by Emma Fenton
Peryn took the seat across from her. “It must be bad if you’d prefer I was the one who attacked him.”
She nodded. “Lord Izan.”
The dark-haired man tensed, eyes wide. “Are your sure?”
“I’m not certain about anything anymore. But I’ve felt that magic before.” She shuddered involuntarily. “Lord Izan was the only one in the woods with us who was also in the castle when I’d felt the magic the last time. Not to mention he was searching for books on witchcraft a few days ago.”
Peryn cursed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It just had to be the one person we know for sure has a grudge against you.”
“But why go after Keffleton?” Ria asked. “That’s the part I can’t figure out.”
“War with Moruna?”
Ria shook her head. “There’s no reason to. They’re on the other side of the sea; even if we went to war and somehow won, we’d never be able to hold the land. And besides, they have nothing we want. Our trade with them is good, excellent even.”
Peryn shrugged. “Maybe he’s taking out the competition? Although anyone with a half a brain knows you’re not remotely interested in Keffleton.”
“It could just be out of intense dislike for the man,” Ria suggested. “Izan hated Keffleton almost as much as you, and he had no incentive not to kill him.”
“Maybe. But the bigger issue is that you’re in even more danger than we thought,” Peryn said. Ria shivered as a chill fell over her. “If Izan really is using magic, there’s nothing to stop him from making your death look accidental. Just like Keffleton.”
“I don’t think he’ll do something that desperate, yet,” she said, though she wasn’t entirely sure she believed it. “He’s a manipulator. He cares about public opinion. If he can take the throne legally, he will.”
“Can’t we just kill him?” Peryn said with a heavy sigh.
“I can’t execute him without cause.” Before Peryn could speak—and she could see he was gearing up for an argument to persuade her—she continued, “And I’m not interested in killing him without a proper trial. I won’t be that kind of leader.”
It’s what Jaya would have done: execute her enemies mercilessly without evidence. Fear would have reigned with her on the throne. Anyone suspected of treachery would be killed just in case it was true. That was the type of tyranny Ria had killed her sister to avoid. She refused to make those mistakes herself.
Peryn snapped his mouth shut. “Fine.”
“For now, we keep him in the game. Let him think he has a chance of winning. As soon as he knows he’s lost, he’ll become entirely unpredictable, and we don’t want that.”
“Izan is dangerous,” the demon warned, and she knew he had to be concerned to be taking a mortal so seriously.
Ria gave a wry smile. “So are we.”
Chapter Thirteen
“When you boil it down, it’s actually very simple,” Peryn said as they walked down to the armory after breakfast.
With the threat of Izan looming over her more prominently than ever, Ria had asked Peryn to help her practice with the knife he’d given her. She wanted to be ready in case Izan got impatient, or in case someone else started trying to kill her. Her fight against Jaya had proven to her just how woefully unprepared she was, and she was eager to remedy that.
“I try to stab you, and you try to stab me,” he said with a grin.
“Revolutionary,” Ria deadpanned.
Peryn apparently believed in a hands-on, learn-as-you-go approach to knife fighting, because they had barely stepped out into the field next to the armory when he suddenly swung his arm out, knife in hand. The blade passed a hair’s breadth from Ria’s cheek, close enough that she could feel the air slice across her skin, and she stumbled back. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, every inch of her body suddenly aware of her surroundings.
“Are you insane?” she hissed.
He smirked and twirled the knife in his hand. “Just making sure you’re paying attention.”
“You could have taken my eye out, you bastard.”
“I know what I’m doing, Ria. I’m not going to hurt you.” He rolled his eyes when she gave a disbelieving snort. “And if you won’t take me at my word, then consider the fact that I have no interest in being permanently maimed either. Whatever happens to you happens to me, remember?”
If nothing else, Ria could trust that Peryn was very invested in his own well-being. And you know you can never hope to get better if you’re afraid of getting a few scrapes, she reminded herself. Peryn isn’t Jaya. He’s not going to kill you.
She nodded. “I know. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
“You won’t be expecting it when it comes in real life either,” Peryn pointed out. “But that’s why we’re here, training. So that you won’t have to expect an attack, you’ll just react.”
She knew it was coming this time, and when he swung, she ducked into a roll, the blade missing her by a wide margin. Peryn was fast, though, which Ria really should have expected given that he was a demon. She heard the knife whistling through the air more than she saw it. Ria tumbled backwards without thinking. Thank the gods I wore pants for this, she thought as her legs flew over her head. She landed in an awkward crouch and pulled her own knife out of the holster at her hip.
Ria charged at him, slashing with her blade. Peryn caught her knife arm in a firm grip with ease, and his own blade swiped up, aimed at the soft flesh of her underarm. She tensed in anticipation, knowing that the demon was too fast to dodge. But the pain she expected never came. The tip of the blade was just barely touching the fabric, a feather-light pressure she could barely feel on the skin of her armpit.
“This is a good way to kill someone,” Peryn said calmly, as if he wasn’t currently holding her at knife point. “One of your biggest arteries is here. A quick thrust of your blade up, and then yanking it back out should sever the artery. It’ll be messy, but it’s a lot easier than trying to sever the spinal cord. Plus, most people don’t think about guarding their armpits.”
He released her, and Ria took a few steps back. She wanted to put some space between them so that it would be easier for her to dodge if he decided to attack her again without warning. That didn’t seem to be his intention, though. He waved her forward.
“Come at me again,” he said.
Even knowing that he was almost definitely going to flip the situation around on her and hold his knife to another area that could kill her, Ria still advanced. Peryn was willing to teach her what Uscar hadn’t: how to purposefully kill her attacker. Her lessons with Uscar had only ever consisted of defense. He’d focused on blocking techniques, dodging with rolls and tumbles, and how to incapacitate someone. But Ria’s lessons had always ended with the reminder that, as a princess, she only needed to fend someone off long enough for the guards to come. She knew that Jaya had received more advanced tutoring, but then, Jaya was a prodigy.
Ria rushed forward with a swipe. Peryn dodged each of her attempts with ease, not even trying to make an attack of his own. One particularly high slash had him rolling to the ground, and Ria was particularly proud of the fact that she’d forced him to move, even if she hadn’t gotten close to actually striking him. Her satisfaction was short lived, however, because the very next instant there was a firm grip on her leg and the soft press of Peryn’s knife against the back of her knee. Ria didn’t dare move a muscle.
“Another artery,” the demon explained. “If you’re ever forced to the ground, this is good one to go for.”
He removed the knife from the back of her knee. Ria was about to move away again, thinking this particular demonstration was over, when suddenly the blade was high on the inside of her thigh. Heat rushed to her cheeks at the intimacy of the spot, once again glad that she’d worn pants instead of a dress. At least this way she felt slightly more covered. Slightly.
“Peryn, what in the hells do you think you’re doing—”
“Don’t be so prudish,
” he said with a smirk. “It’s another lethal spot. Drive the point of your blade into the crook of the leg and cut downwards. That will sever a major artery. Again, very messy, but it’s practically a guaranteed kill.”
He stood back, grinning. “Let’s spar a bit. I want to see what you’ve got to work with, and then we’ll build up from there. First to a lethal hold wins?”
Ria nodded.
She was certain she was going to lose, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. The two of them took their fighting stances, and Ria didn’t give Peryn the opportunity to make the first move. She lunged forward, but the demon seemed to be expecting this. He caught ahold of her left arm, but instead of aiming for the artery in her armpit like she thought, Peryn twisted and redirected her motion, sending her tumbling to the ground. Ria used the force of the motion to roll herself to her feet just in time to block Peryn’s knife arm mere inches from her neck. Her own knife slashed out blindly out of reflex and nicked the side of the demon’s arm. She felt the sting of the cut on her own arm but ignored it.
In one swift move, Peryn turned so that his back was pressed to her front, grabbed her arm, and forcefully flipped her over his shoulder. Ria landed with a thud on the hard-packed dirt. She had barely processed what had happened when Peryn was suddenly kneeling over her, effectively pinning both of her arms with his legs, knife pointed in between her third and fourth ribs.
“From here, I could puncture your lungs,” he said. No doubt he had felt the impact of flipping Ria himself, but aside from the slightly breathy quality to his voice, Ria wouldn’t have been able to tell. “This is the best spot to kill someone if you don’t want them screaming. Their blood will fill their lungs and they won’t be able to make a sound.”
“Useful.” She knew that the information should have been more off-putting, but all she could think about was how, with enough practice, nobody would ever be able to hurt her again.
Peryn removed the knife from her ribs and grinned down at her. She was struck once again by how unfairly beautiful he was. The sunlight was at just the perfect angle to highlight the deep blue of his eyes which were crinkled in dark amusement. He seemed completely unaffected by their fight even as Ria was still trying to catch her breath, except that his hair was slightly more ruffled than usual. She had a sudden, bizarre urge to reach up and run her hands through it, just as she had the other day with the spider’s web. Luckily, I can’t move my arms right now, she thought, because she was nearly positive she wouldn’t have been able to stop herself. Speaking of not moving my arms… Peryn still hadn’t moved from where he’d pinned her, and while she didn’t exactly mind the physical contact – for reasons she wasn’t comfortable thinking about – the demon was surprisingly heavy. She was just about to ask him to move when someone cleared their throat.
“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Prince Feodor asked, the blasé tone of his voice betrayed by the sharp, accusatory look he was directing at Peryn. For his part, Peryn only smiled politely and stood, helping Ria to her feet.
“Not at all, Prince Feodor,” the demon said. It was a good act, and she was surprised he had taken it to heart when she’d asked him not to be openly antagonistic. She could tell by the way his jaw ticked, however, that he wasn’t completely happy with it. “I was just teaching her majesty how to best make use of the knife I gave her.”
“Yes, I saw the tail-end of your little match, Lord Hollbrook.” Feodor walked closer, never once taking his eyes from Peryn. Ria could see the way his fists trembled by his side, the way his lip curled with barely suppressed anger. “And I really can’t fathom what you were thinking. You could have hurt her.”
“Ria can handle it.” Peryn’s tone brooked no argument.
“If you cared at all for her safety—”
“I do,” Peryn interrupted, breathing heavily through his nose. For a brief moment, Ria felt the familiar tension of the demon’s magic in the air before it was reined back in. “Which is why I felt the need to teach her to defend herself. Properly.”
“Oh, so showing her how you could kill her is the same as teaching her self-defense now?” Feodor spat. “You just don’t think, do you? She could have been hurt, she could have died, if you made even one mistake—”
“You underestimate her,” Peryn said as coolly as possible, though his frustration was evident. “She’s not someone who needs to be coddled.”
Feodor clenched his fists. “And how would you know what she needs?”
“Because I asked him to train with me,” Ria said. Feodor turned towards her, open-mouthed as if he was going to protest more, but she cut him off. “I appreciate your concern, Feodor, but as queen, I have many potential enemies. My guard will not always be around to protect me. I won’t feel safe until I’m confident that I can protect myself.”
Feodor sighed heavily, looking resigned. “I can understand that. But really, do you need to practice against such lethal force?”
“My enemies will not go easy on me,” Ria said, trying her best to be patient. Feodor didn’t know what it was like to be her; she couldn’t expect him to inherently understand the situation she was in. “If I only ever train to incapacitate my attackers…if I hesitate to kill at the wrong moment, then I die instead.”
“Wise words, your majesty.”
Ria turned at the unexpected voice. Lord Izan had arrived some time during the argument and was now leaning against a nearby tree, arms folded. Ria wondered how much of the conversation he’d heard. Not that she’d said anything that would make him believe that she suspected him, but she hadn’t exactly wanted Izan to be aware that she thought she was still in danger.
“Lord Izan, I didn’t see you there,” Peryn said, subtly shifting to stand ever-so-slightly in front of Ria. She didn’t miss the way his grip tightened on his knife.
“I only just arrived,” Izan said, striding forward to join the group. He turned to Ria. “The Council wished for me to inform you that Duke Keffleton is awake and has chosen to make his recovery in Moruna. Something about the Helish weather not agreeing with him, I think.”
“Ah, a pity,” Ria said, though she did not think any of the three gentlemen believed that she was genuine in the slightest. As far as she knew, no one else had been able to tolerate Keffleton either. “I wish him a speedy recovery.”
That didn’t seem particularly likely. The injuries Keffleton sustained were nothing short of life-threatening. It was almost curious that he had chosen to return to Moruna now when even the journey back across the sea could potentially disrupt his healing process. But if she had to guess, the Council didn’t want Keffleton dying on Helish land and Keffleton was probably more than happy to leave the country himself.
“If you don’t mind, your majesty,” Lord Izan was saying. Ria had not been paying attention, but if Peryn’s and Feodor’s matching tight-lipped frowns were anything to go by, it probably wasn’t good.
“I’m sorry, I was lost in thought,” Ria said. “What was that, Lord Izan?”
“Lord Izan has asked to spar with you,” Peryn said tightly. “Which I can’t say I’m in favor of.”
Ria’s stomach clenched. Fight Izan? Now? She wasn’t nearly ready enough. Not that it was a real fight, but with Izan involved, she just didn’t know what would happen. After her discussion with Peryn the other night, Ria wasn’t overeager to give Izan the opportunity to make her death look like an accident. And even if she hadn’t thought Izan had it out for her, there was still the issue that he was so much bigger than her. He was pure muscle. She had seen him fight before and had pitied his opponent. Ria did not want to be on the other end of his sword.
“Come now, Lord Hollbrook,” Izan said, and there was an almost imperceptible edge to his voice. Ria heard it anyway, and she knew Peryn did too by the way his shoulders stiffened. “You can’t keep the queen all to yourself.”
Ria swallowed back her bile and forced herself not to shrink away from the older man. She couldn’t think of a single re
asonable reason to refuse Izan without being suspicious. Izan would figure it out sooner or later that Ria knew his act was fake, but she would postpone that discovery as long as she could. Right now, she was safe in the fact that Izan was limited by his own plans, but that would only last while she was willing to keep her act up.
“I would be honored to learn from you, Lord Izan,” Ria said, forcing a smile that she hoped looked believable. Both Feodor and Peryn jerked to look at her. The prince just looked confused, but Peryn was staring at her like she was out of her mind.
“Excellent.” Izan walked over to the center of the fighting area, smirking at Peryn as he passed. Ria went to follow, but Peryn stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“If he puts so much as a scratch on you, he’s dead,” the demon hissed. “I don’t care what you say about unnecessary killing.”
“Then I guess I’d better be sure to dodge, huh?” Ria said with as much confidence as she could muster.
“Ria.” Underneath his anger, she thought there might be real worry in his eyes. She put a hand on his arm and hoped he couldn’t feel her shaking.
“I’ll be…” Ria wanted to say fine, but she didn’t necessarily believe that. She already didn’t feel fine. She felt like the only thing keeping her from puking her guts out was the lump of pure fear in her throat. “Careful.”
Her words didn’t seem to soothe any of Peryn’s worries, but he let her go. Izan was waiting for her, watching her and Peryn. As she approached, Izan offered a polite smile and a brief head nod. Ria nodded back, swallowing thickly. And then they began.
They circled each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. It seemed like an eternity to Ria, the anticipation growing with every second. He’s psyching you out on purpose, she snapped at herself. Focus. But the adrenaline in her veins was sending her into a sensory overload. She felt the sun hot on her skin, the coolness of the slight southern breeze as it caught on the hair plastered to the back of her neck. Every crunch of dirt under Izan’s boots was like the snap of bone. Every breath she took shuddered in her lungs and roared like the ocean in her ears.
