Page 26 of Trial of Three
“I wager that your brute of a trainer would have left you wearing those burns the whole practice, just to deter sloppiness,” Elidyr said, coming up to stand beside Tye as he watched Klarissa tend to the latest burn victim—this one having scorched his own thigh.
Tye crossed his arms, his jaw tight. “I was in that training arena by choice. None of them are.”
“The quint magic chose them.” Elidyr’s voice hardened. “Just as it chose you. You are not doing anyone any favors by pretending that fighting the qoru is all stolen wine and dandelions.”
“Why are you doing this?” Tye asked, without turning his head. “And don’t start on the virtues of flex for a warrior, Eli. These are beginners; the specific magic affinity matters less than basic strength and flexibility at this stage. You could teach this class with your eyes closed—you little need me. Or did you think I’d enjoy this for old times’ sake?”
“I’d say your probable lack of enjoyment was more of an inspiration than a deterrent.” Elidyr plucked a blade of hay from his pocket and chewed on the end. “Klarissa wished to remind your quint commander that his choices have consequences. I steer clear of that relationship, but I agree that the weaver needs to be pushed—and your moreenjoyablemethods are likely to lead to a different type of exercise.”
Tye snorted in spite of himself.
Elidyr glanced over at him, dropping his voice. “I also had a personal reason for wanting you on a flex field.” Taking the blade of hay from his mouth, he turned the dried grass between his thumb and forefinger. “One night, you are Lunos’s presumptive champion, readying for Realm finals; you are a legend we whisper about in changing rooms. And by morning, you are in a prison cell, too drunk to stand, much less compete. I want to know why.”
“Because I like wine.” A chill slipped through Tye, icy dread crackling along his skin until his flesh stung from it. Trust the flex network to find a way to slice him even now, more than three hundred years later. Fine. Shoving Elidyr’s words into the same dark place in his mind where the rest of his memories of that time lived, Tye turned his back to the elder and found somewhere else to be. Not a difficult feat in an arena full of beginners trying to kill themselves. By the time Tye had corrected one trainee’s form and disciplined another for not watching where his flame snapped, Elidyr had moved away.
At least Klarissa had bowed to Tye’s insistence that Lera’s training stay contained to flexibility and strength today. Tye suspected that the only reason the lass had stopped crying halfway through the morning was that her tears had simply run out. By the time the midday bell sounded, he was as ready as the trainees to get the hell out.
Standing back, Tye watched the others file out of the arena, Lera trudging painfully beside Blayne. Stopping at the rungs in the stone, Lera stared at them as if regarding a guillotine. A moment later, Blayne—Blayne!—nodded to her in companionable commiseration.
Fire seared everything inside Tye, the world roaring around him. With long strides, he crossed the arena. One glare at Blayne sent the male scampering up the ladder rungs with a reserve of strength that likely surprised Blayne himself.Good.
Lera turned, exhaustion twisting every muscle of her body. Even her normally gleaming auburn hair looked tired, escaping her ponytail in errant dull-red tufts. A small cut on her palm had a drop of dried blood on it—from where her nails had dug in during a particularly demanding drill.
“Is there something wrong?” Lera asked, her voice wary.
“Everything is wrong.” Tye reached for her, little caring what the other trainees thought of it. What Elidyr and Klarissa thought. No, that wasn’t true. He did care. He wanted them to know damn well that Lilac Girl was his and that anyone who stood in his way would burn to ash.
Slipping one arm behind Lera’s shoulders and the other beneath her knees, Tye lifted the small female to his chest, her body a soothing, perfect warmth against his. He stepped away from the ladder so others could pass them, and soon they were alone in the arena. Lera’s lilac scent filled his nose, even more potent than before. So potent, in fact, that for a heartbeat all Tye could do was stand there, breathing her in and feeling the tired heat from her body spread through his flesh, which woke in more ways than one now that they were close.
Lera frowned, the lines of ache and fatigue somehow making her face even more beautiful. Vulnerable too. And brave. And utterly displeased with him. “What are you doing?”
“I was going to help you up,” Tye said, quickly recalculating his plan to rest his cheek atop Lera’s head. “You don’t have to climb.” It was admittedly a small boon to offer her after hours of misery, but Tye had few options just now.
“No.” Lera’s voice had a bite. “Set me down.”
Tye obeyed, his chest tightening as he set the girl on her feet and watched her step toward the wall. He would kill Klarissa the moment he got a chance. For now, however, it was time for damage control. “I’m sorry I did that to you, lass,” he said, wondering if he should keep standing or kneel beside her. Picking up the female again was clearly not yet in the cards.“I had little choice in the matter, if that helps.”
Ignoring the ladder, Lera slid down to the sand, her back braced against the stone. Her hands curled into fists. “Liar.”
“What?” Tye rocked back in surprise. “How—”
Lera’s eyes flashed. “You are the one who wouldn’t let me do anything, Tye.” The words snapped like a whip. “You. Not Elidyr. Not even Klarissa. That bloody female was more on my side than you were.”
17
Tye
Tye shifted his feet, just to ensure that the world tipping beneath him still existed. The sand was still there, the smell of sweat and lilac. The bit of chalk powder spilling from his pocket. “You are upset because youdidn’ttry the split targets?” he clarified.
“Wouldn’t you be?” Lera shot back. “Would you be pleased to stretch and exercise in the bloody corner while everyone else... Forget it. If we are done training, I’m going home.”
“We aren’t done.” Tye snatched the lass by her upper arms as she tried to rise. Holding her steady, he bent to bring his face level with hers, meeting those large chocolate eyes unflinchingly. “You have neither the strength nor the flexibility to do what you are asking, Lera.”
“Neither did anyone but Yalis. You let them try. You let Yalis try three times.”
Bloody stars. Tye sighed, his mind starting to hurt as much as Lera’s muscles had earlier. His hands tightened on her arms and he shook her lightly. “Yes, Imadethem try. And they choked for it. Klarissa was healing horrid burns all morning long. You can’t even shield yet, lass, and you are mortal. What the bloody stars do you imagine you would have done on that course?”
Lera’s eyes glistened, the tears that had not been there for hours now filling her lids. “Discovered why you love it so much, for one.”
