“Theyare beautiful.ButIwon’t be able to use them.”Mywords hitched, my chest compressing.Ihad managed not to think about training, about the cohort.Aboutwhat my injury would mean.Mygood hand flew to the scar on my left arm and understanding crossedAbraxas’ face.
“Perhaps,” he shifted, dropping the cloth holding the swords, and grabbing one in each hand.Hegave them each an easy twirl, and my stomach roiled with jealousy.Butthen he brought the swords together, and with a small maneuver,Iheard them slide and click together.Hehanded them back to me, but now they were one sword, the two single edges aligned to make a double-edged blade about the length of abroadsword, but still much lighter and finer. “Butmaybe it was beneficial you spent so many weeks training one-handed.”
Itook the sword with shaking fingers.ButIheld the grip strongly in my hand.Ittruly was a thing of beauty, still perfectly balanced even with the two swords knit together, the pommel of one extending above the other, to give the sword more length.Ispun it around, going through the motionsIhad been practicing daily for weeks.Ispun on my feet and faced the ocean again, the waters alight with the setting sun.Unfetteredjoy spread through me asIlet the sword guide me, and then it hit me.Ihad seen this cliff before, through another’s eyes.Throughthe eyes of youngAbraxas, who had felt the same overwhelming joy.
Iturned back to the king, “Youhad these made for me?”Henodded his head. “Youwould trust me with them?”
Hewore a devious smile, “WellI’mgoing to have to do a thorough check to make sure you aren’t hiding them anywhere when you come to visit me from now on.”Arrogantass.
“Whydid you bring me here?”
Heshrugged, “Ithought this would be a sufficiently dramatic backdrop.”
ButIsaw it then, the lie.Thisplace was important to him.Mysarcastic reply rose up to my lips, butIbit it back down.Instead,Iapproached him, rose up on my toes, and pressed my lips into his.Iopened my mouth to him, but unlike all our other kisses, it wasn’t a battle, but a soft embrace.Ilet myself linger there too long, before pulling back.Ihad come to need him in a dangerous way, butIknew he had come to need me even more.Icould use that.
Chapter43
Tori
Ireturned to training the following day.Avlynarrived early and tossed some new practice swords at me beforeIhad even fully opened the door.Theyimmediately turned and headed down the hall.Theywere pissed and had every right.Iran after them.
“Avlyn,I’msorry about everything.”Theydidn’t even look at me.
“Saveit,Princess, we’ll work it out in the arena.”
* * *
Theswordsthey had given me were replicas of my new weapon, both in its combined and separate forms.Iwrapped my right hand around the single sword.Itwasn’t heavy, but just the shift in my weight caused my left arm to throb.ButIdid my best to shove that away, asAvlynalready stood across from me, ready to duel.
Theyraised their sword, “Readyyourself,” and then they struck.Iwas slow, much too slow, and barely managed to parry once before they struck me hard across the right arm.
Istumbled, but still,Avlynwas on me.Iheard concerned mumbling from the crowd asIstaggered to my feet, barely managing to blockAvlyn.Wehad never dueled before, andIknew nothing about their style, but it didn’t matter.Ayoungling could have beaten me at this point.
Itried to parry a strike, but my weakened muscles gave out beforeIcould, and my body twisted, leaving me exposed.Avlynmercilessly lunged again.Theblow landed right across my scar, and a scream broke from me.Istumbled to my knees, clenching the injury.
“Commander, don’t you think that’s enough?”ItwasKaleos’ voice.Icould feel the whole cohort shifting uneasily, butAvlynpushed past him, sword raised.
“Youalmost died, you idiot.Don’tyou know what that would have done?”Theyswung at me again, andIbraced, butIheard a crack asKaleosstruckAvlynhard across the jaw from the side.Theyfell to their knees beside me, our faces only a few inches apart. “Don’tyou know what that would have done to him?”Myheart stopped.
“Goodthing you saved me.”
Theyschooled their features to neutral, “NotsureIagree.”
Welocked eyes, neither of us backing down. “Whydid you really have me duel him,Avlyn?”
“Whyare you really fucking him,Princess?”Iwas taken aback.
“Noneof your fucking business.”
“Oh, it very much is.”Butwe both just stared at each other for a few more moments.
Finally,Avlynbroke, “Alright, all of you, back in lines.Enoughfun for one day.Oh, not you,Princess.YouandKaleosare on weapons maintenance today.”
IheardKaleosmumble, “Whyme?”
“That’swhat you get for hitting a superior officer,Lieutenant.Now, don’t make me tell you again.
* * *
