He shoves me, and I stumble forward, before picking myself up to march the path along to the training area. At least I’ll see Ten. The memory of his words last night gives me comfort—comfort that’s laced with steel to give me the will to continue. To keep fighting.
Fenix being in a bad mood doesn’t play to our advantage, and it’s only the morning—the sun won’t set for hours—so we’ve no chance of overthrowing him now.
“The Usher tells me you’ve been practising your sword skills. Good to know. You’ll demonstrate today.” His voice is flat and icy.
“Only for a day!” I scoff. Fenix doesn’t look back at me. He just stops on the lip of the training ring. Two swords are speared into the ground at the centre of the ring. But Ten and Crimson aren’t anywhere to be seen.
“Are you still in the cave?”I push the thought to Ten.
“No. We’re here. Can’t you see us?”
“What have you done to me?” I demand from Fenix.
“Interesting. You know they are here, even though we’ve cloaked them. How?” He chooses to turn to me then.
“I can feel them, that’s all. Is this part of the training? You want me to fight blindfolded?”
“I don’t think you’re ready for that. But I do expect you to actually fight this time. And listen to me very carefully—” He grabs my wrist and yanks me toward him, no care if we have contact or not. “I have offered you every possible chance to do this the easy way. Together. Like family. And you have fought and vested me at every step. No more.” His words cut my confidence and reduce me back to the girl who was left trembling on the floor of The Court on her first visit.
But I was also the girl who stood up for herself and refused to back down.
I am his weakness. We know this, and his words are just more confirmation of this. More ammo for me to use against him, so I take the hurt and brush it away like the dust clinging to my clothes.
Fenix signals across the ring, and several of his men suddenly become visible, hidden by their own magic, perhaps. They step aside, revealing Crimson and Ten.
One of them pushes Ten forward, and I mirror his steps into the ring.
“Show me how you’ve improved. If you’re no good, your friend’s skill as a teacher will no longer be needed.”
Crimson’s retort is cut off, and I watch as she’s lifted, just a little off the ground by an invisible force that is Fenix. The tips of her boots drag and struggle for purchase in the sand.
“Fenix. Leave her alone.”
“No. We’re done. Now, fight. You need to learn the consequences of your actions.” Fenix keeps his stare on Crimson, but raises his left arm, and I watch as Ten is dragged towards the sword.
“Don’t do this,” I plead.
“Be grateful that they are still alive. After your little trick in camp, I should have punished you and let these two rot in their cell. You’ve seen what I can do, even to people who work withme, or have you forgotten Micah? These two are my prisoners, and it would be much easier for them both to be dead.”
“No!” I step forward and turn my back to Ten.
“Don’t forget that while I would like you by my side in our plan. I do notneedyou, Sister. Something the Usher is always so quick to remind me. Now, pick up your sword and fight him.”
Enduring this once was too much. But as I watch Crimson dangling from an invisible noose around her neck, I can either fight Ten or risk fighting Fenix, while both Ten and Crimson are under his control. There’s too much at stake, so I swallow down my fear and grab the blade at the edge of the ring.
Ten’s movement forward isn’t jittery or stuttering like it was before. It’s swift and easy, and he’s coming straight at me.
“Ten!” I lift my own blade, gripping the hilt in both hands, just as Crimson taught me, to shield against the strike. I catch his blade, my arms tensing and struggling to hold him off, but I do, and I swing the blade to one side, pulling his sword with me. But he doesn’t rest. He rallies and moves to strike again. To the left. To the right.
There’s no holding back. I’m forced to swing my blade at him to meet him stroke for stroke, to try and push him back. Only he doesn’t move. His feet are planted, and his swordsmanship is as if he’s fighting of his free will.
One glance at the strain around his eyes, the haunting look in his eyes, and I know it’s not him. This is Fenix and his vengeance against me.
How dare I do as they want and use my own magic? My power, gifted from Aslendrix. My own will. How dare I do something they haven’t meticulously orchestrated for their benefit?
I raise my sword and catch the next strike from Ten, but he’s too quick, and he pivots and glides the blade through the air at a lower angle, right against my thigh. The metal slices throughmy trousers and deep into my skin. I look down and see a red-ish stain leaking through in a matter of seconds, but the pain is more of a numbing sensation radiating down my leg.
“Ever!” Crimson calls out from across the ring, but she’s soon cut off. With my attention on her, I don’t see Ten as he attacks again. I’m stationary this time, and his aim is set on my arm, offering a matching wound to the one he inflicted last time. This isn’t a little nick, though. It slices deep and seizes everything along my left arm. Heat and pain explode at the cut, and seep down to my elbow.
