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Thea glanced down, needing to look anywhere but at him. Why didshefeel like the fool? She had done nothing to be ashamed of, not truly, and yet her stomach roiled, as though she’d lost something she’d never had. But he’d wanted her too. She’d seen proof of that in the bathhouse. Even now, the tether of tension between them was taut.
Smoothing down her clothes, Thea composed herself as she met his gaze again. ‘Is that all?’
Something in Hawthorne’s expression softened. ‘Alchemist…’ His voice was low and gentle this time. He reached for her, his large, warm hand closing gently around her arm. ‘Althea…’ he murmured, as though there was so much more to say, but that her name alone captured it all.
Despite the words they’d exchanged, despite the tightness in her chest, Thea’s body betrayed her yet again, and she found herself arching into his touch, his warmth.
He would have made a lousy mentor, he’d made that much clear, but perhaps… Perhaps if she was apprenticed to anotherWarsword, it could give them the space to explore whatever this thing was between them. Maybe —
A whistle from the courtyard carved through the tension like a hot blade through butter.
Hawthorne sprung back from her, her arm cold where his hand had been.
‘We are in agreement then, Alchemist?’
Thea sucked in a sharp breath. ‘Yes,’ she told him, chest aching as she spoke the words. ‘We’re in agreement.’
To Thea’s surprise, the shieldbearer cohort was where she had left them.
Thankfully, there was no time for Cal and Kipp’s questions.
‘Enough gossiping,’ Esyllt’s commanding tone cut through their chatter. ‘You’ve each been assigned a group, and that group will be led by one of the Warswords. Learn all you can. And don’t piss them off with your whinging. You’re lucky to have them.’
The message was clear:they don’t want to be here.Don’t make it worse.Thea made a point of looking nowhere near Hawthorne.
The weapons master went on to read out names from a crinkled piece of parchment, and Thea hated how relieved she was to find herself with Kipp and Cal in her cohort. To her dismay, Seb and Lachin were as well.
‘You lot are with Torj,’ Esyllt shouted as the shieldbearers sprang into action.
With her friends, Thea pushed her way towards the towering Bear Slayer, his golden hair glinting in the dawn light spilling over the turrets. He eyed them warily.
‘Gods…’ he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Thea was used to disdain by now, so she ignored this and instead took the opportunity to survey the warrior before themmore closely. He didn’t wear his famous war hammer, only a longsword sheathed at his belt. But that mighty weapon was enough to mark him for what he was. She’d know the sheen of Naarvian steel anywhere.
‘Get yourselves together,’ Torj called. ‘We’re heading to the Bloodwoods for a training session. It’s time for some ranged weapons practice.’
‘Finally,’ Cal said.
‘If you wipe the floor with Seb, I’d be much obliged,’ Kipp added.
‘I’d pay to see that,’ Thea agreed.
Cal gave a mock bow as they made their way past the gatehouse. ‘Consider it done.’
Kipp turned to Thea next. ‘You going to tell us what all that was about before? Don’t tell us the Hand of Death has already chosen you?’
‘Not even close,’ she said.
The early morning sun barely penetrated the thick canopy of the Bloodwoods and thus, the dense forest was just as cold as the dungeons might have been. Thea cupped her hands together, trying to blow some warmth into her fingers. As they walked, she mulled over the Guild Master’s announcement and her mind drifted back to what Hawthorne had told her.
‘There are forces at work we do not understand… Things that threaten the peace the three kingdoms have fought so hard for… It creeps across the lands like a poison… A scourge of sorts, breaking through the Veil.’
Was that why the Warswords were remaining at Thezmarr? Was that why they were now suddenly involved in ‘shaping the warriors of the future’?
‘I feel that the era of peace is once more at an end. Thezmarrians need to be ready.’
Before long, they reached a familiar clearing in the Bloodwoods, but this time, Thea didn’t have to hide in the shadows. This time, Thea was one of the shieldbearers. That small victory was not lost on her.
