Page 40 of Enchanted Shadows
I walked over to Emric where he was leaning against the fence, imitating his stance.
Emric put up a sound barrier around us, the dark red impossible to miss. “Encouraging them to quit?”
“No. Encouraging them to look at things in the correct light. I want to see their fight, but....”
“But?”
I looked at the women where they now sat. “I don’t want any harm to come to them. This group is different.”
“Obviously.”
“Not just because they have breasts,” I snapped. “They went together. All of them. To protect and help my sister. Can you imagine if I would have tried to do that duringourtraining?”
“We would have been more likely to tie you down and keep you from going at all than to risk our own hides.”
“Exactly,” I told him. “The last training team which has been close like this was the one with Miles and Dex. Sometimes a team just works together. And I’m seeing that with this one. But they’re going to have to be that close if they don’t want to be torn apart by more Bram Stirlings.”
Molly walked over, using her magic to take down Emric’s sound barrier.
“Can we talk about that?” I asked with a smirk.
Her eyes darted to Emric before going back to me. “Talk about what?”
“Your Enchantment choked four men easily last night.” Molly’s family had been treated poorly for being a weaker magical bloodline before Theon died. For decades.
“I don’t like being spoken down to,” was her simple explanation.
My lips twitched. “Noted. I meant you are much stronger, Molls. That’s all.”
She gave me a tight smile. “Jorah told me to keep practicing. To build it. So I did. And now I have even more time to hone my Enchantment by being here.” She shrugged. “Maybe I was only as weak as I was led to believe I was.”
“You also passed the obstacle course,” I told her. “Seems you are far more than a bookworm.”
“Always was. Just took a while for the rest of you to catch on.”
“Fair.” I laughed. “What did you need, Molly?”
“I’m staying.”
I dipped my chin and looked her in the eyes. “You’re sure?”
She quickly swallowed. “I remember too much of what life was likebefore. I can take the heat. I’m staying. So I came over to ask if I could run.”
I cocked my head. “Youwantto run?”
She rolled her eyes. “No. I want to get it over with. Before it gets too hot.”
Emric chuckled. “Been there.”
I gestured with my head behind me. “Go. There and back twice. No breaks. Take your water and place it somewhere so you can grab a drink.”
With a nod, she headed toward the starting line.
Jessina came over next. “I’m staying too.”
I looked her in the eyes. “You are not Enchanted. It will be even harder for you.” Much like it had been for the team of men Keir and I had trained after Theon’s death. The first team of non-Enchanted. Most of them were still together working at the new base in Nerede.
She put her hands on her hips and stared me down. “I’m staying.”
