Page 65 of The Nightmare Queen

Permission from my father be damned.

“Mil, let the others know I’ll be in the sparring room. We have to adjust the plans.”

“You’re going sparring?” Eveera's voice floats over from doorway of the bathroom. She’s clad in only a towel that is very loosely tied around herself and it's as distracting as the first time. She looks around the room before her eyes land back on Millie, “you went through my stuff.” A statement, not a question.

Millie’s cheeks turn pink, quickly she drops the paperwork and scurries from the room. I grab the missives from where they scattered and extend them towards Eveera. Her expression quickly sours as she reads the newest updates. “Hopefully the girl will have the good sense to grab my men too.” I nod grimly. “Although, I can’t commend her subtlety when snooping.”

She reaches for her fighting leathers and weapons and when I don’t move fast enough out of the room she turns back around to me, “if you’d like to see a naked woman, I suggest you go to a whore house.”

“Tempting.” I say, her eyes widening and then darkening at my comment. For some reason I have a feeling that if I chose the whore house option, she'd skin me alive.

I wait outside in The Glass Hall for her. She comes out of the room still tying her hair up into a tight braid on top of her head and keeps her eyes straight forward as we walk through the halls. I look over to her and there’s about a foot of awkward space inbetween us.“Stand closer.”I hiss into her mind.

“What?”

I reach for her elbow in an empty stretch of walkway and haul her into my side, securing her hand tightly into the crook of my arm."Someone is always watching. Play your role remember?”She growls through the seal at me while keeping a neutral expression onto her face. Most heads stay down as we pass them. Finally we round our way into the empty sparring room and Eveera wastes no time breaking away from me.

Picking the weapons she plans to use from her belt and a bow off the wall she moves onto the floor. Her golden glare finds me again as she empties out her arsenal into the target, hitting her mark every single time. The hate filled stare deepens as she moves to retrieve the weapons and start again.

Slowly our men trickle into the room, keeping their distance from the queen as they do. The brothers, Max and Orem, step onto the empty section of the room meant for sword and hand to hand combat. The two of them moving swiftly in time together each parrying and blocking the blows of the other with their broadswords while Armond is off to the side refereeing their fight.

Bennett comes in next, making his way to me reaching for the missives in my hand. He flips through the pages, turning them back to front a few times to make sure the words he’s reading are correct, while shaking his head in disbelief. At one point his fist lands in the cork wall behind us drawing everyone’s attention.

“Your father isn’t even bothering to stop these deaths.” He snaps quietly. His voice is strained showing me just how much control he has to exert over his anger. I have a feeling if he let it all out, there would be more damage done than just a dent in the cork. He crumples the page, casting it down onto the floor.

Will’s jaw drops. “I wanted to read that!” He whines.

“Too fucking bad,” Bennett snarls, snapping his head in Will’s direction. “Will, if you don’t stop pacing I swear to the bleeding gods I’ll ask the resident psychopathic queen to shoot her next arrow throughyou.”I’m stunned, I haven’t seen Ben this angry in awhile, he’s not usually one to bite the heads off of others.

SWISHH! THWUMP!Will ducks as an arrow whizzes overhead of us sinking into the cork next to the dent Bennett made. He shoots a scathing look in Eveera's direction, who can’t be bothered to apologize.

“Careful now”I send through the seal. Bennett’s tantrum persists as he stamps a foot onto the crumpled piece of paper almost as if its destruction will put an end to the ever present war. But it won’t. The war is on our doorstep and my parents have us here, playing courtier with the rest of the lazy noblemen and women. The Valen Celebration is almost comical to have at this point when there may notbea Valen in a matter of weeks.

I unsheathe my sword and motion for Ben to take up a weapon and use some of that anger a little more constructively. Will acts as our referee signaling for the match to begin. Bennett is an exceptional fighter, just as good as me if not better. Growing up training side by side it was no question who would become one of my commanders, Bennett was an easy choice. His moves are precise and sharp. The only problem is after sparring with him for the past twenty some odd years, he has become predictable.

He lunges to the right extending his sword forward, a blow I narrowly dodge. We continue this dance for a while, I swing and he ducks. He comes for my side and I go for his neck. Will eventually calls it when I knock Bennett flat on his ass and pin him with my knee.

“Oh shit.” He mutters while standing to dust himself off, his eyes locked on something behind me.

“What?” I ask, looking over my shoulder.

Eveera and Axel are locked in a hand to hand fight on the adjacent mats. Blood is pouring from both of their faces. “Damn woman.”I growl through the seal but her focus remains honed in on her guard. Her movements are quick and defined against Axel. She pauses to crook afinger towards Maxwell and just as I think she is going to tap out he joins Axel in the spar. Two against one.

They throw every combination of punches and kicks I can think of. They land more than half of them on her body. I step up to intervene, thinking they’ve taken it too far, but her face has a broad and bloodied smile stretching ear to ear. She’senjoyingthis.

From the corner of my eye I see sparks popping at Max’s fingertips.

“Reign it in Abrams.” Armond snaps, a warning in his voice. Max pulls back his Wield and uses that warning as an opportunity to remove himself from the fight and tag another into it. Ezra enters the floor, taking up a place next to Axel. He stares her down, before turning and tapping Axel out.

Eveera’s deranged look only makes her appear more lethal. Despite the bruises blooming on her bronzed skin. The sensible side of me knows this isn’t abnormal for them -even if it is for us. That this woman was raised to be as formidable as she could be if only to make up for her lack in size. But seeing her so small against them as they lunge for her, has a much more primal side of me screaming to stop the fight. Ezra charges after her the glint in his eyes telling me he plans to fight dirty. His swings are wild and uncoordinated. The momentum behind them feeling more personal than it does professional.

His elbow rams into her cheek, sending her head at an awkward angle. “Ugh.”She yells, spitting blood onto the mat. Another bruise starts to form at the base of her eye and the rune on my wrist begins to warm. Eveera ducks the next blow, sweeping a foot out to trip Ezra and he lands on the ground with a thud. She uses the opportunity to lock his head between her knees.

“End the bout.”I snap, pushing at her through the seal. The rune heats up past warm when a scream tears out of her, he thrusts his hips uptipping her over onto her back. The change in position putting him on top with her braid wrapped around his hand. I notice her fingers digging into the mat, black magic pooling from beneath her palms.

“Eveera. No magic. You Wield, you yield.” Armond shouts at her.

It may be their rule to not Wield on one another but last I checked that doesn’t apply to me. Another scream tears out of her as she bucks and flails from her position but Ezra only tightens his hold, pulling her ear to his mouth, whispering in it. Her hand flies up and scores down his cheek, Ezra lets go with a wild yelp, shoving her away. The nerve I had to use my Wield vanishes the moment he lets her go just as her will to use her flares, her black magic spilling out of her and wrapping around him.

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