Page 38 of Vathia
CAPTAIN BATSIL IS WAITING IN the training yard after breakfast. She stands in the center of the yard with her arms crossed against her chest and a stern expression I’ve come to learn is just her face. Her blonde hair is how it always was, slicked back into a tight bun, which gives me a headache from just looking at, while her sky-blue eyes are narrowed on me.
“It seems you’ve been keeping secrets, Solace—or should I say, Princess Pendroko,” she states as myself, Mel and Lennox draw near.
A quiet, exasperated sigh leaves me. “I go by Ravina Solace,” I state simply.
She shrugs. “I will address you by your birth-given name. Hiding behind this meager creature is pointless now. Rumors have spread about a royal still being alive, hidden somewhere among the citizens of your realm. It’s created a sort of hope.” Her lip twitches, which I think might have been almost a smirk.
I shake my head. “I’m not that innocent princess any longer. Not after what I was forced to endure. Please respect that.”
She cocks her head to the side like she’s considering that. “You’re right. You’re not the same as you were. You’re a Queen in the making, and your realm is tearing itself apart while you hide out here. Don’t worry, now that I know who you are and what you’re capable of, we will get you up to par. No more pretending to be weaker than you are. Not while I’m instructing you. We need a strong leader, and Lord Aemon has brought me on to make sure that happens.”
“Why you, though? I thought you worked for Phixmery? For the Lords,” Lennox adds, mimicking her pose.
She strikes her ring against her belt and summons flames with what I can only describe as a devious grin. “Land a hit on me, and I’ll tell you. Until then, I think I’ll keep my secrets.”
I glance at Melissandre and Lennox, who in turn summon their own respective elements. Three on one? We have this.
Mel’s white-and-green hair blows in the wind as she pulls air in, throwing the blast at our instructor, but Batsil with barely a flick of her wrist pulls the blast in towards her before throwing it back, and none too gently either. Mel goes flying back and lands on her back with an oomph.
Air. Captain Batsil’s elements are airandfire.
Lennox realizes this too and tries to manipulate the fire in her own hand, but when he realizes he can’t, he reaches for the barrels of water that have been strategically placed around the yard, pulling enough to drown her in. The water covers her, creating a sphere with her at the center. But after a moment, the clear liquid explodes, drenching us, yet somehow, Batsil is still completely dry.
We do not have this.
“Is that seriously all you’ve got? You’ve been here for a month and not even the smallest amount of improvement? Pathetic,” she hisses. “If you expect to save your citizens then you’re going to need to get a lot better than this.”
I try not to let her words get to me but she’s right. Pushing deep inside the wells of my magick, I drop to the ground, convincing the earth to shift under her feet, throwing her off balance before tossing a blast of air and then water at her.
Batsil catches her balance and too easily swats my attack away. “You’re thinking too simply. You each have two or more elements. We will be working on combining them and learning to work off each other’s strengths. You won’t be leaving this yard until I’m satisfied with today’s progress. Prepare yourselves.”
IF I THOUGHT she was brutal before, she must have been holding back at the academy. That female is ruthless and powerful. I can see why Aemon brought her in to train us, but none of us landed a hit so she wouldn’t tell us why she switched sides. I suppose I can always ask him myself.
Mel, Lennox and I all lie on the dirt of the training field panting and exhausted.
“Can you feel your limbs?” Mel groans dramatically. “I’m not sure if I have legs or arms anymore.”
Lennox chuckles and then groans. “I think I’d rather do physical training all day then whatever that was. She blocked everything.Everything. Like it was nothing more than a fledgling’s game.”
I push myself up, grimacing. “She’s powerful, that’s for sure. Maybe with her training us, we will actually have a chance at this.”
Like all her pain was forgotten, Mel jolts upright, staring at me with something akin to hope. “No running? I mean we will follow you, but you’re going to help stop the war? Take back your throne?”
“I’ve been thinking about it since my memories were recovered. The promise I thought I was supposed to keep was a lie. I have this sense of duty, and I remember my parents ruling with love and fairness. Right now there’s none of that. I’ve lived it. I’ve seen how the lower fae can be treated and I think even before my memories returned I was leaning towards helping to put a stop to how things have become. But I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to rule,” I admit. “My earliest memories were of myselfsheltered and raised in a castle, but the ones that stuck with me were the things I had to do to survive when it was just Nero and I.”
Nero takes that moment to swoop in from wherever he’s been. He doesn’t say anything but sends me comfort down our bond, as does Vasari.
“I want to continue what my mother started, with the treatment of the lesser fae. I’m just not sure I can do this alone, or even if I can rule.”
Mel takes my hand, making both of us groan and laugh. “You have us, Ember and Roz. Plus you also have your mates.” She wiggles her brows. “Not to mention you have a scary ass dragon queen bonded to you.”
Nero pecks her. “She also has me, you daft female.”
She jerks her hand away and side-eyes him warily. “And you definitely have Nero, who may be the scariest creature known to fae-kind.”
I smother my laugh as her flattery makes him preen and he struts around between the three of us.
Lennox cuts into our joking. “How is training coming with Nero?”
