Page 85 of Shadow Kissed
“I’m the Lord Commander, Terror. If anyone can break the rules, it’s me.” He grins at me and for a moment I’m bewitched by him.
“Why?” I ask him. “Why break them for me?”
He sighs and I’m distracted by his shadows as they collect my ripped skirt from the floor at my feet and weave the two pieces back together like new.
“I keep asking myself the same question. We should get you back. Be prepared for Moryen’s punishment.”
I crinkle my brow in confusion. “Punishment?”
He nods, smirking. “Yes, for trying to sneak into the barracks, remember?”
I groan in response. Great! No doubt she’ll come up with something that I will find abhorrent. “Wonderful!” I mutter and, grinning, he pulls me against him as his shadows wrap around us, taking us back to the mansion.
33
REYA
After lunch and a serious reprimand from Moryen in her office, I’m sitting next to Saveya on the spectator seats of the sparring arena. At weekends, the soldiers put on boxing and wrestling competitions for the valley’s local inhabitants to come and watch. I look up at the roofline of the arena and the large dragon claws that adorn its edges. It’s hard to imagine that they came from dragons. What formidable and frightening beasts they must be when you see one in the flesh.
“I’m going to fail this class.” Saveya groans as she rests her head in her hands and looks out at the empty arena.
“I’ll do you a deal,” I say to her. “You help me with my sewing and piano, and I’ll teach you to fight.”
Saveya’s head jerks to me in surprise. “You will? But I thought you didn’t care about getting in the top 5?”
I shrug my shoulders and stare out at the arena. “Well, I realise it’s important for my brothers and my town.”
Saveya snorts, and I look at her, perplexed. “What?”
“So, it’s nothing to do with the rumours that he might choose a mate?” My eyes follow hers to where Raegal has just walked into the arena with two soldiers trailing behind him. I sink down in my seat when I see one of the soldiers accompanying him is Orym.
Two rows down, I see Shalia sit up in her seat at the sight of Raegal. “Combat class suddenly got a lot more interesting.” Her fellow dorm mate snickers and I narrow my eyes at her. She practically salivates at the sight of him. It’s pathetic!
“Ladies. Welcome to your first combat class. General Greywater will be your usual instructor, but as he is away on urgent business, today you will have me and my two soldiers, Orym and Finor, to teach you. Today we’re going to assess your baseline and then we’ll teach you the basics of wielding a sword, how to get free from an assailant, and basic combat skills. Would anyone like to volunteer to come down first?”
Shalia shoots her hand in the air and, smiling warmly at her, Raegal invites her down to join him in the arena. I watch with a frown as Raegal hands her a wooden sword, and she asks him how she should hold it. Raegal comes up beside her and, taking her hands, he places them on the hilt of the sword and instructs her on how to wield it and the right stance. I roll my eyes, watching her gaze up at him with a flirtatious smile.
“So obvious!” I mutter, folding my arms and leaning back in my seat.
“Your eyes are turning green,” Saveya chuckles, side-eyeing me.
“Please! She’s welcome to him,” I reply with a scoff, but as he places his hand on her waist, my eyes narrow in on the movement. I rub my hand over my chest where my necklace should be. Moryen insisted we remove all jewellery before coming to the arena, as she said it was a safety hazard. I feel bare without it. I watch as Shalia plays all coy and wields itwrong again, ensuring that Raegal has to show her once more. He stands up behind her and, placing his hand on her hip, he adjusts her stance and places his own arms over hers to get her to hold the sword at the correct angle. My eyes fixate on all the places he’s touching her, and it makes my blood boil. My vision narrows and darkens and it’s like I’m inside her head and swiping through her memories until I latch onto a thought of her fear of rats. I smirk to myself as an image forms in my head of her trapped in a box with hundreds of rats in there with her, crawling on her body and surrounding her. A scream of terror pulls me from my vision.
“What on Asen?” I hear Saveya say, confused.
I blink, my vision clearing, and cast my gaze around me in confusion. Finor escorts Shalia from the arena. She’s crying and hyperventilating. Her house mistress pats her hand and tries to console her as they exit the arena through the tunnel. I realise Raegal has been shouting my name.
“When you have finished daydreaming, Miss Lockwood, I’d like you to join me on the arena floor.”
I blink again, and Saveya nudges me to make a move. Luckily, all the other girls are still watching as Shalia is escorted from the arena. “What happened to her?” I mumble to Saveya as I stand to my feet.
“No idea. She was fine and then she started screaming about rats. I think she’s unwell.”
I frown as I make the walk down the spectator steps to the arena floor where Raegal waits for me. His eyes flit from the retreating Shalia back to me, deep in thought.
Orym steps up, and smiling in recognition, offers me the wooden sword. I handle it with ease and swing it around in my hand, familiarising myself with it. He winks at me as he steps back and my cheeks heat with humiliation. What must he think of me?
“Ready to show me what you’ve got, Eretreya?” Raegal asks me with an arch of his brow and a challenge in his eyes.