Page 53 of One Last Promise
“Were you there?Did you see what happened?Who killed them?Tell me!Please!”I pleaded, grabbing his arm.“Darce, Ineedto know!”
“Your warrior training...”His voice was a whisper.“It’s to get revenge, isn’t it?”
“A Noxlin tookeverythingfrom me.I don’t care how powerful they are.One day, Iwillgive them the death they deserve.”
“Alora, youcan’tbeat him.”Darce knew who I was talking about.It was amale!“He has unlimited power.He’s thestrongestNoxlin next to the king and queen.Whatever revenge you require, you willnotwin.”
“You don’t believe in me?”All the words from my father flooded back into my mind.I thought Darce was different.
“It’s not a question of your abilities.You know how impressed I am with you.We’ve only been practising with swords for a few short months and your footwork is flawless.It’s about picking your opponent.You will be completely outmatched.That, and I’m not sure how I would react to watching you fight him.I won’t be able to cope.”
“You’re not going to give me a name, are you?”
“I can’t.”The pain was easy to read on his face.Darce must be friends with this male Noxlin.
“You can’torwon’t?”
“I won’t,” he sighed, looking away from me.“To give you his name would be like giving you my own.”
“You have feelings forme, yet you protecthim.”
“Would you lure your precious princess out for me?”Darce’s tone was short as he moved off me, reaching for his shirt.
“That’s completely different!”I seethed, reaching for my own clothes.He was being absurd.“Our princess didn’t massacre an entire army in a matter of seconds.”
“No, but your race destroyed an entire city in a matter of hours.”The rage in his voice was unlike anything I had heard from him before.“Femalesandchildren were lost.That your kind killed!You came into our city unannounced and destroyedeverything.What else was he meant to do?Sit back and watch you kill his entire race?All for some power from a light sword we didn’t steal?Your king has a habit of falsely accusing us.Believe it or not, we are a peaceful race.Each time we have gone to war, it’s because your preciouskingstarted it.He got his own fucking wife killed that day.You want someone to blame, look at Zohar!”
“I’ve been so foolish.I thought you were different.” Tears filled my eyes.“You’ve always been my enemy, I was just too stupid to see it.”
“Alora, this has nothing to do with how I feel about you.This is about the past.Something we can never change.If I could go back in time and save your mother, I would.We can’t change the events that happened before we met.”Darce made a fair point, but my body was still raging.
“I want you to continue to train me.”I pulled my fighting leathers on, not meeting his gaze.
“I’ll give you anything you want.You know this.I’mnotyour enemy.”
“Iwilluse your training to kill the Noxlin you are protecting when the time comes.Can you live with that?”
As I searched his eyes, a strange sense of understanding flickered deep inside them.Darce placed a soft kiss on my lips and muttered against them, “And on that day, I won’t stand in the way of you running your blade straight through his heart.”
“You mean that?”
“If you discover his name, I will not stand in your way, Alora.I promise.”Darce kept his promises.I knew this of him.
“Will you show me those steps one last time before I have to leave?”I asked.Darce picked up our swords, throwing mine towards me.
“I’m not going to go easy on you this time, Starshine,” he threatened, moving into position.“You need to show me what you’ve got.”
“I’ve got enough to knock you to the ground.”I smirked as our blades made contact.The echoes of steel clashing filled the valley.
“We’ll see about that.”Darce lunged at me thrusting his sword, pushing me back against the tree.Before I could even form a coherent thought, his blade was against my neck.“You still have a lot to learn.”His body was crushed against mine.Gazing down at my lips, he removed his sword.“Practise the advance again.You’re not leaving until you’ve mastered it.”It was already late, but Darce was a hard taskmaster.I wasn’t going anywhere until I had mastered the steps.
****
“WHAT TIME DO YOU CALLthis?”Noor glared, meeting me on the edge of town.“I don’t mind covering for you, but you’ve been gone for a day and a half!”Darce and I may have gotten a bit distracted with the training.
“I’m sorry.It took a little longer today.It was worth it, though.”
“I would love to know what you’re talking about, but you’ve been keeping it from me forcenturies,remember?”I gave her a reassuring smile.“Xavier was asking after you.Luz told him you were power training with me.”
