Chapter 41 Odessa
Forty-One
Odessa
There was a jar of brown hair dye on the counter in our bathing chamber, delivered by a maid while we were sleeping.
Ransom walked into the room, stopping behind me. Through the mirror, his reflection went from sleepy to sneering in a blink. “That better not be what I think it is.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying.
It was our third morning in Quentis, and I had yet to get new clothes. The closet was still full of gray gowns and slippers.
Now I knew why.
Margot had no intention of getting me pants.
She’d been so lovely during our shared breakfasts. She’d asked about my time in Turah, her interest seemingly genuine. She’d been sweet to Evie, and just yesterday, she’d said how nice it was for Arthy to have a friend in the nursery.
I should have known it was all a show for Ransom’s benefit.
My chin quivered.
“Fuck.” Ransom wrapped his arms around my shoulders as I looked to the floor, hiding my face with a curtain of my hair. He kissed my shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Last night, I’d had a sinking feeling in my stomach when I returned to the suite to find nothing had changed in my closet. Ransom, Evie, and I had spent another evening locked away, dining alone, since we’d received no invitation to join my family.
After our meal, I’d washed my tunic and pants in the tub, setting them out to dry on a chair in our bedroom. Thank the gods I hadn’t left them in the bathing chamber. The maid who’d delivered the dye had probably been instructed to snatch them away.
I sniffled, blinking back tears. If I cried, Margot would win. If I wore a gray dress, she’d win. If I put Evie in the dresses in her own closet, Margot would win.
Margot was not going to win.
We needed coin, and I wasn’t about to ask my father. But I wasn’t destitute, not yet.
As tempting as it was to sell the gray dresses, they wouldn’t bring as much as the set of knives in the closet.
And I couldn’t bring myself to touch them again. Even looking at the hilts took me back to Ellder. No matter how clean, I’d always see Banner’s blood on their blades.
Knives for pants and a resounding fuck you to Margot seemed like a fair trade.
I met Ransom’s silver eyes in the mirror. “Would you be upset if I sold my knives?”
Ransom’s mouth pulled into a smirk. His eyes swirled to green. “Not at all.”
Dressed in a new pair of bronze linen pants and a shirt of the same shade, I found Ransom in the castle’s training center.
The sound of blades striking blades greeted me as I walked in, the scents of cedar, metal, and sweat filling my nose.
There was a group of children on one side of the enormous, lofty room shooting arrows at round targets.
A handful of legionnaires were sparring.
And Mae was training with Brix, the captain of the guard, in the center ring.
My sister had avoided us completely for the past three days, ever since she broke into our suite to do Father’s bidding. It came as no surprise to find her here. This center was Mae’s favorite place in the castle.
Brix was older by ten years, but he was Mae’s preferred training partner, and lover, because he met her intensity beat for beat.
She moved effortlessly in the ring, her sword arcing and cutting through the air with a grace that reminded me more of a dance than a fight. The skirt of her dress swished around her ankles and calves. The jade sleeves were loose and billowy, the fabric thin to allow for ease of movement.
Gable, the weapons master, watched on from a bench, barking out their mistakes.
There weren’t many.
After Gable had deemed me a lost cause, I’d stopped coming to the training center on a regular basis. Eventually, I’d stopped coming entirely, more than willing to concede this space to Mae.
She was as fast and agile as ever, and the longer she sparred against the captain, holding her own, the taller Gable sat. The higher he lifted his cleft chin. Pride beamed from the older man’s face as he observed his favorite student.
I slipped into the center, skirting the walls as I walked to the far corner, where Ransom and Evie were working together.
He was training her with a wooden sword. The same wooden sword Mae and I had used when we were children.
Faze was on his leash, tied to the rack of weapons mounted on the wall. He chewed on a bone, more content than he’d been in days.
I bent to scratch his ears as I passed, then joined Ransom.
Evie stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, her eyebrows knitted in concentration as she gripped the sword with both hands. She drew it back over her shoulder, then swung it forward, aiming at his knee.
Ransom let her hit him, feigning injury.
Evie giggled. “I win.”
“You win.” He ruffled her hair, taking her sword. “Good job. You can take a break.”
She skipped away to plop down beside Faze.
Ransom walked straight into my space, forcing me to tilt up my chin to keep his eyes. Silver again.
“Nice clothes, my queen.” He brushed his mouth against mine. “I’m looking forward to taking them off you later.”
A shiver rolled down my spine.
He grinned against my mouth, then swatted my ass with his free hand. “Grab a sword.”
I groaned but walked to the wall of weapons, pulling down a sword the same size as my own.
Ransom retrieved his from the corner, then led me to a training circle adjacent to Mae’s.
A snicker carried through the room.
Mae and the captain had stopped their fight. Both stared our way, their heads bent in a whisper.
Gable stood from the bench in front of Mae’s ring and came to sit at the one in front of mine.
“Then should we skip this training session, husband?” I batted my eyelashes at Ransom.
“Not a chance, Cross.”
Blarg. The last thing I wanted was an audience, especially this one.
Gable had given up on me as his student. He’d grumbled about my poor aim with a crossbow and warned Father that I’d only hurt myself if armed with a blade.
And Mae was, well…Mae.
The moment I fell on my ass, she’d be the first to laugh. And falling on my ass was inevitable.
“Block them out,” Ransom said, his voice low and smooth. “Just you and me.”
I closed my eyes and pictured a training ring beneath towering evergreens. I imagined the smell of pine in my nose and needles beneath my feet. I drew in a long inhale and opened my eyes. Then I gave Ransom a single nod.
“That’s my queen.” His smirk was the only warning before he attacked.
I shuffled backward and to the side, barely blocking a strike.
He frowned, eyebrow arched.
“Stand my ground,” I muttered. “I know.”
But at least I was still upright.
Ransom came at me again, and this time, I didn’t retreat but moved to create an opening of my own to attack.
We fell into a familiar rhythm, a dance of our own making, until the rest of the room faded into a blur and all that remained was us. Silver eyes slowly shifted to hazel. And finally, his gaze flashed vibrant green.
I knew I was in trouble when he moved so fast I lost focus on his face. One moment, I was standing. The next, I was flat on my back, the sword tumbling from my grip as he came down on top of me, pinning me to the floor.
“Not fair,” I grumbled.
He grinned down at me, a lock of his dark hair escaping the knot at his nape. His hands pinned mine above my head. The weight of his body kept me trapped to the floor. “That was good.”
“Was that a compliment? In the training ring? I thought praise was for the bedroom.”
He chuckled, bending close. His lips tickled the shell of my ear. “You want praise? Then wait until I fuck that smart mouth of yours tonight. I’ll give you all the praise you can handle.”
My breath hitched. Heat flushed my already warm cheeks.
He chuckled and kissed the corner of my mouth, then jumped to his feet before helping me to mine.
The rest of the room came into dizzying clarity as Ransom picked up my sword and carried it to the weapons rack.
Mae stood beside Brix with her arms crossed over her chest and a frown marring her pretty face. The captain looked impressed? Before I could read his face, Mae elbowed him in the ribs and he winced.
Gable stood from the bench and joined me in the ring.
I’d forgotten just how intimidating the weapons master could be.
Gable was a brute of a man and nearly as unnerving as Father.
There was a stiffness to his gait due to the limp of his left leg.
His thick, wavy hair was entirely silver, the brown I recalled from my childhood completely gone.
The smile lines around his mouth were deeper than before, though, like he’d found something to smile about more often.
He looked down the line of his straight nose and crossed his arms over his barrel of a chest. “Princess Odessa.”
“Hello, Master Gable.”
He grunted. Or was that a laugh? I’d never heard him laugh. “I always wondered if there was a piece of your mother hidden away inside of you.”
I rocked back on my heels, the force of that statement hitting me square in the chest. “Y-you knew my mother?”
“I’ve never seen anyone as quick with a blade.” He looked to Ransom. “Except him.”
My mother knew how to fight? That seemed like something I should have known. Maybe, as a child, it would have encouraged me not to give up. “No one speaks of my mother.”
“Those who knew her learned a long time ago it was best not to mention her name for fear of your father’s wrath.” He looked me up and down and frowned. “Your footwork needs improvement. Come back tomorrow. We’ll see what we can do.”
“You want to train me?”
His eyebrows lifted. Gable wasn’t one to repeat himself.
“Tomorrow it is.” I had no desire to work on my footwork, but I’d return and let him boss me around if it meant the chance to ask him more about my mother.
Maybe I’d finally get to learn about her life. And why the High Priest had asked about her.
“Thank you,” I said, hope filling my chest.
Except Gable’s attention was no longer on me but over my shoulder.
I turned to see Father standing in the doorway, his golden crown catching the afternoon light.
The hard, unforgiving look on his face was aimed at the weapons master.
And when I turned to face Gable again, he was already ambling away.