Page 33 of A Legacy of Poison and Lies

He set it on a rock beside them. “What remains of the Aquaris Court is here,” he said, pointing to the Delmara Peninsula.

“How long on horseback?”

“A while. But Mae wasn’t convinced the spell would cover evanescing outside her court, so we can’t risk it.”

Zylah agreed. She’d been too afraid to evanesce in the months since she’d left Virian, for fear it would get her noticed, and Holt had confirmed the magic was too strong to risk it. “Can Marcus evanesce?”

He surveyed the forest, and she wondered if he’d heard something. “Aurelia can.”

Marcus had said as much back in Virian, but now Zylah questioned everything she’d ever heard him utter. Everything was a game to him, a play, a prospect waiting to be pounced upon.

Holt folded up the map, slipped it into his pocket. “Marcus uses whatever he can to his advantage, anyone that might be an asset to him.”

Even if it meant having his son killed. Rage sparked in Zylah’s chest. “If I ever see him…”

“Then we better make sure you’re prepared. Sword.”

Holt swung at her before she’d barely got a decent grip on her blade, but she parried the blow regardless. Zylah let herself get lost in the movements, let herself forget about why she was there and what they had set out to do.

He smirked. “Good.”

“Who taught you to use a sword?” Zylah asked as they moved.

“My parents,” he said, and she didn’t miss the hint of pride in his tone.

“Both of them?”

“My father was an excellent swordsman, and my mother was the only Fae who could best him. You’re using her sword.”

Zylah stilled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think you’d take it if I did.” Another challenge in his expression.

She examined the blade anew, the twist of the vines around the hilt, the stone in the centre. “The purple stone?”

“She said it was in honour of an old friend.” He raised his sword again, encouraging Zylah to continue.

They repeated the action: strike, block, strike, block, until Zylah had removed her cloak and their breath was clouding in the cold air in front of them.

It felt just like it had back when he’d been training her in Virian. It was so easy not to think, to just get lost in the movements. Easy. Effortless.

He raised his sword to strike again but Zylah pivoted away from his blow, using her short height to duck low behind him as he righted himself. The moment of surprise was all she’d needed to touch the tip of her sword to his chest as he turned to face her, a wide grin on her face to celebrate her victory. So easy to get lost like this.

Holt laughed, swatting the sword away with a bracer. “Don’t get cocky.”

“Afraid I might surprise you?” Zylah asked, a breath of laughter escaping her as she ducked again, pivoting away from him. But this time she let him catch her, let him slide his arm around her waist and pull her back to him as she dropped her sword and reached for her dagger instead.

She felt his puff of laughter in her hair as her dagger pressed into his ribs. “You always surprise me,” he said, his other hand closing around hers over the hilt of her blade.

Zylah looked up at him, their laughter replaced with something else, her heart beating hard in her chest. She let him take the dagger, let him toss it away from them, just as a roar tore through the forest and Kopi cried out from amongst the trees.

Zylah sucked in a breath. “That sounded like—”

“Asters. Get the horses. Ride east, and don’t stop, I’ll catch up to you.” Holt looked in the direction of the roar, but Zylah didn’t move away as she gathered up her weapons.

“I faced worse in the Kerthen forest than a couple of Asters, Holt.” Far worse.

He tilted his head as if he were listening, but he didn’t take his eyes off her, all trace of the lightness from moments before gone. Whatever words he seemed to be warring with, he instead settled on, “Over there, we’ll secure the horses.”

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