Page 4 of The Study of Fire
“The winners can have any position. When did I agree to that?” the Commander asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
“You didn’t have to agree. This is my challenge.”
The Commander’s expression hardened.
Valek rushed to continue. “Consider the person or persons who can beat me in a fight. You saw the match with Ari, Janco, and Maren. Those types aren’t ordinary soldiers. We want them to be promoted. To be working with our leaders.”
“I’m all for rewarding exceptional people, but I prefer to know a person before I have to work with them every day.”
“You know Ari, Janco, and Maren. And I doubt there’ll be another trio like them for a long while.”
The Commander paused and looked at Valek. “You’ve favored them from the beginning. Did you throw the match?”
He huffed in indignation. “You saw the fight. They earned it.”
“Don’t get huffy. You weren’t at your best.”
“I’ve never fought three opponents with a bo staff before. Plus, they were relentless.”
“True.” The Commander continued walking as his expression grew thoughtful. “I only saw two thirds of the fight. They did a remarkable job of utilizing their strengths. Their teamwork was impressive as well. Usually, egos get in the way when you have more than two partners. Also, having Ari acting as the leader kept them on track. It was a successful strategy.” He side-eyed Valek. “Are you injured? Ari’s hits on your bo staff rattled my teeth.”
“Bruised and sore, but nothing serious.” Valek appreciated that they had pulled back on the hits to his body. It prolonged the fight, but far better to win with strategy and cunning than with brute strength. The other soldiers would respect them more for that.
“Good,” the Commander said. “What are your thoughts on their new positions?”
Ah, good question. “I’m officially an adviser, so they should be advisers as well. Instead of reporting directly to you, they’ll work with me.”
“That’s reasonable. And when you’re away on a mission?”
“Then they’ll be acting Chiefs of Security, unless they’re with me,” Valek said. Then he rushed to add, “They won’t outrank the generals, though.”
“Good.” But then the Commander grinned at him. “Although, it could be fun if they did. Imagine setting Janco loose on the generals.”
Valek laughed. “That would be very entertaining.”
“It would. However, they will outrank the generals when they are acting as Chiefs of Security in your absence.”
Wow, that spoke volumes of the Commander’s trust in Valek’s new seconds. “I’ll let them know.”
* * *
The hot water lapped at his chest as Valek reclined in the bath. Red and purple bruises mottled his skin with the biggest concentration of them on his torso, arms, and shoulders. He’d no idea there were so many, but now that he’d noticed them, they clamored for attention. He sank until the water reached his jaw. The abrasion on his chin burned. He closed his eyes and tried to relax his muscles.
As always during these quiet moments, his thoughts traveled to Yelena. It’d been four days since they’d parted, having teamed up and fought against two powerful enemies. Alea Daviian had first tried to kill the Commander and Valek in Ixia, and then set her sights on murdering Yelena. All to enact revenge for her brother Mogkan, whose death had been caused by a combination of Yelena’s magic and Valek’s blade.
Then there was Ferde. A magician on a quest for power, killing young women to harvest their souls. He’d hoped to complete an Efe ritual and become more powerful than all four master magicians together. If Ferde had been successful, he would have taken over Sitia and then set his sights on Ixia. And Yelena would have been killed. Valek shuddered despite the heat sinking into his skin.
He pulled his thoughts from the horrors with a reminder that Ferde had been captured and incarcerated, and Alea was dead. Valek wondered what reaction the Sitian Council and the master magicians had when Yelena returned to the Citadel as their new Liaison and Soulfinder.
It wouldn’t be an easy road for her. Soulfinders had a bad reputation, as those in the past had abused their powers to manipulate a person’s soul. Yelena had said she could gather one in her heart and then release it back into their body. She could also influence a person through their soul, but Valek wasn’t sure what that entailed.
He did know that she’d managed to reach him in Ixia from the Citadel when she needed his help. Perhaps it was due to her Soulfinder magic. And while it would be a difficult time for her as she determined the extent of her powers, she’d been through worse. He’d no doubt that she’d persevere. Of course, that didn’t stop him from wishing he could be by her side, helping when needed.
With a sigh, Valek stood, dried off, and donned a clean uniform. While the fight had felt like it lasted all morning, it was still early in the day and Valek had plenty of work to do.
His increasingly dusty office greeted him. Assigning a housekeeper to clean his office and suite was one of the items on his long to-do list. It was just—he pulled in a deep breath, detecting a faint hint of lavender—that he was reluctant to chase away Yelena’s scent with the sharp aroma of cleaning solution. However, the Commander had ordered him to clean up his office. Perhaps the housekeepers had a lavender-scented furniture polish. He huffed in amusement. Most of the surfaces of his office were covered with stacks of books, half-burned candles, weapons, and his carving rocks.
Sitting behind his desk, Valek reviewed several reports before following up on a few promised tasks. He wrote the orders for Captain Silas’s promotion. The captain had aided Valek when he had encountered trouble at Military District 3’s garrison. The Commander had to sign the orders, but Valek didn’t think he’d object.
