Chapter 21
“Come on, Fish Eyes. You can do better than that.”
A growl reverberated in my throat as I scanned Callen for openings. As always, there were none. I’d have to create my own.
Swiping at the sweat dripping over my brows, I stared him in the eyes, fighting the tendency to look at the area I aimed for. Callen had exploited that very tendency countless times over the past two days, reminding me of it every time I landed on the carpeted floor.
“Are you going to just stand there, growling like an adorable little wolf, or are you—”
I lunged, kicking for his right knee. Ever since we began combat training the day I returned, the kick had become a favorite move of mine. It was one Callen had blocked many times. As expected, he blocked it again now.
Perfect.
Expecting the deflection, I kept my force from transferring into the kick, and used it to drive fist up into his stomach instead.
Except he blocked that maneuver too, with a quick forearm that had me stumbling back.
Skies, the man was impenetrable. I’d only managed hits when he clearly allowed them, never once finishing a strike during our end-of-practice scenarios.
Yesterday’s scenario involved me, on the floor, trying to crawl out of the hold of someone who had me pinned.
Today’s involved me trying to get Callen to step back from his current position. He’d easily stood his ground.
“That was clever. I liked that,” he praised as I fought to catch my breath.
“You didn’t even budge.”
“No, but that’s not the goal. You won’t get me to budge for at least three months of this. The goal right now is to have you think strategically in a fight, like you just did.”
A whole three months? “Try one month.”
He smirked, an annoying dimple appearing in his cheek. “Fish Eyes, that’s pretty ambitious.”
“I’m feeling ambitious.”
He shrugged, sidling up to me. “Want to make a bet, then?”
“Do you make bets with all of your trainees?”
“Yep. It’s quite fun to see them lose all the time.”
It really was a wonder that Callen stood next to North as one of Harthon’s trusted leaders. North would slice off someone’s ear if they asked him to make a bet.
“You do realize how unprofessional that is, right?”
“No, it’s just my version of professional.”
Screw it. “Fine. Let’s bet. If I beat you in this scenario within a month, you’ll have to follow through on a dare of my choice.”
“That’s vague.”
“Intentionally so. Do you accept it, or are you scared?”
He gave me a look full of mischief. “Oh, I accept. And when you don’t beat me in this scenario within a month, you’ll ask anyone who speaks to you to call you ‘Fish Eyes’ for one whole month.”
That was absolutely not happening. I extended my hand. “Deal.”
He shook it, chuckling. “This will be fun.”
“No sabotaging my training so that you can win.”
“Duh. I don’t need to sabotage your training to win,” he said smugly.
I narrowed my eyes at him. There was no time like the present. Without any warning, I squeezed his hand and sent my leg up into his stomach, releasing his fingers as my foot made contact.
It was perfect form.
He absorbed the blow without moving.
I stared at him with wide eyes. For the love of the Domus, it’d been a direct hit, and he acted like I’d simply tickled him.
He smiled, white teeth flashing as his second dimple appeared. “I cannot wait to hear Harthon and North and everyone else call you ‘Fish Eyes.’”
A growl threatened to rattle my chest once more, but I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
He winked. “Don’t worry about it too much during your meeting with Aric.”
* * *
Two hours later, I was still determining the best way to make Callen eat his words as Stefano walked me down the hallway.
Felda and Frannie had braided my hair and set it into a bun, and I was wearing an ensemble similar to what I wore at Ellan’s party.
This time, though, the thin, corseted top was a violet overlaid with a golden sheen, as if the two colors of my eyes had been combined into one.
My eyes fell to the sword at Stefano’s hip as he brought us into an unfamiliar wing of the Citadel. I would have my regular daily trainings with Callen and practice my hits and blocks on my own, but additional hand-to-hand combat was needed if I was to win the bet.
“Have you trained anyone before?” I asked him.
He sent me a look of confusion as we rounded a corner. “Occasionally, but only new recruits.”
I essentially was a new recruit. “Excellent. Starting tonight, we’re going to train together every day.”
His steps stuttered. “I…what? Why? Isn’t Callen in charge of your training?”
Stefano was going to agree. He had to. I couldn’t bear to hear anyone else call me that horrid nickname. “We made a bet, and I need to beat him. To do that, I need your help.”
“Why in all the Territories would you make a bet on beating Callen?” he asked, making it sound like I was idiotic.
Perhaps I was, but it was far too late to back out now.
“I don’t need to beat him in a fight. I just need to be able to knock him back a step. Surely you can help me get there,” I said, not caring that I was pleading with the kid.
“Callen is, like, really good in combat. I don’t know if I can get you there. I don’t even know if training you is allowed.”
“Stefano. You’re my guard, and your job is to protect me, right? Helping me train even more is helping me to protect myself better. Hence, you’d be doing your job even better. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Unease morphed into consideration on his boyish face, followed by reluctant agreement. “What if I hurt you?”
“I’m more durable than I look,” I replied, reaching for patience.
“Fine,” he said on a sigh as we passed an unfamiliar staircase. “But don’t blame me if…”
His words faded into background noise as I stared at the stone stairs, my feet having stopped of their own accord.
I didn’t know where they led to, this section of the Citadel completely unfamiliar to me.
There was a…a tugging within me, as if my bones and organs wished to move, but my skin prevented them from doing so. The sensation was like that of a faint itch, one that softly requested attention and would worsen if not scratched.
Ever since I decided I would willingly help Harthon enter Centralis two mornings ago, I’d felt nothing strange.
While I may not have the soul-consuming desire to enter the Domus, I certainly wanted to do it now, but there’d been no sign—not even a hint—of the knowledge that was buried within me.
As it was, I could hardly recall those spindly fingers of light that’d flashed before my eyes when the magvis grabbed me.
This was the first unusual thing to occur, so I had to pursue it. I had to go up the steps.
I was five steps in when Stefano realized I was no longer following him. “Hey, the room’s down the hall. Not up the stairs,” he called up to me.
I ignored him, too drawn to climb the stairs to care that I was taking us in the wrong direction.
Stefano muttered something under his breath and jogged until he caught up with me. “Etarla, we’re going to be late.”
It would only be a short detour. I just needed to reach the top to relieve the itch that’d taken residence in my muscles, and then we could turn and go back down. There was no need for him to be so stressed.
“There’s nothing up here. It’s just a lookout post. We can check it out after the meeting,” he tried, still trailing behind me as we climbed.
“How close are we to the top?”
“Far enough away to turn back around,” came his stubborn reply.
“How close?” I asked again. My lungs were beginning to burn from the steep incline. With a surge of energy, I pushed my legs to move faster, not that they had much more speed to give. It was a grueling climb.
“At this insane pace, just a minute away,” he answered, not out of breath despite his grumbling.
I’d be at the top in a minute.
Just a minute.
Some of my agitation eased, and I forced my limbs to keep pushing until I was standing on the landing platform, surrounded by wide openings in the walls that offered unobstructed views of the Citadel.
This high up, I could even see past the Citadel walls to the city center, and even the valley and small hills beyond that.
I pivoted in the cool air, stepping to the opening that faced the south.
The itch pervading my muscles instantly vanished. I hadn’t realized the stiffness in my shoulders until they fell from my ears as I took in the view.
There were only grass and imposing hills in the distance, shadowed by the sooty sky. I imagined the Domus might be behind those hills. But there was no highlighted path, no landmark that stood out in importance to me. Just dull land.
There was nothing of significance here. Had my body merely wanted to see the view?
“Not to be too nosy, but why are we up here?” Stefano asked behind me.
I squinted at the shadowed hills one last time, confirming that there was nothing to note, before turning to face him. Stefano was too sweet to ever scowl, but the expression on his face was probably as close as he came to it.
“I’m not really sure,” I answered.
His lips parted in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”
I briefly thought back to the skittish, flustered boy he’d been back when I’d first come to the Citadel. That version of him was gone. Apparently, he’d grown more comfortable with me.
“Uh, no.” It was the best I had. I’d climbed the stairs because, well, I had to climb them.
“Well are you done being up here? Because you have a very important meeting with not one, but two Princepes. Right now. And I was supposed to get you there a few minutes early.”
I blanched, the importance of that meeting suddenly striking me.
We needed to get Aric’s alliance, and showing him the basic respect of being on time would likely influence his opinion of us.
Pretend magvis or not, I really shouldn’t be late.
I certainly wouldn’t have a valid excuse if asked for one.