Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
PHOENIX
It turns out, monks know how to celebrate.
On my last evening at the monastery, they organize a celebratory dinner to honor my journey. The large dining space is lively tonight.
A group of monks make space in the corner for a band. Some monks sing, while others play various instruments. It’s actually impressive how talented they are in the musical arts.
The tables are full of massive plates stacked with delicious dishes, and plum blossom wine flows freely.
For a moment, I forget the anxiety, guilt and responsibilities that weigh on my shoulders.
Monk Dravon approaches Ezkai Ravenna and with a shy smile, offers her his hand.
She takes it confidently, and the monk leads her closer to the band where a couple of monks are lined up for a dance.
I can’t help a giggle that escapes me as I watch Monk Dravon walk Ezkai Ravenna through a number of steps so she can join them in a dance.
But she keeps tripping over her own feet.
“A mighty fighter doesn’t always make for a mighty dancer,” Bloom says and barks a laugh.
Ezkai Emil laughs right as he sips from his glass and chokes on his plum blossom wine. Kazh, next to me, snorts.
Bloom catches my eye across the table, still laughing, and I find myself smiling back without thinking. It’s easy with her. She’s always been like this: easy warmth, quick to laugh, quicker to pull people in. Even as she stood at Kata’s side back at the Academy.
I’d never asked her about it. She’d switched allegiances so cleanly after Kata’s disappearance as if she hadn’t spent all those months tormenting me…
And I’d let her. Told myself people make choices under pressure they later regret.
I watch her refill Fern’s cup and laugh again.
Probably. Who knows with the damn fae.
“Clearly we should stick with what we’re good at,” I say, amused.
“Nah, sometimes you just need someone to guide you,” Jax says with a wink.
I roll my eyes.
Fern exchanges a glance with Bloom at her side. “Are you offering, pretty boy?”
Jax shrugs and flashes them his easy smile. “Always. But before I offer you a dance lesson, I must offer my services to my General.”
The look he gives me across the table makes my insides twist in the weirdest way. I level him with a glare.
Jax is not deterred by it, though. “Care to join me for a dance?”
“No,” I snap. “Thanks.”
My rejection only makes him chuckle. “Suit yourself, General.” He turns to Fern and Bloom. “Ladies, which one goes first?”
Bloom shakes her head, stuffing her mouth with freshly baked bread lathered with butter. Through her full mouth, she mutters, “Not me. I’m like an elephant on ice on the dance floor.”
Fern, though, takes Jax’s hand with no arguing. “Let’s see if what they say about Emerian men on the dance floor is true.”
With her hand in his, Jax rises to his feet. “And what is it that they say?”
I don’t hear Fern’s answer as they walk away towards the dancing group.
I bristle, eyeing them both, at the way Jax holds her hand in his while the other lands on Fern’s back.
When Jax leans forward and whispers something into Fern’s ear that makes her throw her head back and bark a laugh, I grip my fork hard enough my knuckles turn white.
If he seduces one of my Ezkai…the spirits of the gods won’t be able to save his ass.
Of course, it doesn’t go unnoticed by my mentor. Kazh eyes the fork and looks up at me with an arched eyebrow. Immediately, I relax and focus my attention to my damn plate.
Thankfully, whatever opinions Kazh has about me and Jax, she chooses to keep to herself.
I glance at Kazh. She’s pushing the food around her plate. Huh. Maybe she’s not in the mood today.
When she notices me gawking at her plate, she puts the fork down and says, “Once you’re out there, galivanting in the woods with your charming Blood Sentineal, do me a favor and don’t lose your damn head.”
I scoff. “Please. I’m the Ezkai General. You know I can hold my own when I need to.”
She grunts. After a loaded, silent pause, she adds, “I know you’re capable, shithead. I wouldn’t have agreed to mentor you when you came to me begging for my help, holding my old engagement ring in your hands.”
I smile at the memory. “Did you really? I thought you hated the sight of me back then and I had to earn your respect and affection with my kick-ass Decarios performance at the trials.”
Kazh snorts. “Last time I mentored a Decarios was three hundred years ago. Believe me, I wouldn’t have taken this challenge if I knew the potential was hidden this deep.”
I blink at that. “Three hundred years ago? Damn, Kazh. How old are you?”
She takes a sip of her plum blossom wine. “Too old, if you ask me.”
Her answer cracks me up. “Explains why you’re so grumpy all of the time. If my bones were that old, I’d be beating everyone with a cane, too.”
Usually, my smart remarks win me a snort, or a whip with her cane. This time around, though, Kazh offers me a half smile.
Damn. Two in less than a week.
Old age must be softening my mentor up or something.
“I’m grateful for you, Kazh,” I say quietly.
The music bounces off the walls, laughter and chatter dancing all around us.
“If you wouldn’t have taken a chance on me that day, I wouldn’t be where I am.
” My throat is suddenly thick, the backs of my eyes burning.
I clear my throat. “The woman I am today, in large part, is because of you.”
Kazh’s gaze softens for a briefest moment. It’s warm like a mother’s embrace. I blink the tears away that threaten to erupt.
Of course, the intimate moment doesn’t last long. A blink and Kazh is back to her usual self.
“Don’t go all soft on me, General,” she says and takes a generous sip of her wine. “I didn’t beat you with the cane for nothing.”
I giggle. “No way. I wouldn’t want to embarrass my mentor.”
She eyes me sideways, amused. “You’ve worked me to the bone as is.”
The very tips of my ears burn. “You don’t strike me as someone who likes when things are easy.”
At that, Kazh arches an eyebrow. “Is that right?”
I shrug and shovel some food into my mouth. Once I finish chewing, I say, “Obviously. You could have said no to mentoring me, but you accepted the challenge. You could have said no to coming with me here, to preparing me for the dragon hunt, and yet you accepted the challenge.”
“I couldn’t miss a historic moment like an Ezkai General bonding a dragon.”
My mood sours a little at her words.
Hopefully I’ll go into history as the Ezkai General, the very first human, to bond a dragon. Not as the human Ezkai General who was rejected by her chosen dragon and whose reign lasted all of three fucking months.
“Yeah,” I murmur into my own wineglass, watching Jax dance with Fern.
Is it just me, or is his hand resting on her waist lower now?
I narrow my eyes. Fucking bastard.
Fern, just like so many other women I’ve witnessed before her, is falling for his damn charms.
I grip my glass harder. The leather of my glove creaks.
Kazh’s chuckle draws my attention away from Jax to her.
“What?”
“You can muster enough emotional manipulation to kill people on a whim, and yet you’re terrible at taming your own emotions.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You brainless fetus,” she says, shaking her head. “If you don’t want rumors spreading amongst your Ezkai, you better learn how to hide your jealousy.”
“I’m— What— Jealous?” I splutter the words, my tone of voice rising a couple of octaves. “I’m not jealous.”
Kazh arches an eyebrow.
I scrunch my nose in disgust. “Why would I be jealous? He’s such a player. Insufferable asshole. He’s annoying.”
Another eyebrow rises in disbelief.
I slam my glass down on the wooden table and with a scoff, push myself to my feet. “Whatever. I don’t need to convince you to believe me.”
“Yeah,” Kazh says, amused. “You’re too busy having to convince yourself.”
With a roll of my eyes, I stalk away from the table and out of the dining hall.
Tomorrow, we leave before first light. I’d rather get some sleep than argue with Kazh, or watch Jax seduce my damn Ezkai.