Black Orchid by Abigail Owen Page B

her. She’d found one on
martial arts. She figured that if the applied movements didn’t help her relax,
the meditation might. But at the very least she’d be doing something .
And that was better than nothing.
    For
the first time since she opened her eyes in the castle courtyard, Adelaide felt
eager to learn something new.
    She
hopped out of bed and quickly dressed in the exercise gear Lila had included in
the clothing she’d sent along. At least, based on magazines of current fashion,
Adelaide assumed what she was wearing was exercise-related clothing. It was
comfy if nothing else.
    She
headed outside and propped her book up against an old tree stump. After a few
minutes of studying, she started working on some of the moves. At first she
felt like a complete fool. Again, she thanked heaven no one was there to see
her. But as the motions came more easily, she settled into it. Even kind of
liked it. After a few hours, she had to admit that she at least felt a little
better.
    Hands
on her hips, she said, “Well, I’m not sure I feel calmer, but at least I’m
controlling something. Even if it is just my body.”
    Suddenly,
Adelaide caught the sound of a slight rustle behind her. A shiver of foreboding
raced up her spine.
    Slowly,
her heart in her throat, she eased around to face the source. She sort of hoped
her ears were just playing tricks on her. But a guy stood on the edge of her
property, maybe about fifty feet away. Instinctively, she crouched into one of
the defensive poses she’d been practicing all morning.
    “Stay
back!” she yelled in as commanding a voice as she could muster. “Who are you?”
    He
said nothing and made no move to come closer. Adelaide eyed the stranger warily.
He couldn’t be more than sixteen at the most. Tall and lanky as only teen boys
could be, the kid had dark hair that hung in greasy clumps into his face.
    Was
he lost?
    Adelaide
dismissed the idea as quickly as she’d had it. The Outback was a huge place,
and, according to her parents, she was in one of the more remote areas where people
were few and far between. No chance in hell this guy had just stumbled across
her by accident.
    But
she also couldn’t immediately act on her assumption that he was Svatura of some
sort either. She’d just decided to ask him if he needed help when a deep growl
ripped from his throat.
    A
string of swear words that would do Lila proud sprang through Adelaide’s mind
as the hairs on her arms stood up. Definitely someone with powers of some kind.
And hostile.
    Shit.
Shit. Shit. What should she do? He was a wolf metamorph, based on that growl. Even if he
wasn’t wolf, he was some kind of deadly animal. She glanced toward the house
and immediately rejected the idea of making a run for it. No doubt his animal
form would beat her in a race. And running might trigger his predator instinct.
    Likely,
he didn’t know that she was essentially useless when it came to her powers. The
shaking had started up the moment she’d seen him, but Adelaide held it in
check. If she had to, she’d let the dragon out. But she’d never come back from
it, so that was a last resort only.
    The
boy lowered his chin, his hard gaze drilled into her, and something in his
expression turned predatory. God, this must be what it felt like to be an
antelope when a lion had it in its sights.
    The
stranger took a single, menacing step forward.
    Adelaide
held her ground, despite her instinct to run. She put her hands up. “Stop!” she
yelled. “Don’t come any closer. I don’t want to have to hurt you!”
    His
lip curled into a sneer.
    “Take
another step toward the lady, and I’ll do something about it.” Without any
other warning, another man stepped into view.
    Adelaide
choked back the fear as well as the scream bubbling to the top of her throat.
What was going on here?
    The
greasy kid didn’t take his eyes off her. “Not your fight, man.”
    “I’m
making it my fight.”
    Adelaide
gave the new arrival a swift look.