Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
BEFORE
“Again.”
Her sword hand trembled, hanging loosely at her side. Helaina stood head-to-head with Adriel. Before she had time to recoup her breathing, he attacked.
She raised her blade to counter his strike.
Over and over, he lunged and chopped through the air.
She was still clumsy, but her sword rose to meet him.
He was intentionally slower during their sessions, never using his full strength or speed.
The weight of a sword in her hand was still strange and uncomfortable.
With every collision the ache in her wrist grew.
He must have seen the fatigue written on her face. He stopped.
“Rest,” he ordered.
They had been doing this for months. Ever since he caught them eavesdropping, since the night her power revealed itself. It was just a silly window, it could have been the wind bursting the locks open. That’s what she had told herself, but deep inside she had always felt something.
Now she knew, because Adriel and Krysta had finally told her everything.
“The night Matthias came, he left Oakmire a piece of his magic. They can still do that, apparently. Their magic goes beyond what any of us ever realized,” Adriel had told her.
“When you were small, he told us of an ancient prophecy, one where you were the key to an end. We didn’t believe him at first, but his magic held the proof. ”
He told her of Queen Malinda’s tragic end, and how it was a clear sign the threat was getting worse—more volatile. Despite the powerful shield, someone, somewhere, knew about Helaina.
“If creatures of darkness are stirring, I am going to make sure you’re just as prepared as any soldier. No one is coming to steal you away, you hear me?” Adriel had said. “You’re an Ironblood. ‘Strength, Fealty . . .’”
“‘Family,’” she had finished for him.
That was months ago. Now she sat, sweating, dirty, and panting like a damned animal in the middle of this courtyard.
“That’s enough rest, let’s go again.”
“Adriel, please, I’m not ready. My hands are blistered, my wrist is throbbing!”
“Tell your friends in the south wing about it when we’re done. Again!” He leaped forward, thrusting his blade toward her well-armored chest. She blocked him with a miserable grunt and twisted to the side.
She was tired, so, so tired. She would most definitely have to pay Madge a visit after this.
That meant missing another night with Dolion.
These lessons often interfered with her plans to sneak away.
Her time alone with him was growing slim.
She could sense his aggravation and disappointment with each cancelation and excuse.
Her sweat-soaked hair stuck to the sides of her face, another strained cry ringing out of her just before she countered Adriel’s blow a third time, and a fourth. Their swords collided, clanging repeatedly until finally they crossed in front of their faces, both heaving in exhaustion.
“Not bad, kid. You’re getting better.”
“Quit calling me kid,” she said breathlessly. “If I’m getting better . . . why are you still taking it easy on me?”
“I’ll stop taking it easy on you then,” he teased.
They both dropped their swords in unison. Her brother’s affect became serious again. “I know you grow tired of hearing it, but you know how important it is to keep this secret, don’t you? That no one outside the family can know?”
She sat down, allowing the dry dirt to stick to her sweat-drenched clothes. “Seems like everyone here knew except me anyway . . . but yes, you’ve mentioned the gravity of things.” Her eyes closed as she positioned her face toward the sun to soak up its rays.
“You’ve taken this . . . news . . . rather well.”
She sighed. “I suppose it’s just nice to finally have an explanation for why I’ve been kept here. As tragic as it may be.”
Adriel’s lips formed a flat line as he sheathed his sword. “I leave tomorrow. You can practice without me if you can get away from Cedric and Teirn long enough. Keep the sword hidden, maybe even Krysta can—”
“Mm-hmm.” She waved him off, keeping her eyes closed.
“Are you okay?”
She let out a deranged laugh. “I possess an evil power I can’t control.
I’m somehow destined to bring our entire realm to its knees, and my brother thinks that teaching me to become a mediocre swordsman will somehow protect me from it all.
” She smiled at him disingenuously. “Rylas must be having a grand old time somewhere at my expense.”
“The God of Laughter has better things to do than play jokes on us.”
“This whole plan of yours is a giant joke,” she fired back. “None of this will help, look at me. I’m not like you. I’m not a fighter. I like fixing injuries, not making them. I should wait until whatever is coming for me decides it’s time. No one can fight fate, Adriel.”
He kneeled down and placed both hands on her shoulders.
She saw a fierceness he rarely directed at her.
“If I could take it from you, I would. I don’t know why it came to you and no one else in this family, but you’re my sister.
No one and nothing is taking you as long as I’m breathing. You will have a future; we all will.”
She looked down, already feeling defeat in her gut.
“Hey,” he said.
“What?”
“When have you ever seen me fail? When have you seen me lose a fight? Name a time.”
She couldn’t.
“That’s what I thought.” His face eased into a self-assured smirk. Adriel wasn’t arrogant, only confident from earned successes.
His belief in her, in this plan, brought a small smile to her own lips.
She blinked away the burning in her eyes.
It was too much—but maybe with her family and Dolion by her side .
. . maybe she could fight this. Maybe she could come out the other side with some kind of life that was actually her own.
He took one hand and thumbed her bracelet, then glanced curiously at the silver piece resting on the opposite wrist, but he didn’t inquire.
“We have the shield. King Matthias swore his enchantment would last two lifetimes. No one can detect your power as long as you’re here. He promised not even the gods themselves could track you down, as long as you stay on these grounds.”
She nodded.
Adriel gripped the tempest tears firmly.
“These fae stones are powerful, imbued by the king himself. They can’t bottle it up entirely, we know that now.
But as long as you wear this, that power, whatever it is inside you, is hindered.
” Her mind went to the windows bursting open and her sister’s petrified face.
“We will figure out a way. We will figure out an answer to all of this. I promise.”
She nodded again in agreement. She was so foolish to think these stones hailed from Vrasta. There were so many lies for so long it was hard to keep track of them all.
“What if something comes for me?” The question itself terrified her.
He took her hand, bringing her up with him as he stood.
“If something comes, you’ll be ready, and I’ll be right by your side to face it with you.”
She embraced her brother, squeezing him tighter than she ever had. As dangerous as it all sounded, he was giving her a chance to write her own story. He believed in the best of her, that she would not fall victim to some thousand-year-old curse.
“Adriel?”
“What?”
“Draw your sword.”