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His voice was kind, and I realized then that I liked him a lot better than I liked his lord. He just seemed more…genuine. Lord Castemont was nice, and I had no reason not to like him. And I suppose I did like him now. I just liked Tyrak more.
But I didn’t want to work on balance. I didn’t want to see a wooden sword.
I took a deep breath and shook my head. “No, thank you.”
“How about this,” he offered, standing up and pulling his sword from its sheath at his hip, the sound of ringing steel bouncing off Aunt Berna’s pristine walls and floors. “If you come outside and try to balance, you can do it using my sword.”
My brows lifted. A real sword? An actual sword used by an actual Royal Guard?
He gauged my expression, a small smile on his face. “You’re going to be in the Royal Guard in four years anyway, right? Might as well get used to using a real sword.”
Bet you won’t make the Guard in four years.The words were so clear in my head that I had to remind myself Tobyas wasn’t sitting right next to me. I took a deep breath, trying to let the hurt float away like wisps of smoke in the air.
“Okay.”
? ? ?
The sun felt foreign to my eyes after spending the past weeks inside.
“Ready?” I nodded, pushing my unruly hair back from my face. “First we balance, then we cut that hair,” he said with a sly smile, and handed me his sword.
It was much heavier than I thought it’d be. I didn’t know how I could swing it without falling over, even with my height. I guess Tyrak was right, balance was important. The silver hilt was adorned with filigree, and three small rubies were set just below the guard. I turned it in my grip, noticing some of the filigree had been worn away by Tyrak’s hand. I tested its weight again, adjusting my stance to account for it.
And damn if it didn’t feel amazing in my grip.
Tyrak worked to suppress another smile. At what, I didn’t know, but I pushed everything from my mind to focus on the steel in my hand. “Begin.”
I set up the pommel, standing the gleaming blade straight up, the edge staring at me tauntingly as it caught the sun. I breathed out, letting my palm mold to the rounded end, letting it center me, letting it…
The blade stood straight. Not a tremble, not a wobble. I didn’t dare breathe as my eyes traveled up the steel that pointed to the sky, the sound of my heart like a metronome to keep me steady. I felt Tyrak’s stare on me, felt the disbelief rippling off him. I let it bolster me further and clenched my jaw as I fought the smile that threatened to break my composure.
I was doing it. I was doing it.I was doing it.
Footsteps on gravel broke my concentration as Tyrak stepped forward and grabbed the hilt. I blinked at him, at the face that was plastered with awe.
“I haven’t seen a single person master this challenge quicker than three weeks,” he breathed. “And that’s with a wooden sword. You just…” His eyes widened as he continued to survey me. “You just balanced a broadsword. You’ve had what, two training sessions before this? Before…” His voice trailed off as he broke my gaze. I swallowed back the emptiness.
“Thank you,” I muttered, kicking the gravel.
“Mark my words. You’ll be a Royal Guard at eighteen.”
Bet you won’t make the Guard at eighteen.
Tobyas’ words shot through me, ricocheting off my bones and pulsing beneath my skin. They resonated with Tyrak’s words, melding and meshing together until clarity blew the fog of grief from my mind.
I knew what I had to do. I knew what my little brother would have wanted me to do.
I was going to prove Tobyas wrong.
Chapter 21
“What are you reading?” Aunt Berna asked quietly as she placed a mug of tea in front of me before returning to her task of salting strips of beef.
“A book about the creatures Katia controls. Did you know that the lore of the Saints says that her largest driva, Adorex, was more than three times the size of a dragon? And had three times as many teeth and talons the size of a broadsword?”
“I didn’t know that.” She let out a small laugh. “But it sounds like I’d much rather meet a dragon than a driva.”
“Well considering dragons have been extinct for thousands of years and drivas don’t exist, I don’t think you’ll have to make the choice.” This was the longest conversation we’d had since Tobyas. I’d asked Aunt Berna to bring me books from his room each day. I couldn’t go in there yet, but reading made me feel like he was here. I could hear him reading every word with me.
