Page 67 of Vathia
Word about my identity spread like a shadowflame through dry brush in the summer. Most of the fae here seemed awed, while a few were obviously skeptical, with their ever-watchful eyes as we left the command tent late last night. Although I didn’t participate in much of the planning other than a few words here and there, it exhausted me. My fatigue may have been from the journey here or just the stress of the past few months, but I know this isn’t the end. I need to straighten my metaphorical crown and do the best I can in this situation—which will hopefully lead to a happy ending for all of us.
Another thing we discussed is sending for my friends. They should have already made it back to Kraryn, and we are going to need all the help we can get with holding the front lines. A pixie was sent with a scroll addressed to them, so hopefully in a few days they’ll be here. I find myself missing their antics and company.
The flap on my tent opens and Aemon strolls in, his white hair slicked back with the sweat of his early morning workout. “Did you sleep well, my precious Dream?” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head.
A smile pulls at the corner of my lips. “Yes, but I wish you didn’t let me sleep in. I need to train as well. I can’t be lookingpampered here. I don’t want to be pampered.” My eyebrow twitches up.
He shrugs and a tendril of his shadows pushes a loose lock of hair behind the point of my ear. “You needed sleep. I was coming to get you anyway. Killian is waiting for you and I need to meet with the General. Then Jesper will be taking over your training in the afternoon.” He side-eyes me with a knowing smirk.
My face begins to heat. It’s not my fault that whenever Jesper and I try to train it ends up being more than a little hands on. But something always seems to happen, and he or I are needed somewhere else.
“Well, I suppose I should get to training then,” I state, an excited heat building in my lower stomach. I’ve stopped trying to keep my distance from them and even if we don’t have much, or any, privacy in a war camp, I find myself anxious to spend time with my other mates.
He clears his throat, his slim pale brow curving upwards. “And where do you think you’re going without a kiss?”
“Nowhere?” I draw the word out while biting my lip to smother my laugh.
“Mhm.” Using his shadows he pulls me over until my body is pressed firmly against him. “You don’t ever get to dismiss yourself from my presence without me tasting your lips,” he rasps, pressing his mouth against mine. Slowly. Tantalizing. He pulls back a moment before I give up being Queen-in-training for the day and see how many of the cots we can christen before someone comes looking for us. “Get to training, Little Dream.”
“You riled me up on purpose, didn’t you?”
He shrugs and I feel the sharp sting of a smack on my ass from one of his shadows. “Kill could use the motivation.” He winks. “Knock him dead, gorgeous.”
I huff with amusement and turn to leave the tent, but not before I pull on the shadows and use my own tendril in retaliation. He curses and I high-tail it towards the training area but not before his voice slips into my mind through our bond.
“You will pay for that later, Ravina,”he grumbles, even though I get a sense of excitement from our bond but it doesn’t deter me from running.
“OKAY, I THINK that’s enough for this morning,” Killian grumbles as I wipe sweat from my brow.
The wisps of my hair fly around my face as I vehemently shake my head. “No, I can keep going.”
He growls, taking a step towards me and lowering his voice. “You still have more training to do this afternoon. If you keep going at this pace you are going to seriously hurt yourself. You’re improving, and you need fuel to keep you going. So, you will eat lunch.”
Nero pipes in from the post he’s made his home this morning. “Ooh! He’s telling you what to do! Are you going to fight? Can I help?”
“I may need your help to take him on,”I tell him, my voice edged with annoyance but not at my feathered familiar. “One more match, then I will eat,” I bargain. I need to be on top of my skills. There’s no way that I will be a female that needs to be taken care of and protected. I can and will better my magick and combat.
“I mean, technically you don’t need me at all to disarm your giant of a mate. Just lift your tunic and he’ll be so distracted that you can punch him in the family jewels and getone of the others to help with your training. Although, food does sound good. Never mind, I’m starving. I saw a dead rabbit earlier but it didn’t look right. I think it was sitting too long in the sun, and I smell boar cooking—”
“Fucking fates, Nero, breathe. What has gotten into you?” I accidentally say out loud.
“Was he plotting my demise?” Killian gruffs.
I blink at him in surprise. “How did you know? Also, kind of, but he wants food.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out some dried berries. “Aemon and Jesper have informed me about how murdery your familiar is, and to keep food on me in case he gets the urge to pluck out my eyeballs.”
Nero zeros in on the food and soars onto Killian’s forearm, diving into his goodies. “He can be temporarily on my good list,” he states as his satisfaction hums down the bond.
Killian tenses.
“Don’t worry, you’re on his good list. Not sure about mine though. I really don’t think one more round will hurt.”
His gaze narrows. “My whole upbringing, I was trained to use my body as a weapon. I was pushed to and past my breaking point more times than any fledgeling should be. We will not be doing that to you. Learning your body’s boundaries and training safely is what you need to focus on.”
My heart clenches at the pain in his voice. “I’m sorry you went through that, but I’m also not a fledgling.”
He shakes his head. “What’s done is done. The only good thing that came out of it is now I can protect you. Even if it’s from yourself.”
