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My pulse quickened. I grunted and attempted to push against him.
Our legs tangled together as we scuffled on the ground, fighting, wrestling, each of us trying to get the upper hand.
Sweat slid down my neck; I tried to free myself, to calm whatever strange sensation filled my chest before it exploded.
But he dominated me. Again and again.
I kicked the inside of his knee as hard as I could, giving me enough time to regain my stance and stagger away from him.
He continued for me—his eyes ablaze. My breaths came more quickly, feeling the heat radiating off him. Off me. “That’s more like it, firefly. Use your anger to your benefit, control it. Don’t let it control you.”
Reach within, Elowyn.
Talon slipped the mitts back on, signaling for me to get back into position.
I threw my fist into the thick leather, releasing all my frustrations, all my doubts into each punch—my breaths coming in sharp succession as I focused on each movement. My body hummed to life, singing to the sound of the deep beat.
Liberated and weightless, I ducked before he could smack me. Jumped before he could trip me. Struck before he pounced. Like running, it was meditative. Gone were my worries about the trials and surviving. I felt powerful, like I actually stood a chance.
“Good girl. Come on, give me four more. Put everything you have left in it.”
His words fueled me, piercing the vast darkness that lived inside me and replacing it with warmth and light. I unleashed everything I had, biting back my delight as his grew wider, his sharp canines digging into his lower lip. Despite our many disagreements, he still rooted for me—took care of me. It was unfamiliar territory. This person—faerie—I’d been told to fear my entire life, despite my reluctance, was growing on me.
Kick.
Duck.
I threw one last punch and collapsed to the ground, the smile never leaving my face while my pulse returned to normal.
Stars, that felt good.
I felt good—and hopeful for the first time since I’d awoken in this vile realm.
The quiet solitude of the library was the perfect reprieve to escape my horrible reality. Just me and faraway lands that provided a temporary bandage to the harsh truth we were forced to face every day.
I propped my feet on the oak table, my nose buried between the pages of a leather-bound book, while Calandra and Breana discussed their latest training sessions.
Stacks of books climbed as high as the vaulted ceiling, and plush, velour seats wrapped around our bodies like silk. It didn’t thwart the looming dread that clung to every inch of my body, or the haunting thoughts of my mortality, but it certainly helped. As twisted as it was, being in this library with Calandra and Breana provided a sense of normalcy. Balance. What better way to remain clearheaded and keep from going mad? Even if I had to pretend.
I flipped the page, deciding we needed to sneak out of our chambers in there more often. I’m sure we could spare thirty minutes after lunch most days.
“What about you, Elowyn?”
Peering up from my book, I settled on Breana and stretched the kink in my neck. “I’m sorry?”
“How’s your training with Talon going?”
Calandra giggled. “Are his abs as delicious as I imagine? Ugh, what I’d give to take one of his punishments.” She waggled her brows.
I bit my cheek, debating if I should tell her they were, in fact, extremely delicious, but kept that bit of information to myself. Admitting it out loud felt like a confession to something I’d been trying to pretend didn’t exist. Feelings that shouldn’t exist.
“Don’t let his looks fool you. He’s bossy and insufferable.” I closed the book, placing it on the table. “And doesn’t seem to grasp human limitations. We’ve struggled to…” I picked at the frayed book spine, pieces of it getting stuck under my nail. “Get along. But I think that’s turning around. Thank the stars too, because we were two minutes away from murdering each other.”
My cheeks warmed. I’d left out the part about Talon healing me and our non-intimate, yet awfully intimate, moment. We might be friends, but they didn’t need to know about that. I couldn’t chance them using it against me or for someone like Aeron or Kelvin, to overhear them talking about it. Not to mention the king.
It’s not like it meant anything, anyway.
“I hear that,” Breana said. “My guard smells like decade-old cheese that’s been left out on a humid summer’s night.” She gagged for emphasis. “Every time he comes within a foot of me, I get lightheaded. To make matters worse, we train outside in the blistering heat, where he can ferment even more.”
