Page 7 of Ramiel

Chapter Five

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“COME ON ALREADY,” WYNTERsaid with a scowl and poked her belly.“Aren’t you tired of being trapped inside my womb?Don’t youwantto be born?”

Grace snickered beneath her breath when she heard Wyn complaining in the great room.“You still have around a week to go, mama,” she reminded the redhead as she entered the room.

Wynter’s scowl deepened and she let out a dramatic sigh.“I want to get back to training,” she said.They’d finished building the ensuites and every bedroom was now complete.Everyone except the water manipulator had resumed their regular routines.Wyn wasn’t as agile now that she was so huge.

Angel was sleeping on her stomach while she watched TV.Wynter moved slightly and the feline snapped awake.Yowls issued from the growing kitten when she spotted Grace before the teen could dart out of the room.

“Damn it!”Grace muttered.“I shouldn’t have lingered.”

“Did Qi send you to check on me?”Wynter asked.

“Yep,” the tiniest cambion admitted as Angel launched herself off Wynter’s stomach towards her.

“Ouch!”Wyn exclaimed when the cat’s claws sank into her skin through her maternity dress.“You furry little monster!”

Grace deftly caught Sin’s pet and put Angel on her shoulder.“Do you need anything while I’m in the kitchen?”she asked.

“Bring me some candy,” Wynter requested.“And soda,” she added.

Zoe had suffered from excessive heat through most of her pregnancy and Wyn was the same.Xanthia had set up an air-conditioning unit on wheels that blasted cold air at her.It ran on magic and she took it everywhere she went.Zo was annoyed that their resident electronics guru hadn’t thought of setting one up for her when she’d been expecting.

Grace put her hand over the ear Angel was screaming into as she left the room and headed just up the hall to the kitchen.The kitten leaped to the floor and circled her like a shark sizing up its prey as she took cat food from the fridge.“How have you not deafened yourself, Angel?”she asked, spooning food into a small dish.Angel devoured the fish like she hadn’t eaten in twelve hours rather than two.

Grabbing a candy bar and a can of soda, Grace loped back to the great room.Wynter gave her a huge smile when she handed the goods over, then went back to watching her TV series.It was about a couple of hot guys who hunted monsters for a living.

Returning to the females’ training room, Grace watched her sisters in action.Xanthia’s combat skills hadn’t improved much.She could throw a punch and defend herself to some extent.As for shooting and knife throwing, Vic had almost given up on her several times.The others were far better.Both Reegan and Bria were surprisingly good with crossbows.The newest arrivals were fitting in well.Each new pair of knights and cambions added to their overall strength and boosted everyone’s abilities.

“You’re up, short stuff,” Vic said as her session with Oaklie ended.

“Awesome,” the teen said with a huge grin.

Oak climbed out of the boxing ring, wiping sweat off her brow.“I can’t wait to show Ark what Vic taught me today,” the wood manipulator said.The females often practiced with their mates when they had some downtime.

Climbing through the ropes, Grace glanced over at the ring in the opposite corner.Zoe was sparring with Qiana.The doc was a bit taller, but their matriarch had developed some serious fighting skills.

Sensing her trainer rushing towards her, Grace moved with the speed no one else could match.Suddenly standing behind Vic, she kicked the tall, muscular cambion behind her knee.Going down, Victoria turned her fall into a graceful roll and leaped to her feet again.She spun around and her fist shot towards her opponent.A foot shorter and much faster, Grace easily avoided the blows that came her way.It was pointless for her to try to hit Vic.Her teacher’s main talent was anticipating what people were going to do before they did it.The only way Grace could beat her was to use her speed to get behind her.Vic couldn’t anticipate what she couldn’t see coming.

The pair fought in a blur, then Grace accidentally stepped straight into a full-force punch.Vic’s fist connected with her cheek and the teen was thrown across the ring.She hit the ropes and fell to the mat, groaning in agony.

“Fudge!”Vic shouted in horror.“Doc!I need you!”

Qi vaulted over the ropes and raced across the room to leap into the other boxing ring.Vic had fallen to her knees next to the kid and gently rolled her onto her back.“She’ll be okay,” the doctor said, then put her hand on Grace’s shoulder.Power flowed into the littlest cambion and her fractured cheek healed.