Page 98 of Trust the Fall
“This is Max. He’s one of the reaper guards.”
“Hi,” he says, tipping his chin.
“This is Princess Victoria,” Cat tells him, and every reaper who wasn’t paying us any attention before now swings toward us in shock. “River told me,” she explains. “Should I bow?”
“Good Lord, please don’t. I’m still not quite adjusted to this.”
She smiles. “Something tells me you never will be.”
I laugh. “You’re probably right.”
“Okay,” she says, getting back to the reason we’re all here. “Why don’t you two come with us,” she says, motioning towards a makeshift ring. “We’re working on martial arts. Isn’t that what they call it on Earth?”
I smile. “That’s a blanket term, but yes, that’ll work.”
“Good,” she says, nodding her head one too many times. “Who is your angel friend?” she asks, finally addressing Leeanna.
“This is Lee. She’s my escort.”
“I’m her friend, not her escort,” she says.
“God made her come to chaperone me, so she’s my friendandescort today.” My tone is teasing, but Lee doesn’t appear amused.
“I’m not.”
“She is,” I counter. “Just ignore her. She’s bitter about it.”
Lee glares in my direction.
“Lee, you go with Max. I’ll train with the princess.”
I groan. “Can we maybe just stick with Tori?”
She smiles. “Whatever you want.”
For the next two hours, we train vigorously. Cat is a worthy opponent. Her skills are some of the best I’ve come across. I don’t doubt why Camille made her one of her personal guards.
When we’re done, my body aches and sweat coats my back. Drops of moisture run down my cheeks. I have not felt this good in some time.
“Ah, I had no idea how badly I needed that,” I rush out. “I really need to make sure this happens every day. It’s been killing me not to train.”
“So, you truly hunt demons on Earth?” Cat asks, sounding skeptical.
“I do. I had to contribute something.”
“But from what I’ve heard of Earth, there is so much to do. So much to see. You didn’t have any interest in exploring?”
“You’ve never been to Earth?” I ask, surprised by this revelation.
“No. I lived in another galaxy.”
I know there are other lands, the Fae lands being one, but this is the first time I’ve met someone not of Heaven, Earth, or Hell.
“I’m from a small planet too far for Earth to glimpse even with their fancy telescopes and space travel,” she explains. “It’s similar to Earth’s Scotland in way of terrain, but it’s much smaller. The entirety of my planet is the size of the United States.”
“Interesting. What’s it called?”
“Searfoss.”