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“Good morning, newlyweds.” Leo grinned, handing the flowers to me, and stepping past me into the room. “I’m surprised to find you in here, though. I had gone upstairs…”
“I wasn’t feeling too well,” I said quickly, dipping my head to take in the scent of the flowers, “So we decided to just return to our own rooms.”
Leo hummed, nodding his head and making his way from the living room to my bathroom. I frowned, my eyes following him as I put the bouquet of flowers down on a side table. Cyrus looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I shrugged, the sound of Leo rummaging through bottles and talking to himself echoing through into the living area. I took my seat across from Cyrus again, picking up my mug of tea and waiting until Leo had found whatever it was he needed.
Cyrus’s eyes flitted between me and the bathroom doorway, bewilderment on his features as he chewed on his toast slowly.
Leo burst back into the room, a grin on his face and a small bottle of lavender oil in his hand. I lifted an eyebrow, sipping my now luke-warm tea and waiting for an explanation.
“I ran out mid-potion brewing, but I remembered Gracie borrowing some from me for your baths.” He explained, flipping the bottle in his hand, and catching it again with ease. “I hope you don’t mind.”
I shook my head, waving my hand dismissively and smiling at him. He thanked me, bowed his head to Cyrus one last time, and let himself out of my chambers. Cyrus and I sat in silence for a minute, looking at the closed door with matching looks of bemusement.
“That was odd,” Cyrus smirked, lifting an eyebrow at me, and I laughed loudly, reaching for the tea pot on the table to pour myself more tea.
“Leo is odd.” I countered, a smile on my face. Cyrus’s laugh filled the room then, and I felt, for the first time, the newly-wedded-bliss I had often read about in story books or heard about in strangers’ conversations.
Once Cyrus had eaten almost an entire loaf of toast and had washed it down with a pitcher of water, he crossed his arms on the table and looked at me. His eyes took in every inch of my face, the exposed skin of my chest where my robe had fallen open slightly, the bare skin of my legs, crossed to the side due to the way my chair sat. I fought not to shy away under his gaze.
“Enjoying the view?” I asked, sitting back slightly in my chair, and relaxing against the back of it, feigning confidence. Cyrus smirked slowly, his eyes turning wicked.
“Very much so,” He nodded, leaning forward slightly. “What are our plans for today?”
I paused, an idea I had been thinking of for weeks popping back into my head at the question. I knew we had to say goodbye to our guests, but that was not for another hour at least, and my muscles were itching for a proper workout. I had gained so much upper body strength training with Maeteo at home, gained speed and strength and muscle, and since coming to Fire, I had lost it all.
I did not know where they had been keeping my sword, but I wanted it back.
“I want to see the barracks.” I nodded, holding Cyrus’s gaze and relishing the shock that shot through his eyes. “I want to train again.”
“Oh, don’t be silly.” He laughed, sitting back in his own chair, and crossing his arms across his chest, “We have a perfectly skilled army, full of perfectly skilled soldiers. You do not need to train.”
I ground my teeth together, my hands fiddling with a butter knife on the table, flipping it around and around again. The barracks had been locked for anyone that wasnot a member of the Fire kingdom army as soon as I had arrived to protect their training and war strategy from outside eyes. From my eyes. They still feared I would be sending intelligence back home, and I would be lying if I said I had not thought about it.
At this point, though, I just wanted my sword. My daggers.
“I am aware of that,” I nodded, keeping my tone smooth, “I would still like to. I enjoy it.”
“You enjoy it?” Cyrus lifted an eyebrow, searching my face, a look of almost disbelief on his features “You? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Cyrus rolled his eyes, pushing away from the table and standing up, signaling the end of the conversation for him. I sucked in a deep breath, ready to give him the ultimatum of either he takes me, or I would get Lars to show me where it was, but he stopped just short of the entrance to his chambers, cursing under his breath and turning to face me again.
I lifted an eyebrow, a smirk on my own face at the look of annoyance on his face.
“Go and get dressed,” He sighed, “There is a training drill starting in half an hour. If we hurry, we can make it.”
I grinned, leaping up from my seat and taking off at speedinto my bedroom.
37
Kira
The smell of sweat and blood hit my nostrils as we stepped into the training ring of the barracks.
I had managed to scrounge together some leather leggings, and a long sleeved, black jacket that buttoned up to my neck. My hair was braided down my back, just like I used to do for training at home, and I was almost vibrating with excitement as I heard metal clashing against metal, men grunting and swearing in pain, and the adrenaline that came with it all.
Cyrus had rolled his eyes at me when he saw me but had stuck to his word and led me out of the castle and down through the Eastern gardens. They were just as perfectly mowed as the rest of the castle gardens, but the grass had been trampled more, and a distinct outline of a running track had been worn into the greenery by endless boots running on it, leaving nothing more than a ring of dirt.
