Standing at the edgeof the fields, we watched as Finnian took part in training combat with Gage, and other pairings mimicked their stances down the valley. Nox let out a few chirps as he flew overhead, observing the lessons along with us, his enormous shadow looming over the terrain—we were thankful that the soldiers were growing more comfortable in his presence.
“Come to see the show? I just finished my sparring,” Landon said as he walked up to us. “Zaela’s down at the other end of the field, assigning new pairings.”
“This matchup is hardly fair,” I huffed.
“It will be significantly less fair on a battlefield, Elianna,” Veli hissed.
A horn sounded, and each pair made their moves to strike. The sound of clashing swords echoed through the fields as the combat matches began. The reverberatedtingingsounds of steel on steel rang through my ears as Gage expertly swung his sword at my brother, slower than he would in an actual battle.
Gage's years of experience and the training I would like to consider I attributed to were evident in the grace with which he moved.
On the other side, Finnian worked to counter each strike, but his movements were slow—tooslow. My heart thudded as I watched his face. His eyes were focused, determined to prove himself against a seasoned warrior, but it was apparent that he would never last a day fighting in the war.
“His footwork is all over the place,” Jace grumbled at my side as my brother tried to recover from rolling his ankle.
“Move your feet, Finn!” I ordered, and he shot me a look of disapproval over his shoulder.
Finn’s gaze burned with ambition, but I knew in my heart I would never be able to live with myself if I allowed him to set foot on the battlefield.
The crowd of onlookers watched in hushed silence until Avery approached me. “I don’t know who to even root for,” she joked, but I could barely muster up a smile.
Gage struck once more, disarming Finn in an instant and sending his sword flying off to the side of him. Our second-in-command then lightly placed the tip of his blade to the center of my brother’s armor and gave him a nod.
They both turned to us as they worked to catch their breath. I pressed my lips together as I forced an awkward smile while they moved to approach us.
“What do you suppose we do?” I asked Veli.
“I have a plan,” she answered. “But he is not going to like it.”
My nostrils flared as I glanced her way and then back to my brother.
“And what might that be, Veli?” Jace asked as his stare remained on the two of them.
“Let me train the boy to be a healer.”
Both of our eyes snapped back to her.
“A healer?” I said.
“He would still be close to the battle but not on the fields where death would certainly find him. He wishes to be made useful—this is a way that saves him and helps others,” she declared.
“I am inclined to agree,” Jace stated.
“You’re right. He definitely won’t like that,” Landon chimed in from where he stood off to the side. “But I also agree.”
Gage and Finn reached us then.
“I’m sorry, Lia,” Finn started. “I’ll do better next time, I promise.”
I gave him a soft, tight-lipped smile.
“It's okay, Finny-boy.” Gage clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll continue to work on both your sword and footwork.”
Finn rolled his eyes in response, but his demeanor quickly changed as Landon stepped up to him and kissed him on the cheek, forcing a blush from him.
“Can we talk, Finn?” I asked quietly.
His eyes wandered over me, and he let out a sad chuckle. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
