I grinned and skipped onto the mat. Sparring was my favorite, and I really, really needed to use all this physical energy in my body before I snapped. “Let’s see what you’ve learned.”

Tomás was still grinning from ear to ear when I charged for him. He squealed and tried to jump out of my way, but I was a trained fighter, so I just slid under him and threw him over my shoulder—Tomás screamed like a banshee. I gasped and looked up just as he slammed into three hanging punching bags, ripping them right out of the ceiling. My eyes widened. I looked down at my hands and cursed. Pink and blue flames coiled around my fingers.

“Fuck. I’m sorry! Are you okay?”

A couple of kids I didn’t know helped him back to his feet. His smile was a little lopsided and he was definitely limping, but he waved at me. “I’m fine. You know, maybe I need to warm up. Hey, Tai, wanna spar?”

“Dammit. I need therapy.”

I turned to find Brody walking onto the mat behind me. “What’s that?”

He chuckled and pulled out two gnarly-looking daggers. “I just watched you throw him like a pillow and yet . . . I wanna go next? I mean, I’ve gotta try out these daggers I just made anyway . . .”

“When in Rome, right?” I reached down to the holsters strapped around my thighs that I never left Headquarters without anymore, then I pulled my sais out and held them up. “Did you see my talismans?”

“Sais. That’s sick, dudette.” He got into a fighting stance and held his daggers up. “Three . . . two . . . one . . . this is Sparta!”

I cackled as he charged for me, which was probably the idea. We went back and forth pushing each other up and down the mat. It was great. My muscles were starting to sing with joy at being used. I grinned as he leapt up in the air, swinging his daggers straight down for me. I crossed my sais and pushed them out in front of me to block his hit when a ball of neon-pink magic flew out of my hands and slammed into his chest. He flipped backwards head over feet twice before he crashed with a thud on his stomach. His daggers hit the lights in the ceiling, causing glass to rain down on us.

“Sorry . . .” I grimaced, then slid my sais back into their holsters and brushed glass off me. “Maybe no weapons today.”

“That was epic,” Brody whispered, bringing my attention back to him. His shirt had been sliced to pieces and his bare chest had a few scratches. “I’ve never been alligator-rolled.”

Birdie rushed over to check his body for injuries. Her cheeks were flushed. I knew she liked him. She cleared her throat. “Maybe we should sit out a round and clean up your mess?”