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He swiped a hand through his sweaty hair. “Winning’s kind of the point.”
“Well, sure,” Verve said. “But don’t lose sight of the moment.”
Livia wrinkled her nose. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Give it time to sink in,” Verve told her.
Trainer Aya, who’d been surreptitiously watching the spar, called out, “Brak! Livia! Stop fawning and get over here. You’re late.”
Brak and Livia exchanged glances and took off at a run for their trainer, leaving Usko and Verve alone. Well, as alone as anyone could be while under the scrutiny of the townsfolk. Verve glanced over them—sometimes Sacha came to watch her spar—but the guard wasn’t among the crowd. Too bad.
Usko cleared his throat, drawing Verve’s attention. “Your mission tomorrow…”
“What about it?”
“I just…” He exhaled. “I’m ready for a mission. A real mission, like the ones you go on. I’m tired of sitting around here with Brak and the other little kids. I want to do something real, something good.”
Verve ruffled his hair, sending more sand tumbling down his shoulders. “Training is real, and very good.”
“It’s boring. I’m ready for more. You think there’s any chance Serla Danya would let me go with you tomorrow?”
Usko shot her a hopeful look that no amount of discipline could have chased away. Or perhaps Verve just knew him too well. She’d watched him grow from a pudgy toddler to the young man he was now.
But the hope in his face, the hope he couldn’t hide, made Verve’s chest get tight again, like she was back in that cavern. So her reply didn’t hold the edge, the surety, it should have. “Not tomorrow, no. Don’t worry — you’ll be camping out in the wilderness and shitting in a hole in the ground before you know it.”
His mouth twitched as he fought back a smile, but his humor seemed short-lived. “Not soon enough.”
“Focus on learning as much as you can now,” Verve said. “There’ll be time to worry about missions later.”
Liar. Verve shoved away the stray thought.
Usko kicked at the sand. “I’m not a sodding child, Verve. Don’t feed me those fae stories.”
Verve’s heart clenched. Usko was much too young to sound that old. “Who mentioned the Fae?” she replied, keeping her tone light. “What I said was more like sage advice from a wizened elder.”
He only rolled his eyes and turned away. “Whatever. Bye. Enjoy shitting in a hole.”
