Chapter 27
The parasite within fills with deep loathing, immense dread. It worms, it burrows, it creates caverns of loss. Every pocket created risks my sanity.
Safely back in Lux, Yully was reluctant to skip our lesson this morning when I sent Jett downstairs.
We know of my skills with the earth but the heat indicates flame.
Aside from that, the cess naturally possess defensive and offensive powers that pull directly from our raw magic.
This is the part that is still locked away, leashed.
That is what I feel like. A leashed animal.
“Good morning.” I smile at Garreth, who looks unamused with my presence in the training yard. Cedric thought it would be best to expand the area so I may practice battle moves. We’re a few extra yards away from the castle, near the forest. Just in case I almost burn everything down.
“You’re supposed to be working on your magic,” he replies, crossing his arms.
“I know, but I think I should know how to hold a sword properly.”
“You technically already know how to.” I feel my shoulders sag and he makes an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
“We just have to tap back into that well, then.”
Garreth wrings his neck and glances around. “Cedric won’t like this.”
I grab the practice wooden sword from a rack and adjust my grip. “I disagree. He wants me to be strong. To be confident in my body. This,” I swing it around clumsily, “is how I can do that. Now, are you going to train me or stand there?”
He rocks back on his heels before sighing and grabbing his own.
“In battle, the ideal situation would be a sword that belongs to you and only you. Balanced,” he settles the blade across his arm to demonstrate, “fit,” he pulls his arm back and grabs the sword midfall.
“And for you, your sword would be made of cess metal.”
“Cess metal?”
“An alloy that subdues vampyr but speaks to the magic imbued in it from the cess who made it. Lead, on the other hand, subdues all cess. Senna ensured balance.”
“Oh, we’re blacksmiths now?” I laugh.
“No, you imbue blades often.”
Interesting.
“But I’m a hybrid.”
Garreth sucks in air, switching the sword to his nondominant hand. “Indeed. So, with your magic being locked, Avonde believes cess metal would affect you. Until you can wield and speak to the magic imbued, you will need to use a standard blade.”
Firming my stance in the dirt ring, I raise the sword. Garreth steps inside the circle and begins laughing. I squint my eyebrows and charge at him. In two strides I swing the wooden blade down but he steps aside quickly, causing me to trip and crash out in the dirt.
Huffing, I press up onto my haunches and spit out the dirt that made its way into my mouth somehow. Garreth simply laughs and offers me a hand up.
“You have the right idea, to be sure. Your muscle memory is likely still there. But you need to work on your alignment.” He points down to my foot. “This one right here.” He draws an X in the dirt.
Garreth draws another X and I place my back foot there. He places his hand on my calf, pulling me forward just slightly and then moves to adjust my arms.
“Good, Liv. Now with arms, we want a firm frame. You will tire from the weight of your sword, no matter how well made. Plus, battle is messy. You may need to grab the blade of your enemy.”
He tosses me his practice blade and I catch it with my free hand, immediately feeling the weight difference.
I toss it back, understanding. I raise my arms up, stacking my hands atop one another on the hilt.
Garreth assesses and adjusts my frame, pointing or pushing on my body until I am finally aligned.
“Does that feel better?”
“Incredibly.” I roll my shoulders down my back to release the building tension at my neck.
“You still practice in the mornings, right?” he asks, walking towards the racks.
“Yes, for the last month.” I practice swinging a few times, noticing how much better this feels.
“Think of those fundamentals. If you can get into the right position and recall the basics of combat, the moves will be much easier.” Garreth pulls a dirty, hay dummy from behind a rack. He places it in the center of the ring and turns it to face me.
“What, I’m supposed to fight a dummy?” I laugh. “I came out here to train with you.”
“Yeah, I get that, but I don’t need you to accidentally blast me into the wall just yet. This is a good baseline. Now, swing from the left with your forehand right here.” He gestures at the rib area of the stuffed sack.
My fingers grip the leather straps of the pommel and I twist, landing a clean blow where it was intended. Garreth motions again, so I step back and swing once more.
“Good, now do that one hundred times and then from the right one hundred times,” he walks over and takes a seat on a crate.
This repetition will be good for me, but I still huff from my mouth at the simplicity of this lesson.
An hour later, I’m dripping sweat and blisters have formed on my hands, but I don’t indicate exhaustion. I need to build up both stamina and strength.
“Garreth.” I turn to face him. “What’s next?”
“Now we’ll parry with one another from the left and right. Simple footwork.” He gestures at my feet to remind me of position.
“I’ll lead us back and forth, alternating right and left before we move a bit more randomly. Can you handle that?” He winks.
I scoff. “Pretty sure I can.”
Garreth swings to the left and I swing right, meeting his blade. There is little reverberation up my arm with the soft wooden fibers quelling the blow.
“Exactly,” he breathes before swinging to the right, my blade matching the force.
We carry on like this back and forth, my feet gliding in each direction with ease.
I can’t help but smile at my new skills.
Garreth must sense the pride because he swings right and then left quickly, giving me a breath of a chance to deflect.
Suddenly, he starts moving us laterally and my feet nearly trip over each other.
“Shuffle, don’t slide,” he bites as he increases his force. Gritting my teeth, I try to keep my toes in flexion so that they don’t catch but I fail and catch myself going left, straight to the ground again. This time, I lay there for a moment to catch my breath and shake off any embarrassment.
“Why is my fiancée on the ground?” Cedric asks, entering the ring. He’s in a formal coat after just speaking with his council. Ever since we arrived back from Gruyere, Cedric has had little free time in between traveling to his legions and working closely with his advisors.
He reaches down to help me up but I shake him off, using the sword to push me to standing. He leans over, chuckling and plants a kiss softly on my lips, his hand grazing my lower back. My body sparks with need but Garreth clears his throat before I get carried away.
“Garreth was so kind as to train me this morning.” I gesture to the dirt ring, which is now completely messed up.
“I see,” Cedric murmurs. “Well, let me see what you two put together while I was dealing with missives to the High Council.”
Garreth looks up at him immediately. “They’re open to convening?”
Cedric nods, taking his jacket off with grace. The white shirt he has on underneath is a loose cotton blend, but I can still spot the firm muscles hidden by the sleeves.
I need to get a grip on myself.
But truly, we haven’t had a chance to reconnect since Gruyere. Intimacy is not so important that I feel empty, but we have so much to speak about and time has slipped from us.
So much lost time.
Dragging the sword behind me, I position myself in the center of the ring, waiting for Garreth. Cedric steps into my line of sight and smirks.
“What, you didn’t think I wouldn’t want to see these skills for myself?”
My mouth gapes, but I close it and tilt my chin up. “Sure, but you better keep up.”
On my last word, I swing across my body and Cedric barely gets a chance to deflect my hit. He looks down at his sword with surprise and nods his head. I smirk this time and swing again and again and again, our steps carrying us around the ring.
Cedric is undoubtedly more trained in combat than I am. Obviously. But I can keep up with him in this format and I feel a small flame in me grow at that idea. He picks up the pace and spins before trying to land his weapon but I match that too.
“This is incredible.” He smiles, our practice blades locked together. The sun high overhead casts a beautiful ray around his small curls. His smile pulls back, revealing a fangless grin. Sweat drips down the side of his face and I oddly want to lick it up.
“Okay, well I’m going to…” Garreth says, walking away from the ring.
My sword slowly releases from my hand and my heart begins pounding. Cedric reaches his hand forward, cupping my cheek. I didn’t even realize that I had moved closer, my hand resting softly on the pommel of the sword.
“Hi,” I whisper, the weight of his gaze pinning me down. I close my eyes and inhale as he brushes his hand down my neck, sweeping my hair to the side.
“Hello there,” he whispers back, his breath skating across the column of my throat. I know he can sense the blood pumping wildly within me, as I can hear his picking up. Our bond makes us intrinsically connected.
Softly, almost too softly, he plants a trail of kisses down to my shoulder, his hand moving my shirt aside. I grasp his side and pull him flush to me. With our fronts against one another, I can feel the need in him. Hard and solid, Cedric’s desire for me is unmistakable.
My hand skates across the top of his pants, pausing over his member. Cedric sucks in a breath, leaning slightly into my touch. His hand rises under my chin, urging me to look up at him. Our eyes lock and within them, so many messages are left unspoken.
But he knows.
Our bond pulses in my head, a soft hum that reminds me he is here. He is mine.