Captured

He meets my gaze, and I take a step back on instinct. I want to distance myself as much as possible from his eyes. Gleaming. Predatory. Unnatural.

Unfortunately, this singles me out.

"You," he says, the syllable cutting through the silence like a knife. "Catch."

He tosses me one of his swords, and I manage to catch it without fumbling, right on the grip, which immediately molds to my hand. He nods, raising his other one in a fighting stance.

"It's okay," he says with a grin that suggests exactly the opposite. "I'll go easy on you."