Page 69 of Rising Out of the Darkness
Pushing open the wooden door leading outside to the ring, I became immediately aware of the sweltering heat. I slung off my gambeson, leaving behind only my thin white tunic. The gambeson was meant to protect my chest and stomach during practice, but if I was going to be training in this heat, I might as well be comfortable doing it.
I was so distracted by the delicious blueberry muffin in my hand, it took me a moment to notice the striking woman standing at the side of the ring. She was a few inches taller than me and had legs for days. Her deep umber skin glistened in thesunlight and her long, onyx-colored hair bounced in the breeze. She must have noticed me gawking at her with a muffin in my mouth, because the smile she gave me could have touched her ears.
“Lady Elena, I’m guessing?”
Swallowing the chunk of muffin, I finally spoke. “Just Elena, no ‘lady’ here.”
“Liam told me you had a fiery spirit. It’s going to be a pleasure training with you, Elena. My name is Nayla Bahl. I’m a captain of the Royal Guard. Someone has got to keep those three in line.”
Nayla tilted her head in the direction of the practice ring. When I saw the image in front of me, my mouth went dry instantly. I was so shocked by the view, I fumbled the muffin in my hand and it rolled onto the dirt beneath me. “Oops,” I breathed.
“It’s quite a sight to behold, isn’t it?” Nayla smirked.
“Indeed,” I whispered as I gawked at the men.
Three incredibly handsome men sparred in the middle of the ring, flaunting their perfectly sculpted bodies in front of us. As they sparred, sweat glistened on their beautifully sculpted abs. Swallowing, I watched as Declan wielded two swords against Liam and Killian. They were so in sync with each other’s movements, a dangerously choreographed dance.
“You’re drooling, you know.”
I closed my gaping mouth as my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s okay.” She let out a breathy laugh. “I had the same reaction when I saw them all training for the first time as well. It’s natural to not be able to peel your eyes away.”
We both observed them for a while before I mustered the courage to ask Nayla the questions burning within me. “How are you able to be captain?”
Her brow shot up, and I quickly recovered. “Personally, I think it’s amazing. I used to have to train with my father in the early hours of the morning just so the other members in my town wouldn’t treat me like an outcast. It’s ridiculous that society can’t handle women learning how to protect themselves.”
With a smile, she began to tell me about her path to the castle.
Nayla was a Terran, someone who could use their dynamis to wield the earth. We had those in our town as well, but mostly all they could do was break up the soil so we could cultivate crops. Nayla’s dynamis, however, was incredibly strong. She could move boulders, even stones. She could bring whole buildings down with just a flick of her dynamis. Declan had observed her dynamis in action during a Rebellion attack and had recruited her.
“My father wasn’t too thrilled about it. When I decided to take the position as captain, he disowned me.”
“What? He disowned you for wanting to be a captain in the Royal Guard?”
“Their loss,” she shrugged. “I’ve never been one to follow along with their expectations. I was never going to enjoy living the life of a courtier, wasting my life in fancy dresses and being married off in a loveless marriage at the first chance my father got. I believe I was meant for more in my life. I was meant to make a difference, you know?”
“Yes, I understand completely,” I said.
“Want to practice a bit until these boys are ready to have you join in with sparring? I see you brought your dagger.”
A smile spread across my face as I answered, “Absolutely.”
We made our way over to an area full of targets for archery, as well as training dummies stuffed with hay to practice sword fighting. I drifted towards the targets, noticing a selection of daggers sitting on a wooden table next to them. We both grabbed a few and aligned ourselves several feet away from the targets.
Nayla launched her dagger. It flew fiercely, landing in the closest ring next to the bullseye. She nodded toward me to take my turn. Finding my stance, I inhaled a deep breath and let my dagger fly. It landed smack dab in the middle of the bullseye as pride thrummed through me. I would never have been able to do that without the help of my father.
“Bullseye on the first try. Impressive…or just good luck,” she hummed, tossing me another dagger. “Let’s see if you can do it again.”
She motioned for me to go again, so I did. Bullseye. Her eyes widened as she retrieved the dagger and had me repeat it five more times. Each time, the dagger hit its mark.
After my last attempt, clapping arose from behind us. Liam, Killian, and Declan were all perched on top of the training ring fence, mouths open in awe.
“I should have guessed you would be a natural at throwing daggers. Especially after witnessing you throw spoons with the same precision.” Liam pulled out the silver spoon from his pocket, and I couldn’t help but combust with laughter. “Come here, little lady.”
He swept me up into his burly arms, then set me back down on the ground. Killian smiled big, jumping off the fence for an embrace as well.
“I feel like we haven’t seen you in forever, Freckles.”
