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Chapter 1
Again!” Emrick barks at me across the training arena. He’s crouched down into a defensive stance, a calculating gleam in his eyes as he waits for me to pick myself up. I huff and stand up from my very dignified spot on the ground, brushing the dirt from my ass. A feral growl rips from my throat as I stare him down, too far past frustrated to use real words. We’d been at this for hours and yet I was still getting thrown around like a fucking ragdoll.
“Come on, Queenie! Show him who the baddest fae bitch around is!” Jacob cheers. His encouragement cuts through my anger and I turn to blow him a kiss before getting back in my fighting stance. A wooden dagger is clutched in each hand and I try to push down the magic threatening to bubble up and defend my honor. Or maybe that’s nerves.
Emrick gestures for Bowen to join us, moving to the outside of the arena to watch. It’s kind of a relief, since Bo is at least closer to my size.
Bowen circles around me with his classic mischievous grin on his face. But I try not to let it lighten my mood. I need to be angry for this to work, to stay focused. Because if I don’t kick someone’s ass soon, I’m going to lose my damn mind. But Emrick refuses to keep going until I can properly defend myself. Especially since the Spirits of Faerie had to release some of the wildlife they’d been safeguarding in the spirit realm in order to give the neutral lands fresh resources. We aren’t sure if this extends into the other lands, or just the Court of Spring that’s already cleansed. But apparently taking chances isn’t Em’s style.
Bowen sees that I’m distracted and lunges, but my new fae senses allow me to dodge and get my head back into my training. Emrick doesn’t want me to use magic and weapons at the same time, but I’m tired of losing my matches. Biting back a grin, I let my magic pool into my body, buzzing along my skin. Using a burst of wind, I speed past him, lapping him a few times and trying to knock him off his feet. He catches on and dodges most of them, until I finally have his sexy ass pinned to the ground. He looks at me in shock, which of course means I flash him a triumphant, beaming smile. Before he can stand, I lean down and plant a kiss on his mouth.
“Gotcha.”
“Cheater,” he murmurs, but kisses me back. His chest heaves with the effort and I’m glad I at least caught him off guard. Crawling off of him, I stand up and shrug, completely unapologetic.
“Call me what you want, but I will be using magic out there when I fight," I retort, crossing my arms over my chest in my defiance. “You don’t get to decide how I fight.”
“You’re adorable when you’re angry, but Emrick is going to get you," he teases in his sing-song voice. Groaning, I finally peek at Emrick, who is standing on the sidelines with an exasperated expression, although I can see a bit of pride in his eyes. At least there’s that.
“She has a point, Emrick," Jacob defends lightly. Even he looks a bit worried, but outside of being annoyed with me, I knew that Em would never hurt me. “Well done, Queenie!” His midnight, purple hair shines in the sunlight, catching my attention again. It still startles me at first when I see him, but he looks amazing as fae. Like it was meant to be. I’m just glad turning fae was the only side effect of nearly being killed by a dagger to the chest. The reminder of Gwen’s betrayal is still fresh enough that a wave of anger hits me and I have to push it away.
Walking over to Emrick, I give him my best puppy dog eyes. He returns my gaze with his stoic glare, not the least moved by my silent pleas. He never shifts out of his crossed arm stance, instead he continues to stare at me with emotionless eyes. I hold back an eye roll and lean up to give him a soft kiss.
“I’m tired of failing, big guy. I promise to be good, but you are pitting me against people who trained all of their lives to do this. Out there I will use my magic to save myself. I understand the extra running and exercise, and I understand having to learn proper weapon techniques, but not using magic while fighting will give me a disadvantage.” I’ll always take advice from them, they’re familiar with the lands and fighting. But I’m also desperate for him to see my side, because I’m not going to just make an ass of myself over and over and never touch the magic I’m supposed to use. Even if he’s mad at me, I know he won’t stay that way for long, but I still hate disappointing him.
“Queen Arabella and Gerwyn," Emrick announces. Cringing at the use of my full name and title, I look at him with sad eyes before going to the roped off sparring ring, yet again. Gerwyn will be a better choice to spar with. He at least will go easy on me while I build up my stamina and techniques. How the fuck Em expects me to get better if I don’t even get a chance to even start, is beyond me. I’m a novice fighting seasoned warriors.
After an hour of sparring with my sweet winter knight, I lose most of our matches. But it’s definitely not as awful of a blow to my ego. He holds back and gives me time to try and get hits in. Somehow, I even manage a few non-magically enhanced wins, so I’ll call that an accomplishment.
“Good. Let’s call it a day," Emrick announces as I collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. The last few days of training have taken its toll on my poor body. Going from no exercise to hours upon hours of training, can’t be healthy. Emrick, of course, is being hardest on me. Even if it’s out of a good place in his heart, he’s overdoing it.
“Queenie, you alive in there?” Jacob calls over to me. Making no attempt to move, I simply groan at him in response. I’m too exhausted to even think of something snarky to say. But Jacob won't be laughing when he starts his training tomorrow. He got a small break because he was recovering from his dagger wound. Now he’s fully healed and Emrick knows it.
“Bella, can I help you up?” Gerwyn asks with a sympathetic smile.
“I’m just going to stay here for a bit. I’ll be fine, Wyn," I give him a half-hearted smile and close my eyes for a moment. The breeze feels amazing on my sweat covered body, but the pain radiating fr
om my entire being is overwhelming.
His footsteps recede, leaving me to my exhausted rest. He mumbles something angrily on the sidelines but he’s too far away to make it out and I don’t have the energy to care. His soft footsteps come back and without warning, I’m lifted easily into his arms. Opening my eyes, I give him an annoyed look, but Wyn doesn’t pause.
“Don’t argue with me,” he says, but it’s more of a plea than anything. Giving into my ride back, I snuggle into his chest and humor him. Succumbing to the exhaustion, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep, unable to fight it.
Chapter 2
When I finally wake up from my unintentional nap, it’s already starting to get dark. Shadows dance on the edges of the tent and it’s cooler inside than it is in the afternoon. It was fairly early in the day when I went to bed, and in my groggy state it’s got me disoriented. Shifting to my side, I try to get up, but my body is so sore I can’t follow through. In Silver Forest, I walked every day to and from campus, and our journey to spring was on foot, but that is nothing compared to the physical exertion of training for Em.
“Have you tried using healing magic to lessen the pain?” Wyn asks me. His soft voice startles me enough I jerk away, groaning as my muscles seize up at the abrupt action. He winces in sympathy and I have a feeling he’s been in my shoes.
“Yes, it seems it doesn’t work on me," I groan, resting back against the pillow. Dormy takes that moment to rush forward and nuzzle into my neck. He’s so small sometimes I forget him, but he’s the sweetest companion. “Alright, let me sit up at least,” I announce in hopes that it gives me the confidence to do it. As I try to sit up, my muscles seize on me, sending spasms of pain throughout my body to the point it feels like I can barely breathe. Tears stream down my face and I can’t even find the resolve to feel embarrassed by my weakness. The pain is unbearable. I really have to work on my stubbornness. I should have just told him no.
“I’ll be right back," Gerwyn bites out angrily, and I immediately feel bad for complaining. Shame starts to fill me, but I refuse to let it take hold. The pain is worse than the time I got shot and I’m not exaggerating. Glancing down at my legs, I can see the muscles contracting on their own, my teeth clenched so tight they feel like they’re going to crack.
Wyn returns a few minutes later, with Emrick in tow. Em looks like a boy who just got lectured, and if I wasn’t a ball of pain I would laugh. Gerwyn likely scolded him the entire way back and I have a feeling my winter knight has a sharp tongue.
“Sorry, Bella. Apparently, I pushed you too hard. I just want you to be safe and able to defend yourself," Emrick mumbles in his deep, gravelly voice. He winces as he runs his fingers over the seized muscles in my arms and legs. It’s like my whole body is protesting the extra work it’s been forced to do. It misses my couch and junk food, too.
A wave of warm magic settles over my body and I sigh in relief as it envelops me. My muscles finally start to relax, no longer contracting painfully. Even the soreness seeps out until it’s at a manageable level and I feel semi-normal again. Opening my eyes, I try to give Em a grateful smile, but a sigh of relief escapes first. He doesn’t give me a chance to say anything else, casting one last sad, apologetic look my way before he walks out of the tent.
A frown settles on my lips as I stare at the empty doorway. He looks so sad and sorry that my heart is breaking. Not sure how to fix it, I turn to Gerwyn, hoping he has some insight.
