“No, you can survive. Defending yourself is only half the battle. You need to learn to attack, anticipate weaknesses and use them against an opponent. Most importantly, you need to practice using those damned shadows. I can feel your panic every time you let them out.”
She tried to calm her anger with a deep exhale.
He gestured toward the bridge, signaling her to go.
She looked at the structure swinging back and forth, and then to the vast emptiness below. Her eyes came back to Theodon. She gulped down the knot in her throat.
“Is it safe?”
“Nothing is safe out here.”
A fair statement.
She walked forward cautiously, fully aware of his eyes on her backside. She gripped the ropes, lightly shuffling board to board until she made it across.
She waited for her heartbeat to steady, placing her hand on her pounding chest. Then she realized that hand felt weightless. Her fingers traveled to her wrist, finding it empty.
“Oh no.”
She turned back. Theodon was gone, and so was her bracelet.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT
Helaina debated running after him, but she didn’t know where he’d gone nor the way back underground.
It’s one night without it, just one night.
She looked up at the stone tower. The building was circular and oddly placed, almost like the lighthouses she had read about standing alone on distant beaches. A small glow of light emanated from a window at the top.
To her surprise, the door was unlocked. She opened it to reveal a long stretch of stone steps. The groan she released echoed up the narrow flight. She took her time as she ascended the steps, favoring her injury until she reached the top.
Two soldiers were indeed waiting for her, one male, one female.
“Welcome.” The female offered a kind smile. “There are spare chest plates over there. I think one should be roughly your size.”
Helaina said nothing as she took in the small room lined with sleeping pads and blankets. A small lantern flickered in the center.
She walked over to the midnight iron spread out on the floor. She picked one that seemed somewhat reasonable, and went back into the stairwell, grumbling to herself how ridiculous this was. She was running on fumes already, and she was expected to stay up all night, then train more the next day.
Helaina returned to the room, where the male was rolling out a third thin mattress. He smiled. “You have it latched wrong, let me help you.” He was smaller than the others she’d met and not nearly as threatening. He walked behind her and adjusted the piece. Surprisingly, the minor change gave her great comfort.
“Thank you.”
He gave a swift nod in answer, then shrugged toward the mattresses. “It’s not like the beds we have underground, but it’s not bad. We sleep in shifts, two awake, one asleep.”
She looked around at their lackluster accommodations. She wanted the feel of a real pillow and a thick blanket.
“I’m Aaron, and this is Agatha.” He smiled again, brushing his brown hair to the side. He looked so familiar. Something in his face she couldn’t place.
“I’m Helaina.”
“We watched your fight.” Agatha spoke up in a mild voice while braiding her thick strands of hair to the side. “Very brave, I wouldn’t want to face Breyer.”
Aaron let out an exaggerated shiver. “Neither would I. She’s a menace in the ring. Remember when she sliced off Dagnon’s thumb?”
Agatha hissed between her teeth at the memory. “Oh, that was brutal.”
How was this considered normal conversation?
