Chapter 17
Training continued daily for what seemed like forever with no more progress for a month straight, at least as far as her powers were concerned.
She was getting stronger physically, her body returning to its pre-war physique and she was loving it.
Her stomach was leaner, muscles larger, and she didn’t look like a skeleton in her face anymore. Even her eyes had light in them again, and she was surprised when Kaden had made a comment about them.
She still had issues with body contact, especially with new guards that helped them and it seemed to be her biggest struggle other than her power. Being used to Kaden helped, but she could still only handle minimal contact, though she had fewer panic attacks in the last month compared to usual.
Kaden had also become more approachable, still ordering her around but ever since she mentioned Mavros’s torture, he seemed to lighten up on his attitude some.
Today she had her sword and axe in hand, dueling the weapons against two volunteer guards.
Emris was upset with the little amount of progress she had with her power and she knew Kaden was feeling the pressure. He had done all he could on his own with weapons and now he needed to challenge her more.
The two guards charged her, one swinging towards her head and the other to her stomach. She was able to stop both, her axe head hooking on the higher weapon and jerking it out of the way while her sword blocked her stomach just in time.
Both males flailed backwards and Kaden stood with a glare on his face.
“You can’t rely on your axe like that.” he snapped.
“You think it's going to break or something?” she barked back.
“It could, and if it did you would be severely injured or dead right now.”
She let out a long laugh, his eyes just narrowing on her more and she smirked.
“This axe is older than me. My dad had it made when he found out my mom was pregnant, it will last I promise.”
A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes and she saw his features soften for a second.
“I see.” was all he said.
Footsteps approached and she turned to see Silas walking towards them with a smile on his face.
They had their issues, and she was trying really hard to let the small things slide in hoping things would get better.
He was adamant about rushing things and she could tell he really wanted to be intimate again, but she refused the entire month.
She kept to her plan and they had not had sex since the night of their fight, which seemed to be the biggest problem.
“What are you doing here?” she asked with a smile.
“I got out early and thought I would come see how your progress was going.” He bent down and gave her a small kiss.
It had taken him a while to cool down, but recently he had become more affectionate towards her like he had been before everything got complicated.
“Nothing's changed.” Kaden said flatly and she could see him glaring at Silas.
“Maybe she needs a new trainer.” Silas snapped back.
Kaden tensed and she stepped between them quickly.
“Enough,” she said calmly.
“Actually, I want to talk to you.” Silas said, looking back down at her.
“Everyone take a break.” Kaden barked and he walked off with the other two guards following.
Her and Silas now stood alone in the middle of the training circle, his eyes drinking in her body before meeting her eyes again.
“Tonight,” he started. “I’ll take you into town for dinner and then come back for some intimate time?”
“Silas-”
“It’s been over a month and I’ve tried to be patient. I care about you Alyra and I want to show that to you in more ways than just conversations and cuddling.” His tone held annoyance in it and she let out a long breath.
“We might have had conversations, but you still refuse to share any part of your past life with me,” she shrugged. “If you don’t trust me enough to do that then I can’t trust you with my body.”
“So you’re withholding sex from me because I want to keep certain things of my life private?” he scoffed.
“No, I’m giving you the opportunity to be vulnerable with me and all you care about is fucking me,” she snarled back. “I care about you so much Silas, and this isn’t easy for me but you have to see it from my point of view.”
He stepped back and she watched his jaw clench, angry tension building between them.
“If that’s how you feel,” he barked. “Might as well get back to training then, seems like you need it since nothing you do is helping get your power back.”
“Silas-”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
She watched him turn and walk away without another glance, her chest heavy with hurt but took a deep breath to keep herself together.
“Ready?” Kaden’s voice made her jump and she turned to see him standing with the guards staring at her.
“Yeah.” She sighed and held her weapons up to continue training.
“Continue.” Kaden barked and weapons clashed for another hour in the warm spring heat.
- - - - - - - -
They stood by the stables later in the day to keep out of the sun, her arms aching from all the dueling but she knew it was necessary for her training.
Her mind was spinning and she slumped against the grey mare’s stall, her hand stroking down the mare's face.
“You hungry?” Kaden asked suddenly and she jumped from surprise.
“Sure,” she replied quietly.
“Saddle up, let's go.” He nodded and she gave him a questioning look.
“It’s on the other side of town close to the gate, riding is the fastest way to get there.” His voice was casual.
“Where are you taking me?”
“You will see.”
A few minutes later they were riding out of the castle and headed towards town through the crowds.
Silently they rode for a while until Kaden nodded his head in the direction of an alley and aimed his horse to go down it, hers following. She could see a tavern at the very end of it, an odd place for one to be in this city.
They stopped their horses at the tie post and made sure to keep their swords strapped to their hips.
Just because they were in the main castle walls didn’t mean they were one-hundred percent safe.
She looked down the path at the rest of the horses, her eyes falling on the large black gelding with the king's crest on it.
Kaden followed her stare and she saw his jaw clench as they entered the tavern. She followed but felt a heavy weight settle in her gut in what she might find.
The door opened and she saw Kaden glance around before letting her follow, his shoulders tense while guiding her to a long wooden table nearby.
It wasn’t the worst tavern she has ever seen, but she knew it was one of the more rundown ones in town.
She could see many different types of patron scattered throughout, assassins, thugs, prostitutes, and the occasional normal townsfolk.
She had no idea why Kaden chose this place, but it made her wonder what he did in his spare time.
He sat across from her and she kept looking around curious as to who the horse she saw outside might belong to.
“You brought me to a brothel?” she said, her eyes noticing the many rooms along the far wall and witnessed a male exit with a prostitute hanging on his arm.
“It's a tavern with a side business,” he mumbled. “They have good food.”
She scoffed, thankful no one had looked in their direction yet to notice royalty sitting in such a place and she wished she had her cloak right about now.
“Kaden, how are you, love?” A busty waitress walked up to them, her red hair in a messy bun and her clothes on the revealing side.
“Fine, thanks Doras,” he replied plainly.
Doras’s gaze shifted to her and she saw her eyes widen in realization. So much for being unnoticed.
“My Queen!” she said, bowing slightly next to the table. “It’s an honor to have you in my tavern.”
She heard the crowd go silent and then all eyes were fixed on her. Kaden didn’t flinch at the change of tension in the room, but she could feel her heart start to beat faster. Some of the thugs gave her predatory looks, and the townsfolk just stared in awe.
“Please, no need for formality,” she pleaded.
“I’ll have my usual steak.” Kaden’s voice was casual and she just looked at him in disbelief.
“And you, my lady?” Doras asked quietly.
“Just the stew please,” she kept her voice at a low tone to lessen the attention she was getting.
Doras just nodded and hurried back to the main counter and spoke to the cook across the half wall behind it.
Kaden’s back was to most of the patrons but she knew he was keeping an eye on every one of them with all his other senses. Most had gone back to their previous conversations, only a few glancing their way periodically.
“Well, you must come here often?” she asked while placing one hand on her sword, the atmosphere in the room making her uneasy.
“When I can,” he replied and stared at her curiously. “You really think anyone would be stupid enough to attack you with me here?”
She shrugged at him and looked around the room again, one patron in particular staring at her from the far corner.
“Maybe you aren’t as scary as you think you are,” she mumbled.
He followed her stare and she watched the male look away instantly, his scared face turning the other direction. He looked to be burned, but from this distance she couldn’t examine him very well.
“You underestimate me princess.” he grumbled with his head turned away from her.
“Stop calling me that,” she barked back.
“It’s what you are.” He sighed and went back to staring at her, his eyes oddly fixated on her scar along the side of her face.
“Cursed dagger,” she said bluntly. “The only scar Silas or I couldn’t heal.”
He just gave her a curious look but didn’t say anything and looked around the room once more. She assumed it was to make sure no one else was staring or looking to start something they wouldn’t be able to finish.
Doras came by a few minutes later with the food, the hot bowl of potato and steak stew making her mouth water. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until the smell hit her senses and she heard her stomach growl.
Silently they started to eat, chatter still continuing around them and she could hear the young females being overly flirtatious with a few of the males. She knew that was how they made their money, but the thought of sleeping with random males all the time made her skin crawl.
She had only been with two males, and that was already enough drama to last her a lifetime.
The stew was one of the tastiest things she had eaten in a long time, to include the castle meals, and she understood now why Kaden would come here even when it was sketchy.
A door opened across the room and she heard some girls giggling through the crowd.
“Thank you ladies, always so wonderful.”
That voice.
She froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth, her eyes instantly darting to the male walking out of the door and she felt her heart stop.
Silas had his arm around two girls that had barely any coverings on, his pants undone and hanging casually along his hips. The smile on his face was definitely one of a male that just had the pleasure of being serviced and she felt her stomach sink.
Her hand dropped her spoon and clenched at her stomach, the feeling of the stew wanting to come back up was overwhelming but she wouldn’t let that happen. She wasn’t sure if she should be angry or distraught, but when his eyes landed on her she saw the color drain from his face.
“Alyra.” he breathed but she was on her feet before he could take a step towards her.
Kaden was on her heels as she burst out the door and charged to her grey mare a few feet away. She needed to leave before she blew the entire tavern into pieces from the mixed rage she was feeling.
“Alyra!” she heard Silas yell again and turned to see Kaden blocking Silas from coming near her.
“Move.” Silas barked, but Kaden stood like a brick wall while she mounted up on the mare.
“Alyra, let me explain!” Silas yelled, his head trying to peer around the solid wall Kaden was making between them.
“Don’t come to my room tonight.” The only words she could muster as she felt her magic flicker at her fingertips.
“Don’t do this.” Silas begged and Kaden finally stepped to the side and mounted his own horse.
She didn’t look at Silas and encouraged the mare forward into a canter down the pathway towards the castle, Kaden following her quickly.
She didn’t know how long Silas had been engaging with the ladies at the tavern, but everything about her body now felt dirty and she herself felt like the biggest idiot in the world.
Any trust she had towards him was instantly shattered to pieces, and the overwhelming feeling of betrayal washed over her again for the second time in her life.
This time, she didn’t know if she could recover from it.