So beautiful. My eyes were drawn to her ass again.Godsdammit.
“The retinue from Samyr should be here within the month for the Vessel exchange.” She wrinkled her nose and my cock deflated at the reminder of my fate tied to a Vessel that was not Faylinn. “And, interestingly enough, Torin d’Eshu showed up with the refugees asking to join the Academy.”
Lex frowned. “Should I know that name?”
I shook my head. “No, but you will. I want you to keep a close and personal eye on both him and Ellowyn. They’ll be in the same training class; he’s powerful but something just feels . . . off about him. He was originally engaged to Ellowyn”—Lex’s eyebrows hit his hairline—“and I wouldn’t put it past him to cause some sort of disruption so he can whisk her away from Vespera.”
Lex nodded his head. “That would make sense. Especially with her coronation coming up soon.”
“Right. That’s set to happen right after I’m Bonded. So within the month. Faylinn and I will be present, but no one else. He wants it . . . private.”
“Secret, you mean.”
I shrugged and sighed. “At this point, I don’t knowwhathe wants or why he is making certain decisions. It’s erratic at best and ill-thought-out at worst. He’s becoming a danger to this city, to Elyria.”
“And if he becomes too dangerous?” Lex probed.
“Then I’ll do what has to be done. Just as I always have.”
Faylinn chewed her lip and Lex didn’t seem fully convinced, but he didn’t question it.
“There is more . . .” he hedged, and I gestured for him to continue. “Ellowyn’s training. Illyas helped her separate the strands in her chest?—”
“That’s who helped her? Interesting,” Faylinn mused, jotting something down in her journal.
“You know about this?” Lex asked, and Faylinn nodded.
“Yes. I know she has, what she thinks, are four distinct strands of power in her well reserves. It seems highly unlikely, but I’m keeping a watch on it.”
Lex hummed. “She said she could feel the pain of the refugees as we passed them on our way to Cellia. And I fell asleep much too quick, my dreams too pleasant, after everything we witnessed in that city, yet I didn’t release any Pleasure Magic and there were no other Pleasure Mages with us.”
“What are you saying, Lex?” I asked, my voice carrying a hard edge as my hand shook slightly. Even Faylinn’s normally dark complexion was paling.
“I’m saying she doesn’t just wield the powers of Creation and Destruction”—he took a deep breath—“I think she’s also a Pleasure and Pain Mage.”
Chapter 62
Lex
ONE MONTH LATER
Istood on the dais of the training grounds, hands clasped behind my back, feet shoulder-width apart, watching hawkishly as the cadets divided into groups of four and began to strategize a plan of attack. Today was the first time the new cadets would have the opportunity to conduct a mock mission—two groups were pitted against each other in a battle to capture the other’s flag before their entire task force was eliminated. Cadets were not allowed to use killing blows—only aiming to strike or briefly incapacitate—and we’d outfitted each of the cadets with a special vest that used a series of complex runes to register magical strikes.
It was an amazing combination of magic and design, and was one of the projects Faylinn took on a few months ago. For years cadets would simply strike at each other, singing tunics and practically drowning each other—a few were even impaled by stray stick arrows—and this addition from Faylinn’s brilliant mind not only allowed us to keep our cadets from the majority of harm, it allowed for multiple rounds of the game because of fewer injuries.
I allowed the cadets to pick their task forces today and was incredibly surprised when Ellowyn chose the same Mages she’d drifted toward while on the mission to Cellia. Leal was a low-level Air Mage with really only the ability to create a semi-decent shield for a very finite amount of time, while the twins had a moderate command over Fire and Earth. Her selection was almost immediate, her gaze only flicking to Torin d’Eshu once before she moved to grab her partners.
There was something different about her since Cellia, something harder, though I couldn’t put my finger on what directly caused the change. Even now, as she drew a crude diagram of the training yard in the compacted dirt, there was a flinty edge to her expression. She was taking this training mission seriously, which was not something I could say for the majority of groups. There was way too much laughter and banter for my tastes, especially with news of the gods slowly creeping northward—a fact that was now public knowledge.
Eventually this would all come to a head, and these cadets would have a baptism by fire. Better for them to be prepared now, to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and iron out any kinks in the way their task force moved before the gods inevitably showed up on our doorstep.
As the sun moved closer to the midpoint across the horizon, I watched as most groups lazed about, their strategy complete and ready for testing, but my eyes were glued to Ellowyn’s group. Over and over, she made her Mages move around as if they were anticipating what moves the other task force would make. It became clear that while Ellowyn had little knowledge of strategy or battle, she had drive and perseverance—two intangible qualities that I simply couldn’t teach. Military strategy I could instruct and help her hone, but the ability to lead and thewantto learn would take her further in the Academy than anything else.
If Lord d’Refan lets her stay for that long.
The runes Faylinn etched on her skin were nearly indecipherable, fading almost completely, which meant her power was at nearly full capacity, and I was more than intrigued to see if my hypotheses were correct. It’d been nearly a month since my conversation with Rohak and Faylinn about my fears regarding Ellowyn’s powers and, so far, I had yet to see anything that confirmed or denied my thoughts. Today, of any day, would be the time she would inadvertently release her other magics, if she evenhadaccess to Pain and Pleasure.
I tore my eyes from Ellowyn’s group and focused on Torin’s task force. He was running them through drill after drill, sweat beading on their brows and causing shirts to stick to their backs in the approaching summer’s heat. The cadets were all significantly younger than Torin, and I wondered if they were following his orders simply because they were terrified of him. Over the last few weeks, Torin had demonstrated an immense control of Fire, his blazes hotter and brighter than anything I had ever seen, yet I had the distinct gut feeling that he was holding back somehow. His knowledge of military strategy rivaled that of even Rohak, and I secretly, desperately, wanted to see a showdown between my beloved General and this southern lord.
