Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
“Nice pants,” Brevan says.
They’re too big, but I managed to get them to stay up.
At least the boots fit. Some of the ladies already had boots for the colder weather and they offered them to me while I waited for some of my own.
My feet are the same size as Antonia and Genevieve so when I destroy this pair, at least I have a second one.
They’re not the same as what a legionnaire would wear, but I’m not going to be wearing a uniform if I need to fight.
“Want to start at the beginning today or are you ready to try the log again?” he asks.
“I understand that there’s a process to train a legionnaire, but I’m not going to be fighting a war. Can’t we skip this part?”
“No.”
I groan. I thought training might be helpful, but at this rate, I won’t learn anything of actual use before I need to get out of here.
I should be in the library researching with Katherine. She promised me she’d get the new information to her contact last night, and I am eager to meet her in the library later to see if we can find anything new.
“Where do we start?” I ask.
“Balance,” he says.
“I am not getting on that log again.” I cross my arms.
He points to a plank that spans four tree stumps. It’s only about a foot off the ground.
“We couldn’t have started with that?” I ask.
“Watching you fall in the mud yesterday was worth it,” he says.
“I’m glad I could entertain you.”
He points to the plank again.
With a sigh, I make my way over to it and climb on top. I take a couple steps and have to throw my arms out to the side to help me maintain my balance. I hate that it’s harder than it looks, and I fall quickly. At least this time, I land on my feet and there’s no mud.
It takes three tries before I can cross without falling.
“If you were a new recruit, I’d have sent you to the kitchens already,” he says.
“Good thing I’m not,” I say. “Wait. You do it. If you’re so great, show me.”
He hops up onto the plank and quickly walks across without so much as a wobble. He’s huge, his feet don’t even look like they should fit, but he’s traveling across the plank as if it’s regular solid ground.
“How long did that take you to learn?” I ask.
“I’ve never fallen,” he says.
“Do the log,” I say.
“I’m not the one training today.”
“You’re afraid,” I taunt.
“No, we just have a limited amount of time, and this is your training, not mine.”
I grin. “That’s because you can’t do it.”
“Fine.” He removes the knives he’s got strapped to his thighs and sets them on the ground. Then, he climbs up to the end of the log.
He hesitates.
“You really are afraid,” I tease.
“I’m just waiting for it to stop swinging.”
“Sure,” I say mockingly.
“You’re the worst,” he grumbles as he takes his first step. The log sways, and he throws his arms out to maintain his balance.
I move closer. “That’s not what you told me the other night.”
He glances at me but doesn’t turn his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh yes, you do,” I say. “You called me beautiful. I think you even fought someone to defend my honor.”
He stills, then looks over at me. “You and I both know that isn’t something I would do.”
I wait for him to take a couple more steps before I move even closer. “You and I both know you’re lying.”
He ignores me and takes another step.
“In fact, I’d go so far as to say you were jealous of that man who had his face in my hair.” I decide to add a bit of a lie, just to rile him up. “And his hands on my breasts.” I put my hands on my chest for emphasis.
He catches my movement out of the corner of his eye, then he turns. The log rocks. He leans with it, trying to stay on, but the log wins, and he ends up on his ass in the mud.
Brevan glares at me. “You cheated.”
“You’re too easily distracted,” I say. “They’re just breasts.”
“Stop saying that,” he says.
“What, breasts? Does that bother you?”
“Seriously, stop it.” His face is red. This is getting to him.
I lean down and whisper, “Do my breasts bother you?”
He grabs me and pulls me into the mud with him. I gasp, then throw a handful of mud at him. He catches my wrist and I freeze.
The way he’s looking at me is different than usual. There’s something almost feral about it. Dangerous.
My heart races, and my mouth goes dry. He reaches for me and wipes mud from my cheeks, then uses his thumb to clear the mud from my lips. His hand lingers on my face, cupping my chin.
I am certain he can hear my heartbeat.
He blinks a few times, then shakes his head and pulls away. “I’ve never been great at the log.” He stands, then offers his hand.
I take it and he pulls me up, then helps me out of the mud pit.
Then, he leans closer and lowers his voice. “But I’ve never given up when I see something I want.”
My breath hitches and shivers run down my spine. It takes every bit of my willpower not to pull him back into the mud with me.
He releases my hand and starts walking. “Come on. We have more to do before we finish today.”
Well, that’s one way to get me to return to reality. “You can’t be serious.”
“Ladders,” he says. “Climb, then over the wall, then back down the other side.”
So we’re just going to pretend like that never happened. Like he didn’t have his hand on my face. Like he didn’t look at me like he wanted to devour me whole.
Like I didn’t want him to.
Shoving the thought away, I trudge to the ladder. I need to clear my mind. Focus. Anything but the barrage of images of Brevan with his shirt off.
Katherine and Juliette are both reading in the library when I arrive. Brevan is still covered in mud, after insisting on staying outside my room while I bathed, then escorting me here.
“What happened to you?” Juliette asks him.
“Oh, she got you to try the log.” Katherine giggles. “I’m glad I was in here instead.”
Juliette wrinkles her nose. “You realize there is running water. You can bathe.”
“Later,” he says.
“You’re going to get mud all over the library,” she says.
He scans the room, then grunts. “I’ll wait in the hall.”
As soon as he’s gone, I take a seat next to the others. “Anything interesting?”
“Nothing yet,” Katherine says. “I can’t find anything about how to kill an immortal.”
I glare at Katherine, then speak through gritted teeth. “That’s not what we’re looking for.”
“Relax, Sabina,” Juliette says with a shrug. “She told me. It’s a win-win for me. If he’s gone, nobody can force me to marry that fossil.”
“What else did she tell you?” I ask.
“That’s it. That Caiden wants the throne,” she says.
I watch Katherine’s reaction out of the corner of my eye. It was a good lie. If Caiden was the one who wanted to attempt a coup, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the truth.
“It goes to show you how paranoid he is, doesn’t it?” Juliette says. “His own son doesn’t know how his immortality even works, and he didn’t bother to give him the same gift. Caiden’s going to die before he even gets to be emperor at this rate.”
“I thought the same thing,” I tell her.
She shoves a stack of books toward me. “These are the ones we pulled so far. Let us know if you find anything useful.”
I begin skimming the books, hoping to discover anything that might aid me in my task. How do you kill someone who is immortal? Someone the gods themselves protected when another tried to harm him.
We read until our eyes ache. Nothing.
“I don’t think we’re going to find it here,” I say. “He wouldn’t want anyone to know.”
“He’s practically a god,” Katherine says. “How do you kill a god?”
I straighten. “You’re right. He is like a god.” I jump from my seat and head to the shelves.
Scanning the titles, I move from one end to the other.
“I know I saw it in here somewhere,” I mumble.
“Saw what?” Katherine asks.
“A whole section about the gods.”
“It’s over there.” Juliette points.
The three of us pull every book about the gods and set them on the table. There are forty books in several towering stacks.
“It’s going to take forever to get through these,” I mutter.
“And I can’t read anymore today,” Katherine says, rubbing her eyes.
“We’ll divide them,” I suggest. “Each of us takes some, and we’ll read when we can. If we find anything, we’ll share with the others.”
We all have a pile of books in our arms when we leave the library. We left behind some volumes on the table, but we’ll come back for them later.
Brevan scans the books in my arms. “Need help?”
“No, you’re still covered in mud,” I say. “And you smell awful.”
He ignores the jab and starts walking. “Thinking of joining a temple? Is marrying Caiden that bad?”
“I don’t have a lot to do in my room,” I say. “At least this will keep me busy.”
“Not what I’d choose to read, but I suppose there are some interesting tales in those books,” he says.
“And what is it that you’d choose to read?” I ask.
His brow furrows like he’s putting a lot of thought into my question. I notice how tired he still looks. How the deep purple under his eyes hasn’t faded at all. Does he ever sleep?
“You know, I can’t remember the last time I read a book,” he says. “Maybe I’ll borrow one of those from you.”
When we reach my room, I hesitate at the door. “Maybe you should sleep in the extra bed since that might be the only way you get any rest. After you bathe, of course.”
“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” he says.
“You slept on my window seat the first night I was here. If that didn’t cause a scandal, this certainly won’t.”
“I’m fine outside your door.”
“No, you’re not,” I say. “You haven’t slept, and you probably haven’t healed yet, and as much as I give you a hard time, I am grateful for your protection. You have to take care of yourself, too.”
“I appreciate it. But you managed to get past the other guards.”
“I promise I’ll stay in my room. It’s the least I can do,” I say, and I mean it.
He hesitates, then nods. “Alright. I’ll take the night off. You’ll stay in your room.”
“Sleep well.”
When I peek outside my room later that night, he’s not there. It’s a good thing. He needed the rest. But why am I so disappointed?