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“Training isn’t just to keep you sharp. It’s to show our crew you fight beside them both here and out on our quests. It isn’t just about you, Lilith.”
Damn. He has me there.
My shoulders sag, and I flop my head back in defeat.
“Fine. I’m sorry for being late, oh great general. It won’t ever happen again,” I say, and he relaxes his fists. “Unless I oversleep again because we both know I like to sleep, so it’s bound to happen,” I joke.
I’m quick on my feet as Nyx lunges for me. I barely dodge his grasp, but when I do, I run to the table of practice swords, laughing the whole way. Nyx recovers and chases after me with an evil grin plastered across his face, which tells me this sparring session is going to be brutal.
I pick up a sword from the table and spin into a defensive stance, ready for whatever blows he’s going to lay on me. I continue to walk backward, away from the table, never taking my eyes off Nyx. He grabs a sword of his own, twirling it in the air before securing a tight grip on the handle.
“Is this punishment for oversleeping or for being gone for a week without your knowing where I was?” I ask as we dance in a circle, each with our wooden blades ready for the first attack.
He tilts his head to the side.
“Why would I be punishing the dear queen for anything?” he answers in a mocking tone. “I’m merely the general of her guard. You know, whose entire life’s purpose is to keep said queen from being harmed?”
He’s always pissed when I leave, but this time I was gone longer, and I knew there would be payback when I returned.
Unexpectedly, Nyx starts to charge toward me like an out-of-control bull. I spin, narrowly escaping from his enormous body crashing into mine. I raise my sword, ready to deliver a blow to his side, but he blocks it.
We continue to battle in a flurry of strikes. The problem with training with the same person for ten years is that you know their moves just as well as your own. Neither of us lands any hits as we go back and forth until we are both panting. I bend with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. Nyx is doing the same with his hands laced behind his head.
I huff, “We good? Got it all out of your system now?”
He doesn’t answer me right away, seemingly thinking over the question and whether he wants to go a few more rounds to be sure he’s done.
Thankfully, he nods and says, “Let’s get some water.”
We each grab a mug and gulp it down. I grab another and take a seat in the grass, resting my back on the cold black stone. Nyx plops down beside me.
“What happened to your back?” he asks, and I choke on my water.
Shit.
Looking down at the ground, I stall, trying to gain as much time as possible to come up with a believable excuse. I lean my head back against the wall.
“I had a nightmare last night. I must have fallen out of the bed onto my back because when I came to, I was trying to crawl backward up the wall of my room,” I lie.
I often have nightmares, so the lie isn’t far-fetched. Anyone who has dealt with the pain and torture I have would have nightmares.
“Which one was it this time?” he asks, knowing me all too well.
I don’t tell him all my nightmares. There are some things I don’t even want to speak about.
“I can’t remember. It felt like a few of them teamed up for one truly awful dream to welcome me back to Umbra properly,” I reply as Nyx slowly nods his head in understanding.
I take the mug from Nyx and place both in a bin to take back in with us when we are done.
“Ready to do some actual training with the crew?” I ask, hitching a thumb toward our guards who are going through multiple stances in pairs.
“Yes, that sounds like a good plan,” he answers, and we walk over to our crew.
As we near, they all pause and line up for our daily training exercises.
Their smiling, sweaty faces bring me joy I never thought I’d feel. My crew. My people—a group of misfits from all over the realm, here to defend the kingdom we all now call home. I lose myself in training for the rest of the day—a welcome distraction from the lingering pain in my heart.
