Page 115 of The Scars Within
My jaw dropped. “So youwerelooking in the showers!”
Rhodes unzipped his leather jacket. “The Burn Trials.”
Oh.
I snapped my jaw shut.
He chuckled softly and turned back toward Noemi, his broad shoulders shifting as he walked away. I stripped out of my old leathers and shot a silent command to Lakota to close his eyes. He responded with a puff of smoke but begrudgingly obeyed.
The new leathers were the same deep black as my others, but I immediately noticed the extra pockets lining the torso and legs. Theyweren’t a perfect fit—slightly loose in some spots—but close enough. The material felt broken in, soft and comfortable, as though it had already been molded to someone else’s body.
I picked my cloak back up and began fastening it around my neck when Rhodes stopped me, “No cloak. That’s a more advanced lesson. You need to learn without one first.”
Lesson? What in the elements has he brought me out here to do?
Rhodes stood before me, dressed in a set of leathers nearly identical to the ones he’d given me. The pockets were subtle, barely visible, but in the same spots as the ones on mine. The only change he’d made was swapping out his Mageia jacket. He was holding the rolls of leather in his hands.
The wind whipped loose tendrils of hair around my face as I asked, “Okay, so what’s going on here?”
“From now on, your private lessons will be held here. With me.” Rhodes’ voice was steady, deliberate. “Maksimov agrees with me that your flying skills are impeccable. But this... this is more important.”
I glanced at Lakota and Noemi, hoping for some explanation, before turning back to Rhodes.
“I’m going to teach you the basics of self-defense,” he continued, his tone sharp and commanding like he was addressing a soldier. “So if you ever find yourself in a position like yesterday, you’ll be able to take care of yourself. There is only one rule today. No elements.”
I huffed, “You’re abiding by Kalluri’s rulebook?”
“Nobody, not even Kalluri, can take your power away from you. Only the Mareki decides who is honorable enough to wield an element. But, I’m not here to teach you elemental combat.”
I paused, considering his words and adding this to my long list of confused thoughts since I entered Mageia. “You’re... going to teach me how to defend myself without my elements?” I asked dumbfoundedly.
He nodded subtly.
The air was ripped from my lungs when I asked. “Why?”
Rhodes didn’t answer. We stood there for a beat. I could tell by his expression that he wanted to answer but didn’t know how.
He closed the distance between us, towering over me as he dipped his chin, leveling his gaze so he didn’t have to look down his nose at me. Without a word, Rhodes held out the rolls of leather for me to grasp.
I carefully unrolled the leather to find a dagger. Its blade was forged of a dark steel that glistened in the sunlight. I glanced up at Rhodes, searching his face, before letting my eyes drift back to the weapon. Tilting it slightly, I caught the shimmer of tiny, intricate runes etched in a precise line down the center of the blade—delicate yet powerful.
The hilt was wrapped in leather dyed a sage, almost mint, color. The color was bright but faded softly. The cross-guard and pommel gleamed with an unfamiliar metal. Resting in the pommel was a gemstone, the same shade of soft green as the leather.
It’s beautiful. Lethal. Otherworldly. And—
“Yours,” Rhodes murmured, his voice low and almost tender, sending a shiver through me. He unrolled the second bundle, revealing a matching dagger. “These are small enough to stay hidden in those leathers, but will provide ample protection once you know how to wield them. Those leathers can pass for Mageia’s dress code, but let me know if someone starts asking questions about them. I will get you more sets, but you’ll have to launder them so nobody gets too curious.”
Any words I could manage died in my throat. My gaze flicked between his mismatched eyes, searching for something—answers, maybe, or the right thing to say. Why did he have to be so ominous about all of this? Why did he have to bring me to a secret carving of the mountains, dress me in mysterious leathers, and give such precise instructions for when we return to Mageia?
But then he added to my confusion as he slipped the daggers into the pockets of his leathers, which I now realize are sheaths.
“You will get these when you earn them,” he said.
“And how do I earn them?”
“By taking them from me.”
His voice was dark and sensual, his eyes brimming with a hunger I couldn’t ignore. But then, as if realizing his mask had slipped, he pulled it back into place in an instant—so fast I almost doubted I’d seen it fall at all.
