4. Taldesa
Taldesa
High Conservator Aelidon was a hard-ass.
If Tala was honest, it was probably the thing that she respected most about her.
To an unskilled warrior, the High Conservator looked like an easy target.
Tall and lean, and pale enough that Tala, at first, thought she was sick until she realized that’s just what her superior looked like.
The silver hair and fine wrinkles only added to the look, but it was nearly impossible to tell how old an elf was based on appearances alone.
Tala had guessed the High Conservator was probably three thousand years old. More a commentary on the woman’s perpetual stuffy behavior. After all, that’s why Tala was standing in front of her chamber door.
You’re not a chicken shit, just open the door, Tala.
Swallowing her nerves—not that she had any—Tala grasped the door and slid it open. Her own room—which she had been fortunate to have alone—would always catch if she opened it too quickly.
The interior of the High Conservator’s chambers looked no different than it had the last time Tala was there.
A fact that was a little worrisome when Tala realized she was starting to remember some of the designs.
White curtains with pearlescent embroidery in the archways, lanterns casting enough light to the small round table in the center of the room where a pot of tea was being kept warm over a small fire.
The wood engravings, calligraphy, and paintings were some of the high points.
All of them centering around the White Dragon, of course.
But no High Conservator Aeli—
Tala’s eyes widened, body jerking an inch back just in time to avoid the dart that had been aimed at her neck.
It landed somewhere behind her as Tala snapped her arm up, fingers barely catching the end of another dart before it connected with her chest. The relief was short lived as the next dart pierced her exposed bicep, embedding itself deep into her muscle.
There wasn’t enough time for Tala’s brain to question what was happening.
Her body had quickly filled with adrenaline, and before Tala could think, she had flung the dart in her hand back in the direction it came from.
Tensing, Tala yanked the dart out of her arm and threw it as well, arms preparing to pull her batons from her sash—
Only to have some unknown assailant knock her calf in with a harsh kick. Tala tried to resist it, but her knee buckled under the push and she fell onto it. With a grunt, Tala pulled her batons free, flipping them behind her just in time to block something heavy as it came down toward her back.
Okay, asshole.
Tala pushed with all her might and once the weight was off her, she tucked her body close and rolled forward.
The attacker was right behind her—their movement was near silent save for whatever weapon they were wielding.
Which meant this wasn’t any No-name or Mikol looking for revenge, but the question of who would have to wait.
Arching her back from her crouched position, Tala raised her arms and crossed the batons above her head.
She intercepted the weapon—a staff with the face of the Dauntless Verity in silver embellished at the end.
Realization had barely registered in Tala’s brain before the staff glided down between her batons and whopped her on the forehead.
Gods damn it all!
The pain wasn’t enough to make her vision blur, but it smarted like nothing else.
She needed to regroup and quick. Tala closed the distance between her batons, catching the staff as it moved away—readying for a second strike.
Her weapons caught the base of the dragon’s face, using the weight of her arms to shove the staff toward her left.
The resistance wasn’t easy, but it gave Tala enough time to get her feet back under her and jump to standing position.
She spun, preparing to strike her opponent’s side when the butt of the staff impacted her shoulder.
The blow made Tala stumble, but she was ready when the staff came down to strike the side of her neck.
Tala caught the staff between her batons and glared up at the face of her superior.
“What the fuck, Aelidon?!”
Crack.
“Ow!”
The High Conservator had taken the opportunity to knock the top of her head with the staff.
“That one was for cursing in this sacred place,” Aelidon said.
“Sacred—” Tala blew out a puff of breath, hoping to move the chunk of hair that was in her face. “This is your office! It’s not like the entire city worships in this spot—ow!”
Another tap, this time to her side. Not enough to seriously injure, but enough to be fucking annoying.
“The Archive of the Valiant Circle is a place of worship, Taldesa. It’s best that you remember that.”
“I remember it fine!” Tala all but exploded as she yanked herself from Aelidon’s reach. “You’re the one who invited me here and started—”
This time, Tala intercepted the staff, winding her left arm around it and locking it in place against her body with the baton in hand. She used the other to aim the end at the High Conservator’s smug face.
“—would you stop doing that?!”
“I will when you prove to me you can make me stop,” Aelidon replied as she caught the end of Tala’s baton and pushed.
Tala tightened her hold, ready to resist the move when Aelidon suddenly let go. She hadn’t anticipated that and Tala found herself stumbling forward. The maneuver was enough to free the High Conservator’s staff, which she used to catch Tala’s heel, sending her to the floor.
Knowing how to take a fall was one of the first things the Moon Maidens had taught their disciples.
In some ways, falling was just as important as knowing how to land a blow against an opponent.
Tala loosened her grip on her batons, letting them fall vertically towards the ground.
The moment they connected, Tala readjusted her grip and used all her strength to push herself back up.
Unlike before, Tala wasn’t going to get hit by the face of the White Dragon again.
The force of the movement shifted her center of gravity enough to standing, allowing Tala to catch Aelidon’s staff. Once the weapon was entangled with her arm and baton, Tala brought the second baton down toward Aelidon’s shoulder. Naturally, the High Conservator caught the weapon before it struck.
That did not stop Tala from bringing her knee up into the High Conservator’s stomach. Tala felt the weakened hold on her baton, she pushed forward, coming closer to Aelidon. She looped the baton behind the High Conservator’s neck and yanked.
Aelidon fell to a knee as Tala firmly brought the end of her baton and fist to the base of the woman’s neck. One of her arms was locked against Tala in an awkward position, which meant if she wanted to be free, Aelidon would have let go of her staff. A small moment of victory swelled within Tala…
And then all the blood rushed toward her head and everything went black.
Aelidon’s reflexes were the only thing that saved her from getting cold-cocked the minute Tala woke up.
At first, she wasn’t sure what was going on.
Waking up on the ground with her guardian hovering above her wasn’t exactly the norm for her.
Besides, Tala had always been a punch first, ask questions later type of person.
Tala eyed the High Conservator wearily as she tried to remember how she ended up on the floor.
“Sit up and have some tea, Taldesa. It’ll help with the numbness.” Aelidon said.
Wincing, Tala slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her body was tender, but what was worse was the groggy sensation in her head. Like someone had punched her in the back of the head just to see if her skull would explode like a watermelon.
Aelidon poured a cup of tea, sliding the cup toward Tala as she moved to sit on the other side of the table. Knees folded perfectly beneath her robes, Aelidon placed her hands on her lap and looked at Tala expectantly.
Fucking weird woman, Tala thought as she took the small porcelain cup in hand.
“What…” Ugh, her mouth tasted like ass. Tala cleared her throat. “What happened?”
“What do you remember?”
Oh, my gods.
Impatience and irritation weren’t helping the migraine building in Tala’s head. For the sake of her pounding headache, Tala downed the tea. It was fragrant, spicy even, but somehow the warmth soothed something in her.
“I had you in a choke hold,” Tala said after a moment of recollection. “At least, I thought I did but…”
“Here, have more tea,” Aelidon poured another cup. “It’ll help.”
Tala’s thick eyebrows rose in confusion, “Help with wha…”
She did not… there’s no way this bitch—
“Did you poison me with those fucking darts?!” Tala exclaimed.
Aelidon’s peaceful expression was infuriating at a level she never thought possible before.
It was one thing to be ambushed—plenty of warriors and fighters used those methods to teach their students.
Fuck, Tala had even been asked to spring an attack on the younger disciples when she had still been with the Moon Maidens.
Back before your temper got you into trouble.
But poison?
That felt like a line that shouldn’t have been crossed.
Or maybe Tala hated the thought of losing any bit of her own autonomy more than she already had.
At twenty-six, she had long outgrown the temple’s guardianship, yet she had earned enough demerits to lock her to serving the temple until she was at least fifty.
Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but fuck!
“I did,” Aelidon said with a calm that had Tala’s fist tightening on her thigh. “There was a bit of a time limit on our fight—though, I was hopeful that Cercel’s herbal lessons would have prepared you better.”
“Aelidon, what in the fire plane do you want from me?” Tala demanded before downing her second cup of tea. “What was all of this about?”
“Considering your habit of fighting first and talking later, I figured it was obvious.”
Smug—
Tala gritted her teeth.
Of course this was punishment for beating the shit out of No—Mikol. Bastard seemed like the type that would squeal to teacher the moment things got to hard for him. Tala hated people who couldn’t take the heat when it was handed right back to them.
“I apologized to Mikol.” Tala said with disdain. “Didn’t Cercel tell you? I took Mikol’s gardening shift for a whole week.”
It had pained Tala to do it, but she knew based on the values of the Dauntless Verity alone that anything but atonement would have been met with more friction. The kind that Tala absolutely did not need as a bigger problem had been weighing on her for over a week.
Why hadn’t Avie contacted her?
The question had alluded Tala as she was pretty damn sure when they had seen each other last, they had been been on good terms. But now…
What if she needs me? What if she’s in trouble and I’m stuck here playing Farmer Bobgon with these assholes?
“He did tell me, but that’s not why I asked you here, Taldesa.” Aelidon poured more tea.
Tala stopped herself from rolling her eyes.
“Okay, I’ll bite. Why did you wanna see me?”
“You’ve been with us for seven years now, Taldesa, and during this time your skills have grown a lot. If it wasn’t for the poison, you might have removed my staff from me,” Aelidon said. “Well, the poison and the six other ways I could have subdued you.”
“Thanks,” Tala grumbled.
“Still, your reaction time is close to only a handful of our disciples and I believe your temperament is ideal for the task at hand.”
“Oh, my gods, Aelidon! Just tell me what’s going on!”
Aelidon smiled. “I have an assignment for you.”