes through those towering granite pillars. It had ground boulders into the sand beneath our feet.
“Sometimes you have control over your situation. Sometimes you can find water easily. Sometimes shelter presents itself. ” He began to walk around us, catching our eyes, addressing each one of us. “But sometimes you’ll have no control. Sometimes your situation will control you. Forget food or heat; sometimes all you’ll have is your will to survive.
“Every one of you has faced a competitor in the ring and you were the ones who walked out alive. Facing nature is no less than that. When on a mission, you must view the outdoors as you would an opponent. See your natural surroundings as a threat. Because if you let nature catch you unawares, she will kill you as surely as any enemy. ”
He stopped in front of me and touched a finger just above my left breast. My heart leapt. The feeling of perfect connection was so profound it made my vision waver.
“You must know this in your heart,” he said in a voice hoarse with intensity. His touch was a brand, burning through the flesh and bone, straight to my heart. But it wasn’t a sexual thing. In that instant, I felt how he was trying to communicate something to me. Something that might keep me alive someday. “You must believe you can master every situation. Or you will be finished before you even begin. ”
I gave the slightest nod. He gave the slightest nod in return. I knew a peculiar sensation—it was the feeling that I’d found something.
With a sharp breath in, Carden turned from me. “Watcher Priti has asked for a climbing demonstration. ”
Climbing. Not swimming. Relief swelled through me as he headed inland, toward one of the cliff walls lining the beach. Anything beat swimming.
Priti interjected, “Today, Master McCloud will introduce you to the basics. And then we’ll be mastering these skills over the coming weeks as I lead you on our own climbs. ”
Carden led us far along the beach—farther than I’d ever been—and stopped at the base of a modest-sized face. He slapped his hand against the rock. “The basics. ” He looked up, squinting against the glare. Sunlight picked shades of gold and red in his hair, and the wind whipped it into a tangled halo around his head. He was beautiful. “This wee rock should pose no trouble. I’ll talk you through it as you go. ” He faced us. “Who’s first?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I can climb. ” A girl stepped from the group. It was the Acari who’d made the crack about hatred. I wondered if this was her way to prove herself.
Carden narrowed his eyes. “Can you, indeed?” He stepped aside so she could take her place at the base of the rock wall. “And I’d thought there was always something more to learn. But what do I know? I’m a lad of only…let’s see…over two hundred and fifty years now. ”
The other Acari tittered at his joke, but I saw from the steel in his eyes that this was no laughing matter. Things rarely were where vampires were concerned. I was discovering that Carden’s nonchalance was much more of an act than he let on.