Chapter 28 Dylan
Dylan
“I thought we'd start with mastering your summoning before we moved on to controlling your power,” I said, hauling black bags filled with grain onto a wooden frame.
That was the fourth and final makeshift punchbag I set up in the training ring, which, thankfully, due to the late hour, was empty.
Not that I gave a shit if anyone saw us together, but more so for Non's sake as I could practically feel the nerves radiating off her.
She nibbled at the end of her thumb before regaining her composure and standing a little taller.
The lamplight from the outskirts of the ring glimmered off the steel edge of Carnwennan strapped at Non's thigh. I had only given her the sheath to make grabbing her dagger more efficient when she was in combat. But fuck me did seeing a weapon strapped to that powerful leg do it for me.
Just being around her was intoxicating, and I found myself craving her presence when completing my duties as an Ail.
Which was the exact opposite of what I was supposed to be doing.
There was a long line of people who would smack me upside my head if they knew what I was doing with her this evening, especially within such close proximity to her.
She'd only been at the Western encampment less than an hour, and already, my skin had started to burn. I knew what came next: the nausea, and then the blacking out.
But I pushed through the pain that had begun to prickle my skin. Looking into her eyes was the best sedative for it, anyway.
“You look a little peaky. Are you sure you're feeling okay?” she asked hesitantly.
I forced a tight smile. “Perfect. Ready to start?”
She nodded and pulled Carnwennan free.
“You've already got the basics of connecting with your Arf to direct it where you want it to go. Tonight, let's try to do that again while also throwing it.” I nodded at the bags propped against the frames. “Hit the centre of each bag. That's your first exercise.”
Non cocked a brow. “I have terrible aim.”
“Doesn't matter. Frankly, most who serve the Western Coven wouldn't be able to shoot a fish in a barrel if it weren't for their powers. Just focus on finding that connection to Carnwennan again. The stone in the blade will do the rest for you.”
Non looked sceptical but eventually lifted Carnwennan above her shoulder as her eyes fluttered closed.
“Can you feel Carnwennan calling to you?”
She nodded.
“Good. Now focus only on that connection, and then picture in your mind where you want the dagger to go. When you're ready, just throw and let your power do the work.”
Non let out a shaky breath and, with a grunt, hurled Carnwennan towards the first bag of grain. The dagger hit its mark, but did so with such force that the bag exploded, and grains of barley flew everywhere.
“Shit, I'm sorry!” Non said, shaking pieces of grain from her hair.
“Don't apologise—that was marvellous. Imagine you did that to an enemy. You'd be washing their insides out of your hair for weeks!”
Non grimaced and, without prompting, summoned Carnwennan back to her hand perfectly.
“That was exceptional. Good girl.”
My praise had her freezing completely, and her eyes rounded.
“Keep up the good work, and you might earn yourself another one of those,” I chuckled.
Non excelled in summoning Carnwennan back and forth between the targets. In no time, we'd moved on to some more complex manoeuvring.
I moved to stand behind her, partly to assist with her throwing form, but also because I needed to be close to her. Even if my senses were screaming for me to haul arse in the opposite direction.
Despite showing some restraint over the past hour by keeping a decent distance between us, the pain still lingered, but it wasn't unbearable. But when I came to stand behind her, my skin felt like it was on fire.
I took a deep breath, telling myself the pain was worth it when her floral, sweet scent hit my nostrils. It was so familiar, but I struggled to place exactly where I'd smelt it before.
“Now we're going to try throwing Carnwennan again. But instead of hitting the target and summoning it back, I want you to try doing it in one fluid motion.”
Non looked up at me with confusion, and I summoned Caledfwlch to demonstrate. I threw the axe and it whipped through the air in a curve, slicing each bag in the semi-circle as it passed by before landing back in my open palm.
Non scoffed. “Show-off.”
She studied my axe for a moment before drawing her eyebrows together.
“Do all Arfs have names?”
“They don't. Names are only given to weapons that are considered god weapons.”
“Is your axe a god weapon like Carnwennan?”
I nodded.
“What does that even mean?”
Surely someone at Llwyn Onn had explained to her exactly what Carnwennan was. The look of bewilderment on my face must have been self-explanatory as Non continued.
“All I know about this dagger is what Caerwyn told me when he gave it to me the other night. Very little has been explained to me since I've been staying here.”
Leaning closer, I moved to place my hand over hers, which gripped her dagger, but I paused just before my skin made contact.
“Is it okay to touch you?”
Non leaned back into me ever so slightly. “Absolutely. I mean, sure, go ahead.”
“How about we make this training a little more interesting?”
Non's breath caught at the proposition.
I brought my mouth closer to her ear. “For every throw you land, I'll answer one of your burning questions. Deal?”
“Deal,” she said with determination that made pride swell in my chest.
I placed my hand on hers and gave her a brief rundown of how the next move was executed. She struggled with finding the connection to Carnwennan without her eyes closed, but after a few failed attempts, she succeeded in slicing each bag, even if the landing was a little clunky.
Her first choice of question was about Carnwennan, and I explained everything I knew about god weapons.
“Like their names suggest, they are weapons that were smithed in the Otherworlds by one of the gods. When the first Orwen and Orddu sealed the realms, shutting the gods out, some left their weapons behind. Hence why they are now in the possession of us Witches.” Non flinched when I used that word, but I continued as if I hadn't seen her reaction.
“At one point, there was believed to be dozens of god weapons in this world, but most have been lost to time. Ours are two of only a handful left.”
“What else makes them special apart from being created in Annwn or Annwfyn and being created by a god? Do they cut people deeper or stab people harder?”
A roar of laughter ripped from my throat, and even Non bit back a laugh at her own quip.
“They aren't much different from any other Arf when it comes to stabbing or cutting. However, they do amplify a Witch's strength when using them in conjunction with your power.”
“So you're saying if I used Carnwennan while trying to summon my shadowy black hole magic, that would make it more powerful?”
I shrugged. “Technically, yes.”
Non unsheathed Carnwennan from her thigh and into her palm without even touching it. Gods, she was catching on quickly. To my surprise, she handed the dagger to me.
“Then I shouldn’t be the one to wield Carnwennan. Look at what my power has done already! I'll probably kill someone if I keep using that dagger.”
“That's kind of the point.”
Stepping away from me, Non shot me a deadpan look. But I closed the space between us and sheathed Carnwennan back at her thigh.
“We'll get it under control, I promise. Caerwyn gave it to you; no one knew your grandfather better than Caerwyn did. If Caerwyn thinks you should have it, then I am certain your grandfather would want you to.”
I reached out with my baby finger and Non studied it with a look of uncertainty.
“If someone ends up being banished into one of those black holes for eternity, I'm blaming you.”
She hooked her fifth finger around my own.
“Deal.”
After another attempt at cutting the bags with one throw, Non was two for two. It took her a little while to think of what question she wanted answered next, but after chewing her lip until it almost bled, she came to a decision.
“Why does Ledr Caerwyn wear those metal bands around his wrists? It's obvious they're hurting him. Why not take them off?”
Fuck. I hadn't expected her to ask that.
Rubbing my hand against my jaw, I tried to think of an appropriate answer. Non stood with her arms crossed and tapped her foot on the floor.
“I can't answer that one.”
Non's eyebrows flew up, and she opened her mouth, ready to remind me of the terms of our agreement.
“Hold on-hold on, let me explain.”
She tsked but stayed silent, waiting for me to continue.
“The answer to that question comes with a story that isn't mine to tell; I would probably do it a disservice. Having known the old man for most of my life, I can say with confidence he would be more than willing to share that story with you.”
A flush of embarrassment stained Non's cheeks as she muttered an apology under her breath.
“I understand your curiosity. Tell you what, tomorrow evening when you return to train, I'll arrange for Caerwyn to stop by. You can ask him that question yourself.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
I waved my hand in dismissal. “Don't thank me yet. Let's get back to training and see how many more secrets you can get out of me before sunrise.”