16. Ezra
Ezra
The morning sun had just risen by the time I showed up for my training.
I placed some obstacles in the arena to increase the challenge.
I needed to blow off some steam from last night’s mess.
The sight of Eshe dancing for one of my men drew me to hell, and I wanted to burn the entire palace to the ground.
He had no right to look at her the way he did, and I almost cut his eyes out for it.
Eh, I still might. I didn’t hesitate to remind him of his position and what I would do if he so much as breathed near her.
If it were anyone other than one of my men, they would have urinated themselves from my charged threats, but my men weren’t weak.
But he wanted what he could not have. He wanted what was mine.
Eshe was mine.
She was mine to control.
I just wasn’t sure what I was going to do with her.
The softness of her neck and shoulders sent a shiver down my spine. This was dangerous. No woman had ever had such an impact on my mind and my body before.
“Good morning,” a soft voice sounded behind me.
I whirled around, knowing exactly who it belonged to. The devil heard my thoughts, and here she was. “Morning,” I muttered.
Eshe met my eyes.
“What are you doing here? The deal was you didn’t use my arena when anyone was here.” I laid my knife set on the wooden bench.
I could hear Eshe shifting in her steps from where I stood. I couldn’t help but smirk.
Was my little warrior nervous?
“I was hoping to train with you. I could use the practice.”
With a knife in my palm, I turned slowly. “I don’t train with anyone but my men. I trust they won’t stab me in the back ‘accidentally.’” I scoffed.
The corner of her mouth slid up as she placed her hands on her hips.
I allowed my eyes a moment to glide the length of her body.
She wore tight leather pants and an even tighter top covering her chest. It riled so much heat in my body that I was half tempted to find the nearest tapestry, rip it off the wall, and wrap it around her body until she couldn’t breathe anymore.
“Are you finally acknowledging that I can fight?”
“I’m not an idiot, Eshe.”
“I won’t stab you in the back.”
“No, you won’t, because I wouldn’t put myself in that position. The exit is that way.” I pointed toward the gate that was open, for the time being.
Eshe dropped her hands. “I don’t want to use… unorthodox methods to practice on innocent guards in the palace. Let me train with you, and they won’t suffer from your stubbornness.”
“The little warrior thinks she can outsmart me?”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Don’t call you ‘Eshe,’ don’t call you ‘little warrior.’ Is there anything else I can call you?”
“Mara.”
I scoffed a little too loudly. “Fitting.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“The name you chose is fitting.”
“Why is that?”
“It means ‘bitter.’” I raised a mocking eyebrow. “Did the studies you grew up with teach you anything?”
Her hands clenched into hard fists at her sides. “Does it bother you so much that a woman learned something other than motherhood?”
I huffed and tilted my head. The weight of the dagger in my hand was growing heavier by the second.
“This”—I waved at her body—“is the reason why women shouldn’t learn anything but motherhood. With knowledge and education, they’ll want to attack the hand that feeds them, the men who clothe them. Protect them.”
“You’ve never protected me.”
I flicked my wrist and let the knife slide from my palm. The dagger whizzed past Eshe’s ear and into the practice target behind her.
Eshe stood still. Smart.
Too smart for her own good.
I grabbed another dagger from behind me and stared at Eshe.
Something flashed across her eyes, but she did not move.
I swung another dagger at her.
She didn’t flinch.
The dagger met the middle of my wooden target.
Something warm and unexpected swelled in my chest. My eyes hadn’t left hers.
I placed another dagger in my hand and took a step toward Eshe.
Her eyes fluttered down the length of my body, but she didn’t step back.
I finally stopped before her, looking down at her. When there was distance, she seemed taller than she actually was. But when I was this close, she was an entire head shorter than I was. I could crush her if I wanted to.
The thought led to images of her beneath me. In her bedroom.
“I chose not to harm you right now. Wouldn’t that be considered protecting you from harm?” I questioned.
“Did you want to hurt me?”
“The thought crossed my mind.”
“And you chose not to?”
“That is what I said.” I tilted my head, wondering where she was getting at.
“Then I suppose you did protect me.” Her lips twitched. “From yourself.”
I raised the dagger underneath her chin, and I could see the pulse in her throat fluttering violently.
“Don’t say I never protected you again.”
Her eyes locked with mine. She made a mistake then, and her eyes dropped to my lips. I allowed myself to look at her own full, wet lips. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to grab her and bite them as a punishment for making me feel this way.
“That’s manipulation since you were the one who put me in danger in the first place.”
“Is it? I think you put yourself in this position again, Eshe.”
Her eyes met mine again—her jaw tightened.
“I am here to avenge my family. And I will.”
I leaned my head forward, closer now. Just enough to almost touch her. I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I think you’re looking in the wrong direction.”
Her breath hitched, and the rhythm of her chest rose and fell quickly. I hated that I noticed it.
“If you know the direction…” she whispered against my skin. “Would you tell me where it is?”
“I might.” I was surprised that I admitted that. Her eyes met mine, and I saw something else besides pure hatred and rage. She almost looked human for a moment.
I could feel her breath across my lips, and the air suddenly grew thick and warm.
Eshe’s hand slowly wrapped on top of mine, and I suddenly was aware that my hand had tightened on the handle. Eshe pried the dagger from my palm. I let her, of course.
Without waiting another moment, she flung the dagger at the target.
Her knife landed closer to the middle than mine did.
“I bet you can’t do better than that,” she grunted with a smirk.
I knew what she was doing. She wanted to challenge me so that she could continue training with me. She didn’t think I’d allow her to. And the strangest thing occurred—I let it happen.
The next dagger I threw was indeed closer than hers, which infuriated her. God, she was so easy to ruffle up. Had not changed in the slightest.
For a few minutes, she continued hurling my daggers at the target while I stayed behind.
With my arms crossed, I studied her with my exceptional observational skills.
The way she leaned on her front leg more than the leg behind.
How her wrists were gentle yet firm as she flung the daggers.
How her core was engaged and her back steady.
I hated to admit it, but her form was excellent.
There was just one thing wrong.
I walked up from behind Eshe and did not hesitate when I pressed my thigh against the inside of hers.
Her back stiffened, and she froze.
“The distance between your legs is too close.”
I pressed her legs further apart.
She followed the direction I pressed.
I laid a gentle hand on the small of her back and pushed. She resisted. Better. She was steadier now.
She looked behind and caught my eye.
The thought of her flushed up against me, and her looking at me like that stopped my breath. My lips parted barely, air drying the entirety of my mouth, causing me to lean slightly forward. For the briefest moment, my hand drifted to her hip and tugged her slightly toward me.
Something flashed in her eyes as well, and she immediately turned to face forward again.
She nodded at my instructions.
I reluctantly took a step back, flexing my hand, and she threw another dagger, hitting exactly where the middle target was.
My lips twitched.
This was so wrong, but I couldn’t bring myself to end it. What would my father think of this? What would my men say about me?
But then I wondered, did I really care at all?
“I need to know something.” Eshe turned around with no daggers left to throw. “Is Norrah safe?”
The arena turned quiet as I stared at Eshe.
So Norrah told her what I did. I doubt Norrah freely gave up that information. Eshe was hard to back off. But still, Norrah betrayed my orders.
I tilted my head, studying her.
“Don’t concern yourself with politics that have nothing to do with you, little warrior. The sooner you learn that, the better.”
“Norrah does concern me,” she stated.
Before I had time to respond, my brother stepped through the gate into the arena. The sun had risen more, and I could hear the commotion of the guards behind the wall. The desert was waking up.
“Eshe, Ezra.” Casimir nodded his greeting.
“Good morning,” Eshe said, her voice suddenly lighter than before. I wondered if I had to train with her more in order for her to sound like this more often.
Casimir’s eyes dimmed as he darted from Eshe to me. “I have news. Kavid is here. He just arrived last night.”
My eyes snapped to Eshe.
“Keep her away while I talk to him,” I told Casimir.
Eshe took a step back. Her eyes grew wide.
“Ezra,” she hissed as she took a step toward me. “You can’t keep him from me. You told me you’d let me see him.”
I matched her step forward.
The moment of peace we had briefly shared completely vanished, and nothing but hatred and rage stood between us now. Much better. I liked this much better. This is what I could handle.
“You did not hold up your end of the bargain. I choose when and where you’ll see him. If I allow it,” I kept my voice cold and hard.
“I haven’t seen him in. Eight. Years.” Her body was beginning to tremble with rage. “Are you really going to keep him from me?”
“That’s not my problem. That’s yours. And yes. I can, and I will, until I decide to do so otherwise.”
Casimir trudged his way toward Eshe, who kept backing away, shaking her head in disbelief. She kept her lethal glare on me.
My eyes narrowed at her chin. I could have sworn I saw a slight tremor. But she tightened it just as quickly, her lips pursed.
“You are cruel, Ezra,” she whispered so that only I could hear. “I wish I had never met you.”
A bird flew between us, the only movement in the arena right now.
“How strange. I wish the very same thing every night.”