Chapter 28
Slate
“I’m supposed to walk and balance on that?” Gray asked, looking fifteen feet above the ground at the four by sixteen wooden beam in a different section of the training room.
“You’ll eventually be fighting with weapons up there, but for now, let’s just get you balancing on it.
You’ll need to be able to win three out of five sparring matches on it to be eligible for the Assassins Guild,” I explained to the princess.
“Since we’re all trying to keep our existence hidden from humans, you’ll find yourself fighting in weird situations like this more often than you may think. ”
Gray’s face paled, crestfallen with discouragement in light of the new information. “He was never going to tell me I was to become an Assassin, was he? He wants me to fail.”
I mulled over her theory. Given what I knew of her history with the king, it would make that plausible, but she also wasn’t aware of his grand plans.
Chrome and I didn’t know his motive for keeping her in the dark, but surely, he had a reason that only served him.
“Perhaps. But either way, now you’ll be prepared.
He’ll wish he never underestimated you.”
Gray shook her head. “My father will never admit that. I’m the last person he’ll ever have respect for. To him, I’m just his adopted little bitch. A mistake.”
Gently, I grabbed the princess’s shoulders, making her meet my eyes. “The last thing you are is a mistake. You are a fucking queen. Remember what I said?” I searched her cloudy gaze, her self-doubt creeping back in from its warring depths. “Make ‘em bow.”
The princess lifted her chin in determination, not breaking my hard gaze. At last, she nodded.
“You’ve got this,” I assured her. “You’re not alone anymore.”
“Thank you, Slate,” she whispered, releasing a shaky breath.
“No need to thank me. You’ll see I’ve been right all along.” I gave her shoulders a light squeeze, a gentle smile tugging the corners. Her scent of vanilla and lavender was like a dopamine hit, taking me higher than the beam above us.
Gray and I stood transfixed as the air buzzed between us, drawing me closer to her lips. Her warm breath skated across my face, her eyes alight with lust. It took every bit of strength I possessed to back away, a cold wind chilling my veins at the separation. I sucked in a deep, cleansing breath.
“Come on. Let’s get up there,” I said, jutting my chin toward the beam.
Gray crossed her arms, hugging herself. I wondered if she felt the same cold I did. Guilt seeped into her features as she lowered her chin and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she wiped her expression and cleared her throat, replacing it with a mask. “Yeah, let’s go.”
I guided her to the stairs leading to the top.
The wooden platform was wide enough for only the two of us.
One wrong step and one of us would fall over the edge to the hard floor below.
No sparring mats cushioned the floor beneath us.
Not that they would help much with the pain, anyway. At least we healed.
“I’ll go first,” I said, stepping onto the thin beam with ease.
To become a Warrior, sparring up here with and without weapons was mandatory.
Where the Assassins in training had to win three out of five, the Warriors in training had to win seven out of ten.
Magic was used, too, which meant we’d need to start training Gray on hers soon.
Not that I would be any help in that department.
I remembered the first time I walked across this beam and nearly broke every bone in my spine from the drop. I wouldn’t let Gray fall, but I needed her to see what she was up against.
After making it halfway across the beam, I spun around to face her. Gray stared at the piece of wood as if it were inlaid with mines, her brows pinched together, and lips pursed in concentration. Her fingers dug into her palms from a tightly closed fist. “Your turn, Princess.”
With pointed toes, Gray touched the edge of the beam. Slowly, she pressed her weight onto the wood inch by inch until she stood flat-footed on the board.
I bit my lip to hide the smile that fought to escape. At this pace, we were going to be here for hours. “Let’s go for the other foot now, shall we?” I teased with a smirk.
The princess cut me with an icy glare. “Do not,” she said between her teeth, “rush me.”
I chuckled but tossed my hands up in surrender. “Just worried about the time. We don’t have all day, Princess.”
“Fine. I’ll just plunge to my death, then. How does that sound to you?” she retorted, frowning at me.
Fuck, even her mad face was adorable.
“By all means, take your time, then. I can’t have a dead princess on my hands.
” I instantly regretted the words the moment they spewed from my mouth, remembering the day I found her unconscious and near death in the stairwell.
“You know—” I tried to amend, “by having you go splat on the training room floor.”
A hardness washed over her features from top to bottom.
I raised my brows at the swift change in her mood and appraised her as she stepped onto the beam with both feet like a gymnast, as if she hadn’t just been tiptoeing onto it at a snail’s pace moments before.
Gone was her fear. In its place was a determination that lit her up, giving her icy facade a hot surface.
Gray wobbled, arms flying out to her sides. Her expression took on the look of “oh shit” before she regained her footing.
“Very good,” I praised. “Now, walk to me,” I said, holding my arms out for her to grab onto.
The princess’s mouth opened in horror. “I just made it up here! You can’t expect me to—”
I dropped my arms to my sides. “I can. And I do.” I said, my expression clean of any humor. “You’ve got this.” I couldn’t help the lopsided grin that slipped free, though. “Just don’t fall.”
“Great instruction. Top tier shit, Slate,” she quipped. “Thanks for that.”
I gave her a proper bow, bending at the waist and keeping my eyes glued to the beam below me. Slowly, I lifted my head, meeting her surprise at the other end. “I’m at your service, Princess.”
Gray recovered as she tipped to one side with her shoulder and sharply caught herself. “Don’t do that. Not while I’m up here,” she griped. “It’s distracting. Don’t want to have a splattered princess, right?”
“Oh, most definitely don’t.”
Gray inhaled a deep breath to muster her courage. Unsteadily, she placed one foot in front of the other along the training beam. Her eyes never left the piece of wood directly below her feet, which was her first mistake, but the most common rookie one.
“Eyes on me, Princess.”
“Kinda trying not to plummet to imminent pain and suffering.” Gray’s eyes remained glued to the beam as she struggled to find her balance.
“Look at me, and it’ll be less likely,” I instructed. “Do you trust me?”
Gray paused, her body wobbling on the beam. Sweat beaded down over her eyelashes, and she blew out a shaky breath. Slowly, she inched her head upward until she peered at me through her eyelashes. “Yes.”
In her eyes, I could see the unspoken plea. Please don’t break it.
With a smile, I held my hand out to her. “Walk to my hand.”
Hesitantly, she worked to get her footing right and fought to keep her balance. She tilted from side to side with her arms out wide, keeping her eyes glued to mine.
“There you go,” I encouraged. “Almost there, Gray.”
A small smile slipped from one side of her lips, her steps coming easier and slightly faster.
Pride swelled in my chest at her confidence and natural ability.
Reaching out a hand in preparation to grab hold of mine, her back foot snagged on her front, toppling her over the side of the beam.
I didn’t think. In a split-second, I lunged toward her, dropping to the beam just in time to snatch her wrist from the air.
Gray’s body flipped around until she dangled by her arm in my grasp, feet kicking the air helplessly in a panic.
“I got you, Gray,” I grunted. “Trust me.”
In my dash to catch her, I had flung my body to where I draped over the beam. Its sharp edges dug into my ribs and pressed into my lungs, but I didn’t care. Her safety came first.
Thanking the gods for my own rigorous training, I maintained my hold on her wrist while pulling myself into a balanced squatting position on the thin wood board. Once I had my footing, I heaved her up to join me.
Gray wrapped her arms around my torso, squeezing me tightly against her. I held her in a protective embrace, gasping while I awkwardly balanced us on the beam. “I’ve got you,” I whispered into her sweaty, frazzled hair. “You’re safe with me.”
“You caught me.”
I nodded, my chin rubbing against the crown of her head. “I did. I told you to trust me.”
The princess didn’t speak, her cheek pressed against my chest as she fought to catch her breath.
“But hey, you did it, Gray.” I didn’t want to let go of her. Shit, she felt so good in my arms.
“Did what?”
“Walked across the beam on your first attempt, even standing on it. You should be proud. No one ever does that.”
Gray snapped her head back to flash me an angry glare. “You…made me attempt an impossible task?”
“Not impossible. Only one other person has done what you did.”
A heavy pause sank between us. Only the energy of one person could have that effect.
“Chrome,” Gray whispered, shadows of guilt filling her gray-blue eyes.
I flattened my lips into a resigned smile. “Yeah.”
“You knew I’d do it?” Her question was full of skepticism.
“I did.”
“How?”
I shrugged, still balancing us both on the beam. “Just a hunch, I guess.”
Gray’s gaze held mine in a trance before she sighed. “I guess we should head back down now?”
“Yeah,” I said, stepping back while maintaining my hold on her arms. “Let’s go.”
I walked with ease across the beam, guiding the princess along behind me. I felt her wobble with each step, but she didn’t fall.