Chapter Forty-One – Mira
Chapter Forty-One
Mira
‘You can’t avoid her forever,’ Lillian told me as we walked amongst the clan warriors and shifters outside the Temple.
‘Not forever,’ I replied, stopping to observe the clansmen shooting at their targets. ‘Just until the battle. I trust Scarlett to use her death magic against Roran and his Warriors, but I don’t think it’s wise to be alone with her.’
Bows pulled taut as the archers took aim, the next batch of arrows whistling through the air. They embedded in the circular straw targets with a resounding thud.
Across the field, I saw Nari and Aric sparring, surrounded by a ring of onlookers.
From Aric’s hand motions, I knew he was explaining where best to strike Ravalian armour.
He had been an invaluable teacher these past few days, sharing inside knowledge of Roran’s battle techniques and how to counter them.
Roran still had numbers on his side – but I hoped the Wilds would afford us an advantage.
The thickness of the forest meant that the bulk of Roran’s forces would have to take the main path to the Temple – where they would be headed off by our calvary and the shifters in animal form.
The clans had already constructed traps and obstacles along the way, including sharpened pikes creating a bottleneck for our archers to pick off Roran’s men.
I felt cautiously optimistic about our chances. Now that the shifters had joined with the clans, Roran and his magically enhanced Warriors would have a true war on their hands.
But I frowned as I caught a glimpse of Aurelius’s distinctive red hair. He was watching Aric spar with obvious fascination, kept under close observation by Jadis.
Lillian was watching Aurelius too. ‘Should he be out here? Surely this isn’t the best place for a child.’
‘The sooner he gets used to being around the clansmen and shifters, the better. I’ll keep him at the back of the army, but he will see battle soon. I need him as calm as possible when that happens.’
Lillian shot me a reproachful glance. She had protested against using Aurelius as a bargaining chip, and I knew she was still appalled by the letter Scarlett had sent to her brother.
Its harsh wording had been enough to make even me believe Aurelius was in real danger. Hopefully it would make Roran believe the same.
Yet as I had assured Lillian multiple times, Aurelius was safe and under my protection. I would never harm a child. I hadn’t even contemplated locking him away, despite Cassius’s attempts to convince me otherwise.
As if the thought had conjured him into being, my attention shifted to a shirtless warrior twirling his sword through the air. The crowd parted, and I saw that Cassius was surrounded by a group of female spectators, though he wasn’t instructing them.
At least not yet , I thought, my mind conjuring unwelcome images of exactly what kind of instruction he could offer them.
I wondered why he hadn’t tried to hold me to the promises I had made him, or attempted to warm my bed these past few nights.
Perhaps I should have been relieved, but I found his distance unnerving.
I might have thought he was plotting something, if I hadn’t already warned him not to act against Aric.
‘Come on, Mira,’ Lillian said, her grip tightening on my arm. ‘Let’s watch Aric and Nari.’
I pulled my eyes away from Cassius, but he was already striding over, an irritatingly smug smile on his handsome face.
‘You’re welcome to join me, Mira,’ he said, and I knew he had chosen those words to remind me of our time in the forest lake.
Heat flooded my cheeks, but his presumption amused me. I had faced warrior after warrior on this sparring field, and aside from Aric, none had bested me. I doubted Cassius would be the exception.
‘By all means,’ I replied, unsheathing my sword. It would do Cassius good to learn some humility.
And it would do me good to vent some of my frustration.
The onlookers moved back to give us space, and I noticed Conall amongst them.
He was the only member of the Council of Ancients who had joined us, Sionnach and the others remaining behind to hunt down the senior priestesses and protect those who couldn’t fight.
Lillian moved to stand at Conall’s side, though I could feel her disapproving stare on me.
Cassius shifted smoothly into a fighting stance. Perhaps that should have been my first clue – but I had never considered Cassius a warrior on par with Aric or Roran.
I was forced to reconsider that assumption as our swords met.
Cassius disengaged with a flourish, effortlessly sidestepping my follow-up blow.
His fighting style was an outward reflection of his mind: every move calculated but possessing a ruthless edge.
I appreciated his skill even as it frustrated me.
Cassius’s midnight-blue eyes raked over my body, anticipating my every move. I unleashed a barrage of vicious attacks, but he blocked me each time, countering my advance with unsettling ease.
Our audience swelled as we battled back and forth.
I was dimly aware of settling into a rhythm; a familiar push and pull that reminded me of our interactions off the battlefield.
I had once thought of fighting as a dance – and Cassius was a talented dancer, the two of us so evenly matched that one of us triumphing over the other seemed impossible.
Even our breathing was synchronised as we exchanged blows, our bodies moving in exhilarating tandem.
Cassius whirled to the side and struck, fast as a viper. I countered with my sword until we were locked together, our faces inches apart. When I met his eyes, I saw that they were filled with fierce appreciation.
I slowly stepped away, my breathing uneven. Cassius and I studied each other as we lowered our swords.
‘Impressive,’ Nari said from behind me, and I whirled on my heel, feeling guilty for a reason I couldn’t fathom. ‘It’s rare to see warriors so evenly matched.’
Aric stood stiffly at Nari’s side, his face unreadable as he and Cassius locked eyes. The tension between the two men was so thick that I half expected one of them to challenge the other to a duel. But Cassius strode off through the training field without a word.
I stared after him, unexpectedly conflicted.
It felt as if our sparring match had cracked me wide open – as if Cassius and I had shared something far more meaningful than practising our fighting skills.
I had known he was capable – physically as well as mentally.
But the realisation that he could match me with a blade, that he was my equal in that arena–
I noticed Aric watching me, a question in his gaze. I forced myself to focus on him instead.
‘If you want someone to practise with,’ he said with forced lightness, ‘I’m happy to oblige.’
Before I could tell him that I was done for the day, Nari cut in, ‘Actually, I would like to see that. I missed your last two sparring matches.’
A much bigger crowd formed to watch Aric and I cross blades.
The old ease returned as we exchanged blow after blow, a sense of rightness and familiarity blooming between us.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t beat Aric, and I hated knowing that he had to hold back in order to keep the match going. He never used to hold back with me.
Still, even after my eventual defeat, we were both smiling. Reminded of the moments we had shared on Aldara.
‘I missed this,’ Aric said as we returned to the Temple. ‘I missed you .’
I smiled back at him. ‘I missed you too.’
If the history between me and Cassius was bathed in blood, then the history between me and Aric was like that mountain meadow back in Aldara – filled with shared confidences, laughter and plans for the future.
That was how I would always think of Aric – as the boy who first gave me a sense of purpose.
And hope. Hope for a better future – with him.
I took in his broad shoulders and the determined lines of his face. As always, the scar on his cheek hit me like a blow – not because it detracted from his attractiveness, but because I hadn’t been able to protect him from it.
That was what he had always been to me, after all – my protector. The one person I had trusted without question.
‘You’re staring.’ The hint of a smile pulled at Aric’s lips.
‘I’m thinking about old times.’ A trace of sadness entered my voice as I gazed up at him.
Servants had lit the fire torches in preparation for nightfall, but in the dusk light, every inch of Aric’s appearance stood out in sharp relief – including the Warrior black he wore.
‘All I wanted back then was for you to see me. To realise how perfect we could be together.’
‘We still can be.’ He leant in, until his lips were inches from mine. Warm and familiar and beckoning.
But though I craved Aric’s touch . . . My eyes darted to the chambers next to mine. Cassius’s chambers.
‘I was such a fool,’ Aric said, his fingers brushing my cheek and drawing my gaze back to his. ‘Gods, Mira, I feel like I’ve been slowly dying for months, and I’m only just realising it now.’
‘I know,’ I breathed back. ‘It’s the reason I decided to run away with you. Back in the Ravalian Court, when I tried to stay away from you . . . I felt like half a person.’
‘And when we were together?’ Aric stroked my hair back from my face, his golden-brown eyes intent on mine. Searching.
To my surprise, I saw that there was vulnerability within them. Hadn’t he known how incredible that night was? How special?
‘It felt like the beginning of something. Something wonderful.’
Aric’s smile was the slightly crooked one that always melted my heart. The one that reminded me he had once been like the air I breathed. That I had needed him like I had needed water and sunlight – in a way that was vital to my survival.