Chapter 1
The sun beats down from the sky above me, illuminating the castle courtyard and making it almost so hot for me to wish for rain, even if I hate sparring in the rain.
But the rules of being a Damsel are simple. We have to be ready for any eventuality, and that means knowing how to protect ourselves no matter the weather. It also means a lot of other things, but I'm not in an etiquette or dance lesson right now.
I grip my hand around the dagger, closing my eyes and trying my best to steady myself. According to my master-at-arms, my main failing when it comes to fighting is that I let my emotions get the better of me more often than I should. So now I need to practice not doing that, even if it's difficult.
He says my other failing is that I misjudge my opponents, but I'm not going to let that happen today. Especially when I'm up against one of my oldest friends.
Fen watches me intently, his eyes flashing gold in the midday sun and revealing some of the dragon within.
I know he's not going to shift in the middle of a sparring match, but if I were actually facing him in a real-life situation, it would be enough to make me pause and consider running the other way.
"Are you not going to attack, Ingrid?" he asks, his lips quirking up into a smirk.
No doubt the arrogance is what his master-at-arms says is Fen's biggest failing when it comes to fighting, though it probably comes from the fact that Fen is his son and he's been training him since the moment he could walk.
"I'm not going to let you goad me into making a mistake," I say.
"We are supposed to be sparring," he responds.
"I've heard your father talk about how the art of the attack is in understanding your opponent."
"If you want to get to know me better, all you have to do is ask." He pushes his jet-black hair out of his face, highlighting his dark eyes. The gold is gone, but I know it's not far beneath the surface.
"I think I know you plenty well enough," I respond. "You've been annoying me since the day I was born."
He laughs. "Hardly."
"Definitely."
His dagger is by his side, but I know he'll have it up within moments if I make a sudden movement. Instead, I shift slightly, making it seem like I'm just adjusting my balance. He doesn't seem to notice, making me think that I might have a chance of taking him off guard if I play this right.
Fen watches me intently with the easy way he has around everyone, but I try to ignore it, along with the knowledge that there's a part of me that would like to be more than just friends with him.
But I also know that isn't an option. We've been friends for so long that I don't want to ruin it by suggesting something else, so I just have to ignore my infatuation and wait for it to pass.
This is not what I'm supposed to be thinking about right now.
"You're making this too easy, blondie," he says, leaning against the wall and unsheathing his dagger so that he can use it to pick at his nails. Though I'm not sure how good it'll be for that, given it's a blunt one designed for training. No one wants us to actually get hurt.
"You know I don't like being called that," I respond.
He grins in a way that makes me think he's doing it on purpose.
I take a deep breath. He thinks he can get under my skin by talking to me. He's not entirely wrong, but I'm not going to let myself be swayed by it either. This is all part of knowing my opponent.
He doesn't seem to have noticed me getting closer, so I take my chance and move towards him with my dagger raised.
Fen is just as quick to respond, raising his own and knocking my arm to the side. But I'm prepared for that and draw my second dagger, going on the attack with that.
It takes him aback, but he responds quickly, much to my frustration.
The clash of metal against metal fills the air as the two of us parry back and forth.
Fen's superior strength gives him an edge, but my speed offsets some of it, and I manage to keep pace with him.
Sweat runs down the back of my neck from the exertion, but I ignore it.
If I ever need these skills out in the real world, then I'm going to need to be able to ignore things like that.
He knocks one of my daggers from my hand, and it skids across the ground.
I glance over to it, realising a moment too late that it gives him another advantage to let myself be distracted.
He backs me against a wall, blocking me in with his strong arms, and leaning so close that he brings the slight scent of smoke with him.
"I win." His voice is low, almost like a promise rather than a triumph.
"No, you don't." I press the blunt edge of the dagger against where his heart is. My pulse is racing, both from the exertion and from the proximity.
A low growl comes from him in response.
"You shouldn't have let your guard down, Fen." I meet his gaze, seeing something smouldering there.
I want to look away. I shouldn't be staring into his eyes or trying to work out exactly what I like about his smell. But he's also captivating, and I want more of whatever it is he's doing.
Someone clears their throat from a few feet away, causing us to move, putting some much-needed distance between us.
I look over to find my best friend standing there with an amused expression on her face. "My mother wants to see you both."
Fen dusts off his shirt. "What's she want?"
"How should I know?" Vasia responds. "All she told me was go find Fen and Ingrid, I want to talk to them.
" The impression of her mother is uncanny, right down to the slight accent that Lady Cassandra has.
From my language lessons, I assume it's from Tondrak, but she never talks about her past, so I've never known for sure.
"Do we have time to get changed?" I ask, looking down at my worn brown tunic. It has several stains from where I've ended up getting cut during a sparring match. None of the injuries were serious, but they did bleed.
"You know that she doesn't like people to keep her waiting."
"You'd think she was royalty or something," I mutter under my breath.
"Maybe she was," Fen responds. "None of us know anything about her."
"Mmm, true." I look over at my best friend.
With her long flowing, almost white blonde hair, her pale complexion, and large blue eyes that seem a little too big for her face, Vasia really could be mistaken for a princess.
Though I know that's not going to be true.
It's the kind of thing we whispered about when we were girls, but we're both three-and-twenty, and know better.
The two of us could be sisters from looking at us, even though we're not. Whereas Fen couldn't be more different with his darker brown skin, jet-black hair, and smaller, angular eyes that have dark depths I could get lost in, given half the chance...
I clear my throat, gaining a strange look from both of them in response, which makes sense. I'm not exactly telling them the direction of my thoughts or the things that have brought me to them. "We should get going," I say quickly.
Fen nods. "After you." He gestures for us to make our way out of the courtyard.
Given that Lady Cassandra only really summons people when there's a mission afoot, I have a good idea what all of this is about, but I'm still intrigued and a little nervous to discover the details.
And why Fen is also being summoned. The two of us have never been on a mission together before, and I don't know how I'm going to be able to deal with it.
I look over at the dark-haired dragon. I trust him, I can hardly not when we've known one another for so long, it's just my feelings I'm not so confident about.