Itook a deep breath. “Closeyour eyes.Now, breathe with me.Focuson my voice.Imaginethe blood flowing through your body and how the current moves and keeps you alive.Followthat stream to your heart; let it settle there.Doyou see the light?Letit flow to your fingertips.”Avlyn’sbreath steadied, and the glyphs’ fading green light shifted to a warm, deep amber.
Avlynopened their eyes. “Whoa!Didit work?”
“Itdid indeed.”Icouldn’t keep the grin from my face, and they returned it in earnest. “Itlooks perfect.”
“What, my face?”Avlynpointed to themselves, and their contagious grin grew more mischievous.
BeforeIcould think about it, my hand flew out and smacked them on the chest.
“Whoa, easy there hellcat,”Avlynlaughed. “Gladto see you’ve still got some energy, as we still have three more of these to go!”Theypointed to an even smaller tunnelIhadn’t noticed.
Igroaned; my back twinged at just the thought of stooping over again.Suddenly, the dungeons really didn’t seem so bad.
Aswe finally crawled out ofthe last tunnel back into the castle proper,Isaw the sun cresting the horizon through the floor-to-ceiling windows lining the hall we entered.Iwas exhausted and covered in dust and sweat, but somehow,Ifelt satisfied.Thesatisfaction of a task earned through hard work.Fora moment,Ibasked in the feeling, forgetting just how worthlessIwas.
“Well, that’s a job well done.Lookslike we won’t have any more late-night visitors.Well, except for the ones we invite, that is.”Avlynwinked at me, andIturned away to hide the blush that rose up on my face.WhatwasI, a youngling again?
“Sorrythat you won’t be able to foist me off onto someone else so easily now,Commander.”Isaid still unable to face them.
“Pallas…”Avlynplaced their finger under my chin and, ever so gently, turned my face to look at them. “LikeIsaid before,Iwon’t let any harm come to you.Ofany kind.”
Icouldn’t stand their kind gaze. “Why?”I’myour enemy.I’mworthless.I’mnothing.
“That’swhatIdo.Iprotect those who need protecting.”Theirsmile was soft; it cut straight through the crack in my heart that seemed to be eroding like earth after a rainstorm.
“Havea thing for rescuing damsels in distress, huh?”
Theylaughed, “Youcan only rescue someone who wants to be rescued.Doyou want to be rescued,Pallas?”
Ididn’t answer becauseIdidn’t know the answer.
Avlyngave me that soft smile again. “Whenyou figure it out, let me know, andI’llbe first in line.”Theytook my hand and placed a soft kiss on my knuckles before heading down the hall, leaving me with my head spinning.
Chapter 18
Tori
Iwoke up next toJun.Myeyes ached from fretful sleep.Ihad used a small bit of magic to calm him, but it felt too similar to the sleeping potions for me to use it more heavily.Hehad tossed and turned all night, but at every fitful awakening,Iassured him he was safe with me.
Nowthat morning broke, he seemed to have finally reached a deep sleep.Icautiously crawled out of bed and closed all the curtains in the room to keep it dark.Pallaswas passed out in a scrunched position on the cramped couch.Shewoke up easily whenIapproached.
“Heseems to be sleeping now.Canyou stay with him?”Shenodded before silently crawling into bed with him.
Igrabbed my sword and left the room; my body ached asIwandered without thinking.Myfeet led me to the beach.Thecrisp morning air was filled with the cacophony of shouting from training soldiers.Myheart steadied.Thiswas what my mind and body understood.Iran to join the back of the ranks, falling into the routine, butIcouldn’t find the stillnessIcraved, even as sweat built on my brow.Mythoughts ran amok.
Webroke for water.Ithad been too long sinceItrained;Iwas entirely unprepared forKaleoswhen he landed a slap on my back.
“Lookwho decided to finally put in some work today,” he laughed asIchoked on the water.Isputtered, and his charming smile only grew.
“I’vebeen a bit preoccupied,Kaleos,”Iexplained, trying to wipe my face on my sleeve.
“Don’tIknow it?Perhapsit’s time for a little distraction?”Hewaggled his eyebrows. “Comeon,Iknow what will cheer you up.”Hetossed a blunted sword at me with an arrogant smile.Hismood was infectious.
“Justyou?I’llneed more of a challenge than that.”Iwinked at him.
“Thereshe is, that cocky assholeIlove.Squareup,Princess.Ican tell you’re rusty; you’ve lost all the definition in your arms.”
Itook a casual swipe at him. “Notall of us spend half the day flexing in a mirror,Kaleos.”Iwas grinning as we circled each other, taking casual swipes.Asthe cold sea air whipped my skin,Ifocused my breathing and found that place of deep peace inside my mind.That’swhen we really began to spar.
