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I barely got my sword in front of me when Zor knocked it away. I turned to face him, but he was too fast, dancing past me, until I went still, the point of his blade pressed against the small of my back.
“Too slow, princess.” Then the pressure was gone and he was back in front of me. “Again. This time, unlock your knees, don’t stop moving until I do and keep your sword up.”
“I didn’t come here for a sword lesson, Zor.”
“And yet you’re getting one.” This time, I managed to block two of his strikes before I lost the sword, my fingers stinging when I reached for it. “Tavion wants her dead.” Zor murmured and I fumbled the weapon, dropping it into the dirt before I picked it up.
“He isn’t wrong.Sword up, princess.” He snarled before he attacked.
I stumbled backwards, the trees blurring together in the dark. Either he was moving faster than was possible, or the shadows were playing tricks on me, but Zor drove me through the woods, step by step, our swords ringing.
Until my back was against a trunk and I had nowhere else to go, his face inches from mine.
“I’m saving my friend.” I told him quietly, searching his eyes for some sign he might help me, or at least understand why I had to try. “I’ll read every book there is, try everything I can, but I will save her.”
“You can read as much as you like. She is not your friend anymore, Anaria.” Zor warned sharply, his eyes glinting. “The Reaper will only get stronger and more dangerous as it feeds on her soul. And when it’s finished…” The words hung between us, my heart hammering, and not just from exertion.
“What?” I asked, but Zor’s gaze had dropped to my mouth, his own hovering just inches away.
“Commander?” Someone shouted from the back of the barracks and he gently pressed his finger over my lips. I tasted salt and metal. Power and musk, a pepper-clove flavor that matched Zorander Vayle perfectly.
“I’m finishing up.” He yelled over his shoulder. “I’ll be there in a moment.” He took his finger from my mouth and stepped away; his scorching heat replaced by cold night air.
“What happens when the Reaper consumes the final bit of her?”
“There will be nothing holding your friend together any longer. She will rot away, though the Reaper will animate her flesh for as long as it’s able.”
“How long?”
“It depends on the strength of your friend, and that of the creature. I expect they are locked in a battle of wills right now, but the Reaper always wins.”
“I’m coming.” Zor pushed off the tree and strode toward the figure outlined in the door of the barracks. “What is it? I’m in the middle of a lesson.” He put just the right amount of irritation in his voice that the soldier stammered out an apology before Zor turned back to me, a dark silhouette.
“Tomorrow princess, we will continue.” There was a flash of white teeth in the dark, and I set the sword against the tree, my knees wobbling.
“Do not be late, and I hope you are more prepared than you were tonight. The king demands perfection, even from his daughter.”
46
ANARIA
The next week was the longest of my entire life.
I’d pleaded with Raz for help, but even he agreed Ember was a threat that had to be carefully managed, if not eliminated completely.
A true testament to Solarys being a military state, Blackcastle’s royal library was an embarrassment to scholars everywhere, half the size of Ravenshade’s library and everything I’d found on Reapers had only reinforced Zor’s opinion—Ember could not be saved.
Tavion was now observing my daily lessons, trading barbs with Ember, giving me pointless advice and being an annoying addition to what would have otherwise been an enjoyable two hours.
Raz wasn’t here today, but I meant to find him later, perhaps somewhere private where we could explore this developing attraction between us. I dreamed about him night and day, at the strangest times, like right now, when I should be paying attention to Zor’s sword slicing through the air, an inch from my nose.
We always drew a crowd, especially now that Zor had added in sword fighting and I expected most of them came to watch me get knocked on my ass, which happened frequently.
That was why Tavion was here, and I didn’t miss the way he fingered his dagger whenever Ember wasn’t paying attention, such loathing on his face I wondered if he might go through with it.
As for Ember, I saw less of her and more of the Reaper every day.
The seamstress had made her two beautiful gowns, but the Reaper much preferred the narrow slips of fabric, flaunting my friend’s body for all to see. Especially Crux, who hadn’t missed a single lesson yet. At the moment, he was leaned against the fence, mooning over Ember while she simpered up at him while I gagged.
