Chapter 12
I’d waited until sundown to venture out, hoping the darkness would conceal my movements as I hurried down the winding path.
My thoughts wandered to a conversation I’d had with Lili earlier. We’d talked for hours as I explained everything about how I’d lived here at the base when I was a baby and about our father’s symbol and their roles in the Rebellion.
Afterward, I’d spent most of the afternoon and night studying Erebos’ book, searching for any shred of help. I had finally found a locator spell that I had planned to try tonight.
I also read that water emphasized my dark powers. Moon powers, I kept correcting myself. Therefore, I went to the river once more.
Dipping my bare feet into the water, perching on the riverbank, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the gentle push and pull of the tide. I imagined the moon’s ethereal force gently guiding the soft waves back and forth over my skin.
Words of retrieval
To reveal what’s in darkness veiled
Guide my steps in stars so hailed
Far or near
The road is clear
Return to me, draw near, draw near
My skin tingled, but I felt no tug or pull like the book had described I would.
I repeated the words in my mind, trying to lose myself in the gentle energy that coated my body.
But nothing happened in the ten minutes I mustered the patience to sit there, shivering slightly as the cold invaded my senses.
With dreaded disappointment, I pulled my feet out of the water and let them dry before putting my boots back on.
I meandered back to my hut, my shoulders hunching in defeat. When I finally stepped over the threshold to my little hut, I slumped back into bed and drifted off into uneasy sleep.
When I arrived at the armory early the next morning, Felix was already pounding a long piece of metal on his anvil, the fire ablaze in the furnace behind him.
His upper body was stripped, and his shirt was flung casually over a chair.
As he repeatedly hit the hot metal to form it, his muscles tensed with the effort.
Sweat trickled down his bare chest, and I gulped.
He looked up, finally noticing me. “Morning, sunshine,” he said, a cheeky grin spreading across his face. “How long were you going to keep your spicy little powers a secret?”
He put down the hammer and metal to give me a small hug. Instead, I elbowed him in the ribs, eliciting an exaggerated groan from him.
“It’s not like that,” I protested, rolling my eyes. His comment only piled more guilt onto my already overflowing mountain of self-loathing, but I shook off the creeping thoughts from my mind. “What were you making before I interrupted you?”
“You could never interrupt me, Prudence,” he said, giving me a wink before picking the hammer back up and turning it in his palm. “Sword, nothing special,” he shrugged.
“Take a look at this, though,” he said, gesturing for me to follow him to his messy worktable. He pulled a piece of parchment from the table and handed it to me. “New training schedule starting tomorrow. You should come.”
I scanned the schedule he’d drawn out. “You start at five? In the morning?” I said, a note of disbelief in my voice.
“Unless you want to look like a grilled chicken by the end of the session, that’s when we have to start,” he replied, snatching the parchment from me. “Please come. You could do with some training.”
He reached around me to give my bicep a light squeeze.
“Stop it,” I laughed, swatting his hand away. The gesture earned me a hearty laugh that I couldn’t help but mimic.
“Let’s get you started on another hilt for now.”
I sat down directly across from him and accepted the rough piece of wood he passed me.
“You want to be gentle. Always cut a little too little rather than a little too much. You can always cut more, but you can’t make the wood grow back,” he explained, his eyes flickering up to meet my gaze before returning to the half-finished blade.
I nodded distractedly, turning the wood around in my hands to study the bumps and knots in the surface.
“Still convinced that I’ll one day be an excellent woodworker?” I asked, giving him a small smile that he returned with enthusiasm.
“I’ll bet my finest knife on it.”
He seemed to see something over my shoulder, and I turned to see Hannan walking toward us. My stomach immediately dropped, anxious to find out what he and Verena’s plans for me could be.
“Morning, you two. I’m afraid I have to steal her away to the strategy room for a bit, Felix. " He smiled apologetically and gestured for me to join him.
I got up, willing my legs to hold my weight as we journeyed down the winding paths.
Hannan chatted merrily as we walked, and I did my best to listen despite the thrumming in my ears.
We entered the strategy room to see Verena standing bent over the countless maps on the table, muttering wordlessly to herself. Then my eyes landed on him, and my stomach dropped.
Daegal was leaning against the wall, a sulking expression plastered to his face. His arms were firmly crossed over his chest as he scowled at the ground before turning his hardened eyes to meet mine.
“Prudence, there you are,” Verena said, clapping her hands together in fervor. “Sit down, let’s talk. You too, Daegal.”
Daegal sauntered over to the table and flopped into a chair, his arms remaining firmly crossed.
I took the seat furthest from the fuming man and intertwined my fingers to hide their trembling.
Verena beamed at the three of us, like surely we’d be just as thrilled to be here.
Hannan offered me a tense smile like he knew my worries.
He probably did, well aware of the issues between Daegal and me.
“We’ve decided that you, Daegal, will teach Prudence sun magic,” she said, her voice carrying a sense of finality that no sane person would defy. Yet, Daegal leapt back up so fast his chair crashed to the floor behind him.
“Absolutely not,” he spat, whipping his head towards me. “I’m not training with her.”
“Sit back down, foolish boy,” Verena snapped. Daegal remained on his feet, slamming his palm on the table with a force so hard the whole thing shook.
“I’m on the council too,” he protested through gritted teeth, eyes blazing as he glared from Hannan to Verena. His eyes seemed to glow a faint gold like I’d once seen Kenric’s do.
“And the youngest of us all,” Hannan intervened, getting to his feet with equal authority. “Therefore, you’ll do as we say.”
“You’ll train twice a week,” Verena added, shooting up from her chair to join them. I felt ridiculous being the only one sitting down, so I got up, too, my face burning with embarrassment and anger. They discussed this like I wasn’t even here.
“I’ll learn on my own,” I said with a surprisingly steady voice. “I don’t need him to teach me.”
My words made them both shake their heads in discontent. “You don’t get a say in this, Prudence. If you wish to remain with the rebels, you’ll train together,” Verena said, her patience clearly running thin.
Daegal huffed, then placed both hands on the table to lean closer. “Fine, I’ll teach her,” he muttered, holding my gaze as he spoke. “On my terms.”
Hannan nodded fretfully before giving me an apologetic shrug.
“Alright, whatever it takes, Daegal. I don’t really care,” Verena said, waving her hand dismissively in front of her. “As long as you don’t hurt her,” she added, shooting him a warning look.
He rolled his eyes, then picked up the chair behind him and pushed it back under the table, signaling that he was done with this meeting. Frankly, they all looked happy to be done with it.
“Fine, whatever,” Daegal muttered in a low voice before starting toward the open door. As he walked out, he glanced at me over his shoulder. “Eight o’clock tomorrow morning by the forest exit. Don’t be late.”
I’d met back up with Felix at the armory and helped him as best I could until we walked to dinner. We sat at one of the long tables, eating with Felicity and a girl named Anna.
Anna was stunning. Her dark hair cascaded down her back and her eyes were so vibrant that I felt like I could drown in them as she kept her gaze fixed intently on me. Her dark skin was silky smooth.
“So, how are you liking it here?” she asked in a sing-song voice, ending each word a pitch higher than she started it.
“It’s wonderful,” I replied, trying to match her enthusiastic attitude. “Everyone has been so kind to me.” As I uttered this, a less-than-friendly face passed the table.
Daegal scanned our group with quick eyes before finding a seat at another table. His neck glowed crimson — no doubt still seething with fury over my continued freedom.
I forced down a bite of vegetable lasagna, struggling to swallow past the rising lump in my throat.
That bitter expression on Daegal’s face turned quickly into a smug grin as he chatted with his posse of hunters.
I tore my gaze from the group of obnoxiously loud guys to return my attention to the people around me who didn’t hate me on principle.
The twins were also hunters, but they preferred to keep other company outside their designated hunting days. Their job as hunters was not only to bring back game from the forest but to respond to dangers that might pose a threat to the base.
Like the threat I had caused a few days ago.
Anna caught my attention once more as her head bobbed up and down in an enthusiastic nod. “So, do you have any family?” Her sudden question about my personal life startled me.
Maybe because I hadn’t tried to make friends in years, or maybe because in the city, asking strangers about their family would be considered highly suspicious. At least for my kind.
“No, it’s just me,” I stuttered, gulping down the lie with difficulty. Thank Goddess Nyxe, the conversation moved on.
Twenty minutes later, Daegal stood back up from the table and, to my surprise, gestured for me to follow him. I shook my head in disbelief. “Not a chance,” I mouthed, holding his gaze.