Zane gave her his best arrogant smirk. “Turn around, woman, or I’ll set Tom on you.”
Tom frowned at Zane. “Funny bastard, aren’t you?” he responded, rolling his eyes before turning back to Diamond. She skidded to a halt. Her eyes rested on the red scrap of silk tied around the pole, the one that Tallo had set in the centre of the training ground. Jack’s trainee guards had merged with their brothers-in-arms; this was an effective team building exercise for them. Tallo had given Jack’s guard the job of protecting the pole and Reese’s squadron the task of taking it.
Around them the noise grew louder. Fae who had been knocked out of the sky and humans who had been knocked to the ground all cheered, each egging on their respective teammates from the side-lines.
“Come on, Diamond, you can’t take all three of us on,” Tom declared, cocking his head and trying to sound reasonable, but it came out as smug. “Give in. We don’t have to fight,” he said. “You can’t use magic under the shield, and you are outnumbered. Give it up.”
Diamond looked left and right. Reese was fighting Vico to her left, grunting and sweating as he held his own against the more muscled fae. To her right, Paige, one of the only human women soldiers, fought Unis, the scariest female fae warrior Diamond had ever seen. And even though she knew Unis was kind-hearted, Diamond knew the female warrior would not allow Paige to win.
“Seriously, Tom?” Diamond crooned. “Do you really expect me to let my squadron down? To simply give up? Come now, surely you know me better than that?” While speaking, Diamond was concentrating on the warmth of her magic. It was harder to raise and command her magic without Hugo nearby, but it was also liberating to conjure it alone. Since the attack by Freddy, Hugo had been encouraging her to train her magic without his magic as a buffer, telling her she needed to become confident enough to control the amount she could summon under the shield. For days Diamond had been using magic to spar with the squadron, disarming them, shielding against them or forming weapons to fight against them. Hugo had secured their secrecy first, and all of them had agreed to keep their mouths shut.
“Now, Diamond!” Reese yelled as Vico twisted and knocked him down.
Without hesitation, Diamond threw her magic forward and knocked all three of her opponents on their backs. There was a chorus of shouts and loud grunts from the fallen men. Grinning, Diamond launched herself toward the pole.
Her fingers curled around the rag, ripping it from the pole. She swung the red material in the air as a cheer broke out from spectators on both sides.
Tallo grinned and took the rag from her. “Captain Dunns, your squad wins this one.” He turned to Diamond, eyebrows raised. “Your control is getting better. If your magic becomes stronger outside the shield, we might stand a chance of stopping the Wraith Lord from breaking down our wall.”
Diamond tried not to feel too uncomfortable as her squadron descended on her. After a few minutes of back slapping, Tallo ordered everyone to the mess hall to eat before the next session of training began. Both squadrons drifted away. After brushing themselves down, Tom and Zane walked over, bickering about whose fault it was they didn’t see her magic coming. With new respect in their eyes, they congratulated her.
Tom gave her a tight hug. “That was incredible,” he praised before the pair wandered towards the mess hall.
Diamond took a deep breath, happy to be left alone for a moment. She would never admit it to anyone, but using her magic on her friends still frightened her and left her feeling shaky. She looked around the almost empty yard and saw Attion holding out a hand to help up the young warrior she had knocked to the ground. The sight made her smile. Attion will have to be careful or he’ll lose his reputation as a cold-hearted Queen’s guard, she thought dryly. Diamond joined them.
“Hi,” she greeted the boy with a friendly smile. Attion nodded to them both, then walked off to the mess hall. “So what’s your name?” she asked.
“Mark,” he answered, knocking the dust of his legs. “I’ve only been here a week. Don’t really know anyone yet. Seems I don’t know how to fight either,” he said ruefully, looking at Attion’s weapons and armoured wings in awe as the guard walked away.
“Well, Roin and Tallo obviously think you have potential or you wouldn’t be training with the Prince Jack’s guard, so don’t worry about it,” Diamond replied with a grin, noting Mark’s golden-feathered wings, dark blonde hair and grey blue eyes. He was skinny for a fae but was still young. “How old are you?” she asked curiously.
“Nearly seventeen,” he answered a little defensively.
Diamond raised her brows but stayed silent. Reality was cruel. If Ragor breaks through, it won’t matter how old anyone is; they will all have to fight, she thought dismally.
“So, Mark, do you want to practise for a bit, whilst your lazy-arsed squad eats?” she grinned, hands on hips.
“Sure.” He smiled eagerly. “Can you teach me to armour my wings?”
“Nope, but I know plenty of warriors who can,” she pointed out. “Besides, you might as well make use of this next half hour, because we won’t be able to reach the food with that lot in there.”
“True,” he laughed.
Diamond liked Mark, but he needed some mentorship. Perhaps Karl would take him in hand. Karl was a strong warrior but, unlike Zane, was not prone to arrogance or ridiculing others.
All her thoughts ceased as a shadow passed overhead and two heavily armed Queen’s guards slammed down in front of her and Mark. Mark blanched. Their faces were hard and cold. No emotion. It reminded her of the first time she had seen Attion. Her pulse ratcheted up in anxiety.
In a natural, unassuming movement, Diamond stepped forward, positioning herself between Mark and the guards. Her stomach flipped with dread. The yard around them was almost deserted. Only two soldiers were chatting nearby. They eyed the guards suspiciously but, rather than coming to help, they walked toward the mess hall. Diamond silently cursed them.
One guard gave a contemptuous chuckle, bringing her attention back to him.
Diamond gasped. Even with a skewed jaw and bent nose, she recognised the guard who had attempted to arrest her in her room when she first arrived in the city. Ice coated her stomach; Hugo had broken this man’s face because of her.
“Hello, magic-wielding bitch. Where’s the Queen’s dog?” he asked with a snarl.
“Not here,” she replied. There was no point pretending she didn’t know who he meant.
A dangerous light flickered in the guard’s eyes and a malicious grin suddenly stretched his lips.
Diamond swallowed, her mouth dry.
“Who’s this?” he asked slyly, nodding at Mark.
“Why?” asked Diamond, trying to keep her voice steady. Her magic churned in her belly, but she knew she couldn’t release it on these guards. For as long as possible, Diamond needed to hide her ability to summon magic under the shield from the Queen. Her fingers curled around the hilt of her sword. It was a beautifully engraved, lightweight Silverbore blade that her benefactor had sent her two weeks ago. It fit herhand perfectly, warming to her touch as she drew it, ready to fight.
“Because I want a little revenge. This,” he snarled, pointing to his jaw with a forefinger, “is your fault. But as I can’t break your jaw, or the Queen’s dog’s, I’ll break his instead,” he threatened, menace in every line of his large body.
Mark began to shake but squared his shoulders and didn’t back away.
“No, you won’t,” Diamond hissed, anger raging through her at his words. She might not be able to use magic, but she would not allow these vicious killers to hurt a young fae who had no hope of defending himself.
“You can’t stop me,” the guard growled, hate pouring from him. He looked with contempt at her sword.
“No, Thorn, she can’t. Her skills aren’t yet good enough,” came Attion’s voice from the direction of the mess hall. “But I expect all these soldiers and warriors together would be more than able to take you both down. Es
pecially if you hurt her or the boy,” he declared, his voice detached, his words more of an observation than a warning.
Behind Attion, the two squadrons of fae and humans banded together. Diamond did not drop her defensive stance or her blade, even as the guard turned to face the crowd.
“Attion. Mixing with Rhodainian filth, are you now? Even eating with them? Is that where your loyalties have shifted? To Prince Jack and the locusts who are devouring our land?”
“No, he isn’t,” Diamond answered immediately. “Attion is still a bastard, just like you. The only difference is I have to see his ugly face every day, thanks to the Queen,” Diamond stated, putting enough disgust onto her face to make her statement believable.
Thorn’s attention settled on her again. Soldiers and warriors surrounded them. Dismissing the group, Thorn’s gaze flickered to Hugo, who leaned nonchalantly against the wall of the training yard behind Diamond, watching the proceedings. Diamond’s stomach tightened painfully when she felt his presence. She wondered how long had he been there.
Thorn’s eyes returned to Attion. “Oh yes, you are here to observe and report on Casimir’s ability to bring this bitch to heel,” he growled, no longer interested in Mark. “Well, I have a message for the commander,” he stated, losing interest in his game now Hugo was present.
Holding in her rage, Diamond did not move out of Thorn’s path as he strode directly toward her and Mark. Belligerently, she held his gaze as she gave a derisory snort, pushing Mark behind her and twisting to let Thorn pass. As Thorn and the other guard walked toward Hugo, the sound of swords being sheathed and breaths releasing filled the air.
“Well, you two sure know how to pick a fight,” commented Paige dryly from next to Diamond. Mark chuckled, but it was a forced sound.
“I don’t think we would have lasted more than a few seconds without my magic,” Diamond breathed, relief and adrenaline making her shake now.
“Oh? We all think you would,” replied Reese. The others nodded in agreement. “Either way, you were prepared to try for someone who is not a member of your own squadron and who could not hope to defend himself against their skills.” There were murmurs of agreement, and Diamond felt herself blushing at the new respect she found in the eyes of her friends.
“Well, you two had better go and fetch food before it’s all gone,” advised Tallo with a cough, noting her discomfort. “Come on, back to your own squadrons. Reese? This lot is yours. I’m taking Jack’s guard.” With that, he bellowed his orders.
Diamond sought out Attion and gave him a smile of thanks, gratitude in her eyes. He nodded his understanding.
Her words of disdain had prevented Thorn from questioning Attion’s loyalty, and his comment had not only concealed her ability to fight, but had ensured she wouldn’t have to. Attion knew as well as she did that if it came to a choice between concealing her magic or saving others from death at the hands of those Queen’s guards, she would have chosen to reveal her power.
Chapter 16
After a day of training with Diamond, Hugo’s body felt alive. Smiling, he remembered the flash of her eyes and the way her silver braid whipped around her head as she attacked time and again. Involuntarily, his fist clenched, still feeling the clash of her blade on his.
A strong gust of wind drove rain into his face, stinging his cheeks. Dressed in deliberately scruffy and dark clothes that hid his light armour, Hugo had been invisible as he walked out through one of the palace entrances. Now he hurried along the narrow streets, his head bent against the weather.
Leaving Diamond behind in the barracks had been inordinately hard. Since he had declared his interest in her over two weeks ago, they had spent most evenings together. He wasn’t complaining. It was new and rather disconcerting to enjoy the near constant company of someone else. The only evenings he hadn’t spent with her were when Rose and Kitty visited. He knew how much the other women meant to Diamond, so he left them to catch up. It was amusing to hear their high pitched giggles from across the hall.
Each day, after their training was finished, the couple ate with the other soldiers and warriors. There was a new respect in the eyes of many, especially when word circulated that Diamond had been willing to take on two elite warriors to protect a young fae she had just met.
Occasionally he and Diamond would sneak out after dark. Cloaking them in shadow to get past the gate guards was easy. He wanted to show her the city that was his home—not only the overcrowded seedy parts, but the beautiful areas too. When he wanted them to be recognised, he invited Attion to accompany them. Their friend became their silent shadow, one that kept his distance but who would give other informants no cause to report back to the Queen; if they did, Attion’s words would be believed above all others. Hugo knew they were playing a dangerous game with the Queen and her spies, but it seemed she was happy to leave Hugo and Diamond alone.
When the couple wasn’t out exploring the city, they sat in Diamond’s room reading and talking about the other kingdoms beyond the Rough Seas. When they were too tired for that, he liked to listen to her stories of growing up in the north.
She talked freely of her father, her home and her life. Hugo decided he would have liked Arades Gillon. Diamond clearly adored him. Hugo couldn’t help but wonder what sort of person he might have become if he had grown up with such a loving father. He shrugged. He had accepted what he had become. He had done terrible things, things that made him loath himself; but a small ember of hope glowed in his chest every time he looked at Diamond. For her, Hugo would change what and who he was.
Every moment with Diamond was a gift. Despite wanting to stay near her, Hugo needed to see the old man. Gorian was his only friend in this gods forsaken city, although Hugo didn’t trust him with everything. As a teenage guard, the Queen had ordered Hugo to be part of a raid on the old docks. Her spies had passed along information that the old warehouses were being used by traitors to smuggle magic wielders out of the city. Instinct and curiosity had stayed Hugo’s sword that day. Something in the older man’s eyes had struck a chord in Hugo. In a warehouse full of chewed up old crates and blankets, he had immediately hidden the man.
Gorian’s parents had come from the Fire Mountains and had travelled to Valentia before he was born. They had disappeared when Gorian was small and he had survived the streets of Valentia alone—or so Gorian had told him. Hugo didn’t believe a word of it. The old man was holding back information. He was, however, a good friend, and Hugo needed a friend right now, someone he could trust to smuggle Diamond and him out of the city. Gorian was the one Hugo had been running to the day they had been stopped by General Edo.
Hugo ignored the drunkards that staggered by him. This low level of the city was rife with all manner of living filth. Thieves and cut-throats weaved between the homeless, desperate refugees, and no one flinched when a drunk was dragged off into a dark alley. Staying alert, Hugo increased his pace. He had sent word to Gorian he would arrive by midnight and didn’t want to keep the old man waiting.
The freshness of the air when he neared Gorian’s territory always surprised Hugo. It seemed to him this part of the city should stink like the sewer it was, but the ocean wind always seemed to blow the rot away. Hugo stopped briefly when he rounded the far corner of an alley. With narrowed eyes he called upon his magic and shimmered into the shadows to wait. He scanned the shadowy rooftops and doorways. Nothing. No ripples in the darkness to say the Queen was watching him. Satisfied, Hugo hurried on. The sooner he did what he needed to do, the sooner he could get back.
The dock was wild, open to the raging seas and winds. No ships graced the abandoned docks. A wave reared up, breaking against the quay and splattering Hugo with such force it sent him staggering. His wet clothes clung to his skin, no defence against the bitter wind that cut through the saturated material.
Dark, faceless figures watched from the shadows. Positioned strategically on rooftops and against the walls of buildings, he couldn’t see all of Gorian’s heavily
armed guards, but he could feel them gauging him. Straightening his spine, Hugo adopted his natural prowling gait. They must have recognised his bulk as he passed unchallenged through their lines.
With blue lips and numb fingers, Hugo opened the door to the Eastlight, the large ancient inn that belonged to the old man. The stink of old ale and stench of sweaty bodies assaulted his nostrils in a nauseating wave. Hugo threaded his way through the throng of unsavoury characters. He flattened his wings and ensured his wet cloak hung down his back, covering them completely from any prying eyes.
The inn was busy and noisy. Anyone who lived on the wrong side of the Queen’s law came here to carry out their business. Gorian insisted upon it, violently at times. No drug lord, thief or murderer dare operate in this part of the city without the old man’s permission. Even the city watch avoided this place, especially at night. Gorian had his own small army, and his men watched the docks carefully. Any comings and goings they did not like were soon stopped, by whatever means necessary.
Gorian was waiting for him in a gloomy corner. Hugo smiled down at the old man, who nursed a tankard of ale between his hands.
“It’s good to see you, old man,” rumbled Hugo, sitting as far into the shadows as he could get. Out of habit, he leaned back against the wall and assessed the crowd, before regarding Gorian. Time had been kind to the old man; even so Hugo could see the lines etched on his face had deepened and his dark hair was now thinner, more grey than black.
Gorian returned his smile but his dark brown eyes were worried. “You too, son. This must be urgent if you’re willing to risk coming here.”
It was a statement, not a question. Hugo grimaced. Gorian always did get straight to the point. “It is,” he replied. Gorian waited patiently while Hugo scanned the room again.
“Don’t worry, my people are watching. If anyone from the palace has taken it upon themselves to follow you, they will not get far,” he said in a slightly amused voice.
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