Chapter Five #2
She was at the rear of the group when someone started shouting and men started shuffling around.
They were forming a line of sorts, so she pushed forward and ended up shoved to the edge of the line.
They were turning so that they were facing the sunrise, and the light was very bright.
The cloudless sky only made it brighter.
Athdara found herself squinting, lifting a hand to shield her eyes, as a few men began to enter from the south side of the field.
She knew that the trainers’ village was in that direction, so she assumed the trainer and his subordinates were arriving.
She could see a couple of men carrying what looked like a barrel between them, and the barrel was full of clubs.
Other men came in behind them and yelled at the recruits to sit down on the grass, so everyone did.
Athdara lowered her hand and her gaze from the brightness of the sun, but only for a few seconds, because she heard the men whispering.
Munro.
Quickly, she lifted her head to see this great and terrible trainer called the Leviathan. The creator of chaos.
The tallest man she had ever seen was coming through the gap in the wall and into the training field.
She was perhaps the farthest recruit away from him because of the line of men, so she couldn’t see him well in the sun’s glare, but he headed over to where the clubs in the barrel were.
She could only see his back. He bent over and picked up a club that was probably the length of her entire body.
Then he turned around, headed in their direction, and came into focus.
The mighty Levithan was revealed.
Tay!
Shock rolled through her. For a moment, Athdara stared at Tay in astonishment, but that faded quickly in lieu of panic.
She had to resist the urge to run. She didn’t know why she wanted to run, only that she did, mostly because she didn’t want him to see her.
Her breathing came in quickened rasps and her heart was racing in her chest.
She felt like the biggest fool in the world.
Their conversation from the previous night began to come back to her.
Athdara could have kicked herself when she relived how she’d spoken of mystery between them being a good thing.
How they could create a world of dreams without revealing their true selves.
God, it sounded stupid even as she rolled it over in her brain now.
She’d never asked him where he taught, but perhaps she should have given the proximity of Blackchurch. It simply had never crossed her mind.
She wondered if that was going to cost her.
Therefore, she kept her head down.
Tay began to talk to the recruits in a booming, authoritative voice that sounded nothing like that deep purr he used on her last night. The mouth that was speaking words of disdain to a field full of recruits was the same one that had spoken so sweetly to her. The one that had kissed her hand.
God, she was in trouble.
The minutes passed achingly slowly. He spoke of the drill they would have today, which would be two opponents facing one another and each man striking the other in turn.
This was a drill of endurance. The longer the men could stand against one another, the better.
One man would strike first, then the other would strike, and so on.
The last man standing would be able to sit out the rest of the training session.
Then the nightmare grew worse.
“We have new recruits with us today!” Tay was bellowing above the heads of the group. “Two new recruits from the gaggle of recent dregs. One of those recruits is a woman, I’m told. I thought to demonstrate today’s drill on her. Where is she?”
Athdara found herself praying the earth would swallow her up, but no great cavern formed beneath her.
God wasn’t merciful. The men began snorting rudely as everyone turned in her direction, and she knew she had no choice but to reveal herself.
With genuine regret and remorse, she lifted her head, stood up, and stepped forward to face Tay.
The look on his face was something she would remember for the rest of her life.
*
“We have new recruits with us today!” Tay shouted, taking pleasure in the look of fear washing over the recruits at his feet.
He loved this part of his duties best—instilling utter terror into those he trained.
“Two new recruits from the gaggle of recent dregs. One of those recruits is a woman, I’m told.
I’d thought to demonstrate today’s drill on her. Where is she?”
Those words hung in the air. He was facing about forty recruits on this day, with the rising sun blasting into their vision so they could only look up and see his form silhouetted with the light behind him.
It was a glorious day after a glorious night, an evening he’d thought about before he went to sleep and also when he woke up.
Visions of the beautiful Athdara filled his thoughts, and he was in a good mood.
At least, good for him. Probably not so good for his recruits, because he felt fortified and ready to work.
But first, he would go to work on the new woman recruit and make sure she didn’t come back.
That was, at least, until he saw her.
At first, he couldn’t believe it. He thought he was seeing things. Perhaps that beautiful woman had infiltrated his brain more than he realized and now all women looked like her. But she started walking toward him, and Tay realized he wasn’t dreaming.
Athdara was the new female recruit.
He felt as if he’d been hit in the gut.
From the way she was looking at him, he suspected she felt the same way.
She looked rather sick. He’d been lifting the club in his hand, raised and threatening as he spoke to the recruits, but the closer she came to him, the more he lowered it until it was on the ground and he was staring at her and trying not to be obvious in his reaction.
He mainly felt shock. Disappointment was another feeling.
Perhaps even some horror, because he’d built this moment up and now had to prove himself on a woman who had lit him up as he’d never been lit up in his life.
He was going to have to hurt her.
Focus riveted to that exquisite face, he closed the gap between them.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he muttered.
Athdara looked as if she were about to cry. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He didn’t have an answer for her, not really. But the fact that the situation between them had come to this enraged him. Suddenly, he was furious.
“You probably already knew when you entered the tavern,” he growled. “You’ve been a dreg for a month. How could you not know who I was?”
She blinked, startled by his anger. “Because dregs do not mix with the rest of Blackchurch,” she hissed. “You know that. These are your rules. There is no way I could have known who you are.”
That was more than likely true. Dregs were kept far from trainers and recruits for the most part. He didn’t even know why he’d said that, only that his anger had the better of him. He’d finally met a woman he could warm to, and here she was, a recruit. One of his recruits.
He simply couldn’t believe his horrific luck.
He wanted her out. He wanted her out of Blackchurch.
He’d help her find another profession, something that didn’t involve the covert operations of the Blackchurch Guild.
Perhaps he’d buy a home somewhere and keep her there, where she could pursue ladylike pursuits and he’d have himself a mistress.
Anything to get her out of Blackchurch and the training she was about to face.
He hated to think what she was in for if she remained.
“Fair enough,” he finally said. “We will not discuss it. But I will ask you to walk out, Athdara. Will you leave and go to The Black Cock? I will find you there tonight and we will… discuss this situation then.”
She shook her head. “There is nothing to discuss,” she said. “I am here, and I am going to train. You said you were a teacher. I am willing to learn.”
They were taking up too much time with this private, hissing conversation, and Tay didn’t want his recruits to think something strange was going on. As it was, they probably thought he was trying to warn her off before things got started, which was the truth.
But there was more to it than that.
“If you stay, I cannot treat you differently than any other recruit.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
She nodded. “I do.”
“Then I must make an example of you.”
Her jaw flexed, but she didn’t cower or ask what he meant. She knew. Tay knew. They looked at each other, and a ripple of sorrow crossed his features. She was either being stubborn or noble; he wasn’t sure which. But he was going to have to break her.
Reaching out, he pushed her back by the shoulder and turned to the recruits.
“I will demonstrate this exercise,” he said loudly.
“The purpose of this exercise, as I said, is to determine how long men can stand against one another in a show of endurance. One man will hit first, then the second man will hit. The blows will go back and forth until one man folds. You may hit a man anywhere between his head and his feet. There is nothing that is off-limits. Are there any questions?”
One man raised his hand. “When we face an opponent, who will go first, my lord?”
Tay motioned over one of his assistants, a big man with short brown hair who was dressed almost exclusively in tanned leather.
“This is Bowen de Bermingham,” he said. “You will obey him as you obey me. He will have each man draw straws. Whoever draws the shortest straw will receive the first blow. Are there any further questions?”
The recruits shook their heads, looking at each other, but no one spoke. Satisfied they understood what was expected, Tay faced Athdara. He pointed to the barrel filled with clubs.
“Choose your weapon,” he growled.