Chapter Twelve
Elodie first set up their “combat training”, which turned out to be several of the water monsters that had nearly drowned Florian when they initially explored Elodie’s domain. They were docile under her command, though; she gave them strict orders to come when called, allow their group to fight with them, and not to grievously injure any of them.
“You may still want to be cautious,” she warned after the mostly shapeless creatures had sloshed back into the nearby swamp. “They can obey simple orders, but that might be a bit complicated for them. If you have to destroy them, do so. They’re tedious to create, but I won’t be too cross about it.”
“Thanks,” Florian said uncomfortably, glad he would be skipping most of the combat training. Hopefully, Kade would agree to just let him spar with the others rather than deal with the water monsters.
“I’ll take a day to try to discover anything new about the Summer Court and the Arrow there,” Elodie continued. “So ifyou can keep yourselves occupied while I do that, Florian, I’ll get you when I’m ready to help you with more of your spirit visions.”
He nodded, and with that, she retreated into her tree while the four of them set up camp in the clearing. The ground was damp beneath them, but a few extra blankets underneath kept their sleeping bags relatively dry, and Florian could magic out any lingering moisture from their other belongings.
Then it was time for combat training; Kade had them all spar with each other first before facing any of the water monsters. Koji had seemed pretty handy with a sword when they’d encountered monsters in the Blight before, but Florian hadn’t really seen Rune fight. He assumed she’d had at least some sort of training with weapons, but she didn’t seem very confident with the sword Kade handed her.
“I have a spear,” she said, looking dubiously at the blade. “Can I use that instead?”
Kade paused, as if it hadn’t occurred to him to use anything but a sword. “Sure. I don’t have much experience with a spear, though.”
She grinned. “Guess we can all learn something, huh?”
Kade had Florian and Koji spar first, while he and Rune faced off. It all felt pretty routine for Florian by now, although it was strange not to have Kade watching them and giving pointers.
“So what is it that you and Elodie will be doing?” Koji asked as they slowly exchanged blows, each of them watching the match between Kade and Rune with more interest. Florian chuckled nervously.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I’d imagine we’re going to do that liminal space thing I did with her the first time. But maybe she’ll show me how she predicts the future, too. That would be pretty cool, wouldn’t it?”
“Seems exhausting,” Koji replied, shaking his head. “That sort of knowledge should stick with the witches, I think.”
How different was he from Elodie, though? Florian held back a frown at the thought. Where did the line exist between a fae using old magic, and a full-blown witch?
A quick strike from Koji snapped him back to attention, the dragon shifter smirking at him mischievously.
“Don’t think too hard,” he teased, and Florian grinned as he parried the next hit.
They went for a little longer, then paused to watch as Kade and Rune’s match seemed to reach a fever pitch. She was proving to be quite deft with her spear, stabbing and leaping and dodging much easier than Kade seemed to be slashing and blocking. But Florian could see the way his eyes analyzed everything Rune was doing, storing it away—he was far more focused on learning how to fight against a spear than he was on winning. Rune had a smug grin on her face though, certain she would win their first contest.
And she was right; after a moment, Kade held up a hand, stepping back and wiping sweat from his brow.
“Good match,” he panted as she whooped, pumping her free fist into the air.
“Told you I knew my way around a spear,” she laughed, and he nodded, a hint of a smile in his eyes. Florian bit back a grin. Something told him their next fight would be quite different.
Florian woke the next morning sore all over from their training, but eager to see what Elodie had planned for them, too. The door to her home was firmly shut when he checked on it, though, a squat mushroom standing up from the trunk of the tree in place of the doorknob that had been there the day before. Dejected, he joined the morning exercises Kade was leading, but he keptlooking back at the tree, wondering when Elodie would summon him. Hopefully before they practiced against the monsters instead of each other.
“Florian,” Kade called to him, after he’d paused in the middle of stretches for the third or fourth time to look over his shoulder at the tree. The wolf shifter’s voice was stern, and despite Florian’s apologetic grin, he could tell Kade was annoyed with him. Thankfully, he spared them both the embarrassment of chiding him in front of the others, only adding, “Stay focused.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Florian replied, nodding. “You’re right. I’m focusing.”
This time, Kade paired him with Rune for sparring matches. He’d never fought someone using a spear before, so he had to keep his attention on her, or she’d poke him hard in the ribs while still grinning like a maniac. Kade put them together on purpose, he was sure; but at least it kept him from worrying too much about Elodie, and where she was, or what she was doing.
When he had gone with her to that liminal space before, it had felt like no time at all had passed, but it had been three days. Maybe only a few hours had passed for her now, even though it had been almost a day for Florian.
Rune didn’t allow him to dwell on it too much, though, stabbing and swiping at him relentlessly. Fighting against a spear felt entirely different from sparring with Kade or Koji, and it took a while to figure out how to effectively parry a stab as opposed to a swipe. But after he showed some ability to stand against her attacks, Rune harried him with advice as well. As brusque as she could be, Rune was just as good at teaching Florian how to fight as she had been at teaching him how to move as a kraken; and after a few matches, it felt like they were on much more even ground.
“Florian,” Elodie’s voice called from the tree, making him lose his footing, as he whirled around to catch sight of her tall form peeking out from her home. “Come with me, please.”
His heart fluttered with nerves now that she was finally summoning him. With a nod at Rune, he set down his practice sword and jogged toward the tree—Kade intercepted him, though, looking worried.
“Be careful,” Kade said softly to him, frowning. “Alright? And keep us updated. Don’t go disappearing for three days without saying something.”
