Page 74 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
A typical male response. But knowing what little she did of him, he wasn’t lying. She could practically feel the mana that oozed out from him—though lately, she had noticed that she was becoming increasingly used to it. It wasn’t as crippling, or nauseating, as it once had been.
Vidar pointed at one end of the small room, where a short table had been placed. Atop the surface, a towel and a new set ofclothes were neatly folded. “Change into them. We’ll be training with Agnarr.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. We don’t have much time.” He lifted one shoulder. “You are already adept at your fae magic, and your elf magic is passable now, too, so you can likely wield theDød Sværdwithout being controlled by it.”
Apprehension pulled at her chest and every breath seized from her chest. She could remember the feel of the cursed sword in her hand, the weight of its murderous lust, the bloodthirsty thoughts that ran through her mind whenever she held it. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed through her nose.
She could feel Vidar watching her, but she avoided his stare, opting to focus on the clothes and towel.
“I will wait outside,” he said.
The door shut with a click.
Kolfinna quickly ripped off her clothes and slapped them onto the ground with aplop. She purposefully took her time drying herself and then changing into the new set of clothes, which were nearly identical to her previous ones, except these were in shades of black and red. She ran her mind over the options she had for dealing with theDød Sværd, but she couldn’t think of a way to get out of using it.
After she was dressed and ready, she exited the room and Vidar led her down the hall again. She noticed Blár from the corner of her eye; he was tall and menacing-looking, especially with half his face masked. She had been so thrilled at seeing him last night that she hadn’t even asked him how he had arrived at this fortress, or how the fae had allowed him to wear a mask.
“I’ll allow you to spar with Agnarr for a bit,” Vidar said as they entered a courtyard of the fortress. Sand covered the entirety of the ground, likely to soften any landings during a spar, and the walls of the courtyard were sprayed with dust, dirt,and more sand. There weren’t any fae or elves here, and it was mostly isolated. She assumed that was because Vidar didn’t want too many people watching her, but a few fae flew overhead from time to time. Her guards lined the far wall, their hands clasped behind their backs.
Agnarr stood in the center of the clearing, his hands in his pockets and his head tilted back to stare at the passing clouds. Upon their arrival, he snapped his attention to them, a feral grin curling his lips.
“Ready to get your ass handed to you?” he said with a smirk.
Kolfinna frowned, and when she glanced at Vidar, he wore a matching expression to hers. That only made her scowl darker.
“If you let me use my powers, you might have a hard time.” She left Vidar’s side and came close to him. He loomed over her and she had a hard time tilting her head up. How tall was this man? She had never seen anyone this tall, or this powerfully built. It annoyed her more than it should have.
He lifted a golden eyebrow. “You think you have a chance against me with your powers?”
“I do.” She was aware of Blár’s gaze trained on her. It was probably best for her to have Agnarr show his powers and fighting style to Blár, especially since he would have to fight him over at the military headquarters.
She had thought her taunting would work in riling him up, but it only seemed to amuse him, because his smile grew slightly silly. Like she was a child telling him she was stronger.
“All right, let’s see what you’ve got,” he said.
They both circled each other. Kolfinna ignored the many eyes that were on them—her guards, Blár, Vidar. She tried to home in on Agnarr. He was standing rather loosely, but his gaze was alert, scanning her body for any sign of an attack. The air thickened with the mana he exuded.
She launched at him, fist raised. He sidestepped easily, but she continued to send a barrage of punches, her footwork clean as she stepped into his personal space. He raised an eyebrow, his smirk becoming increasingly frustrating. Her knuckle grazed his cheek, and her mouth curved, but then she was flying backward, her back slamming onto the ground.
She blinked up at the sky.
What the?—?
Her stomach throbbed and she pushed herself into a sitting position.
Agnarr was grinning widely. “I thought you were planning on using your powers on me, little girl?”
Oh, this man wasinfuriating.
Kolfinna leaped to her feet; her healing powers were already working with each passing second, her breathing returning to normal. She raised her fists into a fighting position, and shadows cloaked her arms in seconds like armor.
Agnarr chuckled, unimpressed. “I won’t even need to use my powers against you.”
“You talk too much,” she snarled, lunging at him.
They exchanged blows, one after the other. Her shadow armor spread to cover the rest of her body, and whenever he punched her, the blow was softened and her shadows licked out toward his skin, leeching his mana. He cursed and backed away while she only drew nearer. She grinned ferally, matching his initial energy, as his smirk faded.
