CHAPTER 6 CALLYN #2
Nora moves around my arm, shifting to stand by my side. “You don’t have to protect me, Cally- cal. I have better claws this time.”
Where is she getting all this confidence? I grab her arm. “Nora. Stop it. You are not—”
“Sure she is.” Alek ducks under the arena railing, and without warning, he draws his sword.
I draw in a sharp breath, torn between diving in front of my sister and diving for my own weapon.
Before I can do either, their swords meet, a clash of ringing steel in the quiet arena.
Panic chokes my heart for a second, because I blink and remember Nora impaled on the blade of a soldier.
She was lying in the forest, blood seeping from the wound, choking and gasping for breath.
Dying.
Blades clash again, and the image is gone. My sister is alive and well in front of me, engaged in a sword fight with my mortal enemy.
I shake myself and grab my own blade, breathless. I don’t even know if we could both hold him off. Should I call for help? Surely there are guards within earshot.
But as soon as I straighten with my weapon in hand, I realize this isn’t a battle to the death. Not really. Nora is attacking and Alek is deflecting, but he’s not retaliating. My sister adjusts her grip and comes at him more aggressively.
This time, Alek parries and snaps his blade against hers, driving her back a step. “Easy,” he says casually, as if she’s not panting from the effort. “Don’t lose your focus.”
She makes an angry sound and comes at him again, and he does it a second time. Nora backs away, circling, looking for a new opening.
“I know all of Nolla Verin’s moves,” he says to her. “So you’ll have to try something new.”
His back is to me, his eyes tracing her movements, so I step forward and poke the end of my blade right into his back, just below the edge of his armor.
“How about this?” I say.
Alek goes still at once.
“Drop your sword,” I say.
“I’d really rather not.” He lifts his hands, however, letting the weapon hang from one.
I give him a little poke for good measure, but these are training blades, and I’d have to use real force to actually break skin.
Alek doesn’t even wince. His eyes don’t leave my sister. “You’re very good,” he says. “You need some new sparring partners so you don’t trap yourself with familiar moves.”
Nora wets her lips and glances between him and me.
“I’d offer now,” he says, “but your sister and I have other plans.”
“No, we do not,” I say, reconsidering whether I want to just push this blade right into his body. I give him another jab, putting some real strength into it. He grunts and yields a step.
“Do that again,” he says, “and you’ll find yourself in a fight you’re not ready for.”
For the first time, a note of anger slips into his voice, and it’s backed with a dangerous thread of warning. There once was a time when it would’ve made me falter.
Not anymore. I remember the way his body pressed into mine in the sunlight, how he whispered sweet nothings against my sweat-dampened skin, making me feel like the most treasured woman alive.
A minute later, he was being torn apart by a scraver, his blood soaking into the soil.
Two minutes later, I was using magic to save his life.
And then, three minutes later, he was looking at me with panicked betrayal and unbridled fury. He was undoing every moment of happiness I’ve ever found in his presence.
I grit my teeth, step forward, and jab that sword as hard as I can.
He must see it coming, because he swoops out of the way, spinning to parry, knocking my sword sideways.
I’m ready for it, however, and I slam my blade right back into his.
I’m gratified when his eyes flare slightly, as if he’s surprised by my response.
But then he retaliates, and suddenly we’re fighting for real.
This is nothing like sparring with Nora— or with Verin, for that matter.
Alek is ruthless in a different way, all brute strength and deadly precision.
But it’s all right. Unlike my sister, I’ve had a lot of different opponents among the soldiers.
And I might be learning to embroider with the queen’s ladies, but I still grew up on a farm, and my muscles know how to work.
Eventually, however, his skill trumps mine. He hooks my hilt, catches my ankle with his foot, and I go down. My blade goes spinning into the dirt.
I glare up at him, breathing hard. Dust from the arena floor collects along the sweat on my skin.
“Go ahead,” I spit at him. “Are you going to jab at me now? Or are you just going to kill me?”
“Neither.” He immediately lets me go, then straightens to sheathe his sword. “We’re wasting time. The queen has asked us to continue our visits among the Royal Houses.” He stands over me haughtily. “Get up. We have our orders.”
I’ve envisioned Alek returning to the Crystal Palace for weeks, but in every imagining, he has soldiers at his back and they’re dragging me through the gates in chains. I stare at him. “Really?”
“Yes.”
To my left, Nora rushes forward, but Alek holds up a hand, then snaps his head around. “No more. Your sister is busy.”
Something in his tone tells me his next fight won’t be a sparring match. It’ll be real.
I find my feet, wishing I didn’t have just a training blade against my palm. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I say.
“Fine,” he says. “Disobey. Ignore her orders. Run along and tell the queen you have no time for me.” He glances at Nora.
“Perhaps you would like to join me, little cat. I could introduce you to some new opponents among the Royal Houses. Your sister certainly seemed to enjoy herself during our visits.”
“Alek!” I snap.
He folds his arms and raises his eyebrows. “Ah! Forgive me. Was Nora unaware of our time together?”
I’m frozen in place. Because she was completely unaware.
And he well knows it.
My sister’s expression has lit with surprise, and she glances between the two of us, and now she’s frowning. Her voice goes very small, and I can’t tell if she’s disappointed in me or distrustful of him. “Cally- cal?”
In that instant, I realize how very young she still is.
I grit my teeth and glare at Alek. “Nora. It’s fine. Go back to the nursery.” I heave a sigh, wanting to punch him in his triumphant face. “And when you see the queen, let her know Alek arrived, and I’m with him.”