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15
Being without my sword was like missing an arm. I had gotten so used to having it with me, that it physically hurt to reach for my belt and not find it there.
Letting go of the empty scabbard, I sighed, and continued towards my training with Asher. I had barely gotten a drop of sleep last night, which wasn’t exactly ideal ahead of a duel to the death, and whatever punishment the commander had reserved for me, but here I was. The muscles of my back were tense, my head was fuzzy with exhaustion, and my neck was killing me, so I was pretty sure Asher was going to hand me my ass, but I was resigned.
He was right to be pissed at me.
Everyone was.
My conversation with Evie last night returned, and my chest ached. Her words resonated with me much stronger than she thought. I felt like every decision I had made yesterday had been terrible. I acted impulsively, irrationally, allowing the Dragon’s emotions and mine to take charge of me.
Yes, I was new at this having powers thing.
No, I hadn’t done any of it on purpose, but that was exactly the problem, wasn’t it?
I was no longer justanybody. My actions had consequences that determined life or death for those around me, and everything I did from now on had to be on purpose. Every decision had to be thought out before I made a move. Evie didn’t take a single step without considering how it would affect those under her protection and guidance. She had taken a huge risk with me, and I had let her down.
Granted, she had a lifetime to understand her role and accept it, while I was kind of thrown into who I was, but I wasn’t a child. I had to admit my faults and take responsibility. My parents taught me to own my mistakes without letting excuses stand in my way. There would always be a moment in life when we would be tempted to do the wrong thing, to just go with the current, but we had to choose doing what was right even if it was the hardest path.
I had to be better than that. I could no longer allow the things that were out of my control to dictate what I did; let the river take me with it. From now on, every step I took would be with purpose. I would be the man of which our people could be proud. The man who stood tall next to Evie.
“Good morning,” I greeted everyone the moment I joined them in the training field.
Fletcher and the others replied with nods or smiles, but the tension in the garden was so thick that you could slice it. Harper walked towards me with my sword, handing it over. “For training.”
“Thank you.” The soul returned to my body when I gripped it again.
“How did it go last night?” Fletcher asked from behind Harper.
“How do you think it went?” I made a face. “Did you puke?”
My question made Harper violently shudder with the memory. “Like a waterfall.”
“Gross.” I chuckled, seeing Harper laugh. I squared off to her, thinking we would spar together.
“With me!” Asher barked from the other end, and everyone around me exchanged anoh my, damn,glance.
Crap, he was still pissed off, but I couldn’t blame him.
“Yes, Commander.” Resignedly, I turned to see him walk to the middle of the circle, and I made my way towards him. Taking my stance, I lifted my sword before me ready for his first attack, but he shook his head at me.
“From a relaxed stance.”
Okay. I guessed we were done practicing planned strikes, and I was learning abrupt attacks today. Nodding, I stepped back, straightening to my full height and slipping the sword back into my belt. My body tensed a bit while I waited for him to move, but I wasn’t the only one as the others stood all around us. This was probably going to be painful for them to watch.
Asher could literally beat an opponent with his eyes closed, which was the reason he was the freaking Skyborne Legion’s commander, which, unfortunately, brought me to another realization. Lachlan had been the commander before him, assigned by the Chief of Battle himself. That meant he was as good, if not better than Asher… and I had just agreed to a duel to the death with him.
The sight of Asher blurring before me startled me out of my thoughts, and I jumped back, unsheathing the sword and blocking his attack in one move, but I was too slow. His blade swiped my left arm, slicing my skin open.
Holy hell. I staggered back, panting while the droplets of blood slid down my bicep. It wasn’t a deep gash. He had control of the spear in such a way that only the very tip off the blade had reached me, but it told me he meant business.
“One!” the Elevated Warriors shouted in unison, and I glanced at them in shock. Were they seriously going to count the strikes our commander won against me?
“Focus,” Asher warned, pointing at me with his spear, and stepped back.
Right. Shaking my head, I dropped every thought from my mind, and concentrated on him. I noticed the twitch of his right arm before he lunged again, and I jumped forward, lifting my sword over my head to successfully halt his attack. He doubled down his strikes faster than I could handle, and it took everything in me to keep up. Asher gained ground on me while I barely defended, and then jumped, whirling around to somehow land behind me.
His spear slashed across my back without hesitation, sending me forwards to fall on my hands and knees. The searing pain of the cut captured me instantly.
