“Why?” Michael groaned. “It’s always exhausting to deal with him.”
“He’s her uncle. Her legitimate uncle,” Salem reminded them all.
“He’s going to fight for her,” Marcus commented.
“Then he can fight,” Salem replied grimly, “and he will lose.”
“Are you alright?” Leonid asked softly as Tegan shrugged off her coat. He had taken them to a training room in Headquarters – Tegan was not surprised he knew his way around the building. She knew he had been here when her mother had visited but even though he had never spoken much of it, she suspected he was more familiar with this building than even her mother had been.
“I’m fine, father, they wanted to know my schedule nothing more,” she frowned, “and take my food.” Tegan recalled Sloane trying to take food off of her plate, even after she had asked him not to.
“Who tried to take your food?” Leonid hid his smile as he turned away from his daughter. She had always been territorial over her food, like a true hunter.
“The golden-haired one.”
“He is your cousin,” Leonid reminded her as he pulled off his outerwear. “And you know his name,” he chastised softly.
“I don’t think that means he can take my food,” Tegan grumbled as she took the kali sticks off the wall.
“He’s testing you,” Leonid took a stick from his daughter. “I thought I saidlighttraining?” He looked at his daughter with amusement as he tested the weight of his stick and checked the balance.
“I feel the need to hit something – hard.”
“Wonderful,” Leonid’s tone was dry.
“I will go easy on you, father,” Tegan smiled at her father as she leapt forward, her kali stick raised on the attack.
Leonid admired her speed and strength as they sparred, he was a Vampyre and if he didn’t know better, he would be questioning her own ancestry. They manoeuvred around the room seamlessly, the wooden thumping of the kali sticks the only noise in the room. Kali sticks were a common prop in their training, they were barely an inch in diameter, about twenty-eight inches long and made from bamboo. Leonid had been training Tegan in this martial art since she was a child. They were an excellent source of developing skills and combat training before progressing to hand-to-hand combat.
Tegan dropped and twisted under his strike and as she did, she swept his legs out from under him. Leonid was fast though, Tegan was barely on her feet and her father had regained his. Grinning, she spun away as he advanced on her across the floor, their sticks continually clashing, defending them, taking the blows meant for their bodies. His stick connected with Tegan’s torso and as it did so, she brought her own stick down on the back of his neck. The unexpected blow took him to his knees, his daughter was on him before he regained his footing, with another blow to the neck and then a side kick into the back of his legs.
Laughing, Leonid lay on the mats. “Enough daughter, you got me.”
“I did.” Her smile was wide as she wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. “You are weary, father?” Tegan’s smile faded as she watched her father lie on the mat.
“No, you just bested me, daughter.” Leonid flipped to his feet effortlessly, tossing his stick to her. “Did you enjoy the practice?” He asked as he turned to the far wall of the room. Tegan frowned as she followed his gaze, she saw the glass panel, turning she walked quickly over to the wall and returned the kali sticks.
“We were merely curious, Leonid,” Salem’s voice came from a speaker on the wall that Tegan had seen and dismissed when she came into the room. Her father grunted in displeasure but didn’t respond.
“You could have asked,” he heard Tegan mutter as she stooped to pick up her coat.
“Are you okay?” Leonid asked her quietly.
“Yes, father. I would like a shower though,” her smile felt strained and she knew her father saw right through it. The doors to the training room opened and she watched as Salem, Marcus, Michael and Sloane came into the room.
“Hey, cuz, want me to show you to your room?” Sloane asked as he grinned at her. He came over and flung an arm around her shoulders. Tegan immediately stiffened, her eyes widening as she looked to her father.
“We would like that, thank you,” Leonid answered. “I suggest you remove your arm from yourcuz, before she breaks it,” he added as he walked past them both.
“Serious?” Sloane asked incredulously as he stepped away from Tegan in alarm. The grin she gave him as she walked away after the Vampyre did not settle his nerves. “Hey. How do you know which way to even go?” Sloane yelled as he hurried to catch up.
“This is not my first time here, Sloane,” Leonid said as Sloane caught up to them.
“I guessed that since you’re probably hundreds of years old, buthowwill you know which rooms Michael put you in?”
Leonid paused as he looked at Sloane, taking in his tall frame, broad shoulders and muscular physique. “You take after your father, but you have your mother’s eyes.”
“I know, everyone likes to remind me how much I look like my father,” Sloane grumbled. “But that doesn’t answer my question.” He scowled at Tegan as he saw her smother a smile.