“I did. I did. But, you see, when you are believed to be insane, no one takes you seriously. Have you found the way below?”
“No.”
“What the hell have you been doing all this time in the capital?”
"What are the chances that what we saw will repeat itself exactly the same way?"
“The chance may be high or low, but would that changeanything? Now that you know it’s possible, I dare you to try to forget about it and move on.”
The old man had a point. It really did not matter if that happened or not, since the probability was there, and the weakness of Darragh’s defenses was evident.
“I better return to the castle.”
“I suppose there’s no chance for me to ever get that house?” He scratched his beard.
“Only if you build it yourself.” I shifted to my true form and soared away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
ALINA
Days followed one after the other, and my body still refused to get stronger, making me feel like it was slowly but surely winning. I was not advancing fast enough. Both Frid and Cara could do so many things that I could never dream of doing. One day, when we were practicing defense flying, I watched Cara’s dark suit molding into the familiar dragon shape within just moments. I could never do that, I had to think about it, concentrate on it, and then my change took a substantial amount of time. To make matters worse, Cara could not join us every day because of her work, but she still progressed much faster than me.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Some people arenaturally good at certain things. You’re just good at other things.” Frid meant to cheer me up, but accomplished the opposite.
“What, precisely, am I good at?” I frowned.
“You’re good at all the girly stuff.”
“Girly stuff?”
“I don’t know... Walking, holding your little finger out when you pick up your cup, dressing nicely.”
“I feel so useless.” I crouched, wrapping my arms around my knees and burying my face.
“You’re not useless, just advancing a little slower than the others.”
“I want to die.”
“You’ll get there, don’t worry,” Frid said. “Let’s switch to blades.” She picked up two swords, wrapped in a thick cloth.
I stood up, preparing my stance, when she extended an arm with a sheathed sword, placing it in my hand.
Swords were a little easier. I had spent my childhood watching my older brother perfecting his skills, and my fiance loved showing me how to handle a blade. That was the only area where I improved faster than Cara.
“How come Tynan doesn’t have a sword?” I asked in between exercises.
“You can’t take your mind off the guy even for an hour?” Frid smirked.
“Of course not.” Then I quickly changed the subject. “I just noticed that all of you have a weapon you prefer. You like your sword, Victor likes his sword but I’ve heard he is also very good with his bow, and Sol has his axe.”
“When we were training, every new weapon had to be earned. Meaning we had to win first to get everything the other person had.”
“But what if you lose? How do you fight next time?”
“If you lose, you could always pick from the items that were less desirable. We had a rack with sticks, knives, and other useless items. Since Tynan was forced to participate, he lost quite a bit, especially in the beginning. He learned to rely on his knives, because they were always available, even after he lost again and again.” Frid made a slicing motion with her arm.
The soft sunlight reflected on the surface of our blades as we practiced combinations together. When the sun was nearing the horizon, both of us walked back to the castle. On the way back, we passed a gathering of men of various ages training together. My eyes darted from one figure to another looking for Tynan. I spotted Sol who was speaking with a pretty, dark eyed girl. His axe rested on his shoulder, and his usually serious face stretched into what could almost be called a rare smile. For a moment I forgot what I was saying, shocked by the view.
