Page 5 of Enchanted Shadows
I quickly showed them exactly what I wanted and broke them into groups to try it themselves.
The difference in the women used to physical work and those who were not was blatantly obvious. Molly might have joked about everything hurting, but she was somewhere in the middle of the skill of the class. I wondered if she had started training on her own. And why she was here, back in Kavan Keep, when she seemed to prefer her new home in Nerede.
I didn’t have a notebook on me but kept mental notes all the same. A brown-haired woman from Rallis named Jessina was the fastest and strongest of the bunch, Vivian not far behind. Sam wasn’t near the top half in the speed and strength department, but I listened to her explain to a few women how she increased her speed across the beams the second time around and knew I found myself the strategist. There was always at least one in each class. Keir had been ours.
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. Keir hadn’t been home for close to a year, as Esta had given birth to their daughter just last week. Dex was also still in Dra Skor, possibly for good now that he was soul bound with Avril. Everyone was pairing up and making babies. And here I was. Training a group of women.
Zara was one of the last women to do the balance beams. She was from Nerede and was downright graceful as she stepped across. She carried herself differently. She hadn’t said much and was content to wait her turn. Her long braid stretched down her back as she effortlessly crossed the beam, her blonde hair contrasting against her brown skin. Something about her lookedvaguely familiar. I wondered if I had seen her in passing on one of the many trips I had made to Nerede.
A woman named Tate fell from the other balance beam, stealing my attention. She had landed on her butt hard. Two girls hauled her up.
“You good?” I asked.
She looked up at me. “I think so. You don’t give massages, do you?”
What in the hell had I gotten myself into? “Not today. And not for the next ninety days. Say something like that to me again, and you’ll run for it.” I nodded toward the beam. “Hop back on. The distance to the ground is only going to get farther and eventually you will be attacking one another from the beams. Now is not the time to learn to fear them.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,General,” I corrected her. The flirting had to go. Immediately.
If they wanted this, they were all going to have to learn the chain of command. Officers first, a lieutenant who served as the head of each team, and then general.
Krew had tried to give me the title of Commander twice now, but I had declined. I already got enough special treatment for being close to the king and queen, I didn’t need my position questioned.
As I continued to watch, I found I was oddly content with the women before me. Of course it was the first day, and how they would act at the end of the week when they were both sore and tired would be more of an indication of the group’s potential. Still, I wasn’t bothered by the number of times people fell off the balance beams. Or the fact that a few of their squat forms were ridiculously atrocious. All of those things could be learned and fixed. I was interested in their minds. What combination of individuals I had before me.
As we finished up a long stretch, I heard a howl from close by. While a few of the women not used to Kavan Keep jolted, I didn’t. Rafe must be nearby. Which was a little surprising. The pack of wolves liked to keep to the meadow side of the forest. Particularly since more and more birds and wildlife were back to being in the forest.
“You are dismissed for lunch,” I told the women. “And please, eat. As of this moment, you all need more protein in your daily food intake. You will need to strengthen your muscles, and your muscles need the protein. Learn to love meat.”
Molly snorted, but I did my best to ignore it. Ignore all of them.
As I followed them in and headed out of the ring and toward the barrack kitchens to grab a bite of food myself, there was Rafe, sniffing toward the women. He got particularly close to Zara and Molly.
While Molly looked like she would faint from happiness, Zara looked ready to bolt.
“He’s not going to hurt you,” I told them, voice loud but not too loud to spook Rafe. Shadow and a few other wolves were likely also close by.
Rafe sniffed Zara’s palm before giving it a lick.
“He likes you,” I told her as I walked over, reaching down to run my hand along his back.
“Why?” Zara was still looking at her hand, as if still shocked a wild animal had licked her hand.
My eyebrows shot up. “Why does he like you?”
“Yes.” Her brown eyes met mine. “I haven’t done anything.”
I shrugged as I pet him once more before he ran off in the direction of the forest. “He’s a good judge of character.”
“The wolf?Is a good judge of character?”
“Haven’t you heard the stories?” Molly asked.
Zara wiped her hands along her black pants. “Well, yes, but I assumed they were exaggerated, like legends of sorts.”
Molly giggled. “Not so far-fetched now. You just got slurped.”
