Before Dragontail, I would’ve gone swimming in the river or the pools of the Glass Castle, letting the water cool whatever was simmering inside me. But the green uniform had given me something else, something sharper. A way to release everything my tutors had tried to teach me to swallow.
When I stepped onto the terrace, the bright blue sky filled my lungs. I breathed deep, letting the warmth recharge what magic I had left. Wrapping my hands, I focused on the punching bags in the corner, already picturing the rhythm of my fists.
But then a scent stopped me mid-motion.
Honey and jasmine.
My body froze, turning before I could stop myself, my heart pounding and apprehension tightening my chest.
Lorik Draventh stood only a few feet away, bare-chested, sweat-slick on his honey-toned skin, a bottle of water in his hand. He had been working the bags long before I arrived. I had been so lost in my own fury that I hadn’t noticed him at all.
"You," I snapped, fury spilling out.
"You seem tense," Lorik smirked, with that playful edge he had in the tavern. “I need the space to throw some punches and vent,” I said. “Please… go.”
He approached deliberately. "Royal orders don't work on me, Princess." "Please," I said, unable to help it. My heart pounded.
"Why would I? I was here first," he said, mocking.
"You're infuriating. Why are you smiling? I thought you were just a bitter grudge-holder." My voice trembled.
"I saved your life, and you insult me? Some gratitude."
"I thanked you. You did it for yourself." I met his eyes. "We both know that, Moonveil." The title came out like a blade, though a small, shameful part of me hoped it wasn’t true.
"Always have an answer. Always think you've got people figured out," he murmured, stepping closer.
"I kept quiet about your healing potion brewing, so we're even. A Dragontail making potions that most Aurorics can't? That's a secret to keep."
He grinned. "We're even, then. But I'm holding your aphrodisiac potion secret. How does that tally?"
My stomach dropped, dread twisting inside me and sending heat rushing to my face.
He had seen it, the way my eyes had flared red. He knew the potion had pulled me toward him, warping my will, twisting my restraint until I barely recognized myself. Even worse, he had witnessed how I’d lost grip, leaning in, desperate for something I couldn’t name. Heat clawed up my neck as shame rattled through me. Now, he stood steady, every detail of my humiliation resting easily in his hands.
But I wasn’t in the mood for talking, not with the shame of the potion still burning under my skin and the fury from those papers I’d found this morning. The two tangled together, shame and fear mixing into something hotter, sharper. Something that felt a lot like the urge to hit something. So I launched at him, aiming a punch straight at his jaw. He moved effortlessly, letting my fist cut through empty air.
"Feisty today," he almost laughed. "Fight me, not the bag."
“Finally, something we agree on. I’d gladly punch you today,” I muttered, pulling my hair back.
He stepped onto a magic-suppression mat, and I followed. The moment I crossed onto it, the familiar hum of my power snapped off, leaving only muscle, breath, and anger. I lifted my fists and began circling to the right. His hands hung loose at his sides, relaxed, as if he truly thought he could beat me half-asleep.
"So, tell me. What had you worked you up before I got here?” He asked.
“Your magic-bending tricks don’t work here,” I snapped, swinging at him again. He caught my fist midair, fingers closing around it with infuriating ease.
“Control yourself,” he said, releasing me. “Don’t let your emotion control you. I thought we’d established this already.”
"Why did you save me?" I demanded.
"You're no good to me dead."
The words landed wrong, too flat, too fast, too rehearsed. A lie. Or something dangerously close to one.
I launched into another sequence, just like all those late-night practices with the twins. Cross. Hook. Uppercut. Kick. But Lorik blocked every strike with irritating ease.
“I must say, those two red-haired menaces have taught you well,” he said, sounding almost impressed.
