“And that’s exactly what I’m not doing right now.” I tried to look past her. Maybe she would be offended and leave, upset, but I was wrong.
She did not budge.
“You can call me Nyx if Phoenix is too long. I’m going to wake you up every morning, starting tomorrow, and you will train me!”
I looked right into her cinnamon eyes, leaning closer for extra effect. She looked as if she ready to hang onto every word I was going to say. The word quickly, comfortably, coolly rolled off my tongue.
“Never.”
To my surprise, she smirked.
Smirked.
“Well, I wanted you to train me because I asked, Assassin, not because of the queen. But now, you’ve put me in that position—”
Icy fingers wrapped around my heart, making the blood in my veins freeze.
I looked down at her, narrowing my eyes. “What?”
“I said I wanted you to train me—”
“Not that,” I hissed through my teeth, “the queen part.”
“Oh, that,” she rolled her eyes, “the queen is the one who recruited me to be trained by you.”
I blinked.
Maybe it was the paranoia, or perhaps I wasn’t thinking clearly because of the sudden tremor running up my right arm, but I pushed her roughly. Phoenix—Nyx, whatever her name was. She stumbled back and I marched away, waiting until I was far enough away to start sprinting across the field.
I burst through the doors of the throne room to find Lorelle sitting in her usual spot.
A woman stood at the foot of the dais, a dirty apron tied around her waist, hair a mess. She was pleading, hands clasped and held to her chest.
Lorelle looked at my raging form, and she stood up immediately. She glanced at the woman.
“I’m very sorry. We’ll continue this later.” The woman protested, but two guards walked up, escorting her out.
Lorelle turned to me, waiting for me to speak.
“You have the nerve to replace me?” I seethed. “After everything I’ve done, you bring someone else for me to . . . to train and take my place?”
Lorelle’s features were expressionless, just as stiff as the pleated braid down her back.
“I am not replacing you.”
“Tell me the truth. Now.” This was not the time for formalities. I needed that answer from her, and the longer she took, the more furious I became.
“Phoenix is a prodigious warrior. She exceeds at every task, every weapon, just like you.”
“So that’s a yes, then?”
“Let me finish.” Not bothering to step off the dais, she con-
tinued. “She’s not perfect—something all warriors admire you for. Your precision and accuracy are something of envy. I need that in my kingdom, which is why I’ve been looking for someone with your skill. I found her,” Lorelle said with a sigh. “I wanted you to perfect her. Astodia needs someone like you.”
“I’m here now,” I glowered, but Lorelle’s features softened.
“But for how long, Adalia? I don’t mean to offend you, but
you are a free spirit. You can’t be caged. I need someone who
will stay until the end.”
I mulled over her words in silence staring at the palm of my
right hand. As another shiver ran through it, I clenched my fist and let it drop to my side.
How was I to train whatever-her-name-was to perfection, when I myself wasn’t perfect anymore? My aim was off. A sword I could handle—I’d been taught how to get through any circumstance. But I wasn’t perfect anymore, not the way everyone remembered.
“I’ll watch her,” I said under my breath, just loud enough for the queen to hear. “If she’s not good enough, she’s out. I get to choose.”
“Whatever you wish,” she said, a smile spreading across her lips.
As I turned to leave, massaging my inner forearm subconsciously with my left thumb, Lorelle called, “And Adalia? Even if it may seem as if you’re not at your best, all those years of training are still there in your head. We believe in you.” She paused, and I kept my back towards her. “I believe in you.”
As I left the throne room, there she stood, arms crossed over her chest. She had that smug look on her face.
“You said yes, didn’t you?” Phoenix smirked.
“No.” I walked past her, and I heard her run behind me, quickly falling into step beside me.
“Well? Then what?”
“Look, Sticks,” I said, stopping abruptly and turning towards her.
“Nyx,” she corrected, stopping as well, waiting impatiently for me to continue. “Or Phoenix. Like the bird?”
I rolled my eyes.
“I won’t train you; I’ll watch. If you’re as good as she says,
I may let you stay. If you fall anywhere short—well, I’ll personally escort you over the border of Astodia.”
“Well, then Dystalphi will take me,” she huffed, annoyance
written all over her features.
Now it was my turn. “Not that border. Don’t worry—I hear birds like fish.” I smirked.
Her scowl lines were deep, as if that’s all she ever did since she was born. What an unpleasant child.
“And just so you know, my name is Phoenix!” she called after me as I walked away. “Like the bird that rises from the ashes. I am the light at the end of the cave!”
I snorted. “Whatever you say, Ashes,” I replied. I heard her boot stomp against the floor as she let out an angry sound.
I sneered. I would make her life hell. And that was if I let her stay.
TEN
Phoenix was pestering. Annoying. She followed me everywhere. She was sabotaging me with her cinnamon eyes, sly smile, black hair and juvenile attitude.
We hadn’t started training yet, but I would watch her until I knew every single thing about her.
I sat down on one of the benches in the Great Hall, my stomach rumbling from hunger. My appetite was finally back, and suddenly, I was starving.
“So, when are we going to start?” Phoenix asked over the loud chattering of the many hungry soldiers, plopping down in front of me.
I clenched the silver fork in my hand, exhaling loudly to keep from stabbing her in the throat. “If you ask me that one more time, I’ll—”
“Adalia!” two voices chorused, dropping into place on either side of me as if they were entitled to the spots.
“What are you doing?” Isabel asked in mock awe, her sharp blue eyes wide.
“Isabel, is she . . . eating?” Jax leaned over to look at his sister, the same mock surprise plastered on his face.
“Shut up, both of you,” I rolled my eyes.
“We’re so proud,” Isabel reached up to pinch my cheeks. I
swatted her arm, and the twins cackled. As if the situation could get any worse, there appeared Aland and Charlotte, wav-
ing from a distance as they approached our table. I groaned, burying my face in my hands.
All I wanted to do was to eat in peace.
Aland and Charlotte took their seats on either side of Phoenix.
“Nyx,” they greeted as if they’d known her for a while. I frowned.
“You know Ashes?” I pointed at the scowling girl.
“She was a knight, but then she was upgraded by Lorelle,” Charlotte explained, ignoring the hilarious nickname I had come up with.
The scowl disappeared from Phoenix’s face, replaced by a look of excitement. “And guess who’s training me?”
Confused, Aland and Charlotte glanced at each other. Then, they glanced at me.
“Ohh,” they said, realizing the truth. “Ohh.”
“That’s what the surprise was?” Aland asked, and Phoenix nodded. Aland shot me an apologetic look.
“Good luck,” Charlotte murmured, receiving an elbow from Phoenix in the arm. Finally, they seemed to notice Jax and Isabel were there as well.
“Hey, I’ve seen you two around,” Aland said, reaching a hand
over the table, which Isabel and Jax each took turns shaking. “I’m Aland, and this is Charlotte.”
“How do you know Adalia?” Isabel asked, taking a bite from a piece of potato.
“Actually, she was known as Kristina then,” Aland began to explain, slicing a piece off the turkey that sat between us. “She charmed the five of us perfectly.” He paused, frowning. “I mean, it was four back then, but then she kidnapped Lance
and Lorelle knew who she was the whole time. And then, of
course, Darren left. It’s all kind of a sad story, really.”
Charlotte hushed him. “I can tell the story better,” she said, rolling her green eyes. “We were part of the rebel army, and Adalia joined us to save her beloved prince, Xavier. While she was there, she ended up falling for our brooding friend, Lance—”
“If you can’t tell the story properly,” I cut her off loudly, “Don’t tell it at all!”
The table erupted into laughter. Sure, my life had been a kind of joke, but them laughing about it made it all so much worse. I knew they were trying to lighten the mood, but mine was getting darker by the second.
“Anyway, how did you two meet Adalia?” Aland asked the twins, who grinned at me.
“We were heading to Crea on a carriage when suddenly, we were attacked by bandits. She took about ten of them down single-handedly, with just a sword. She frightened Isabel, but then we thought she would be useful and decided to bring her along with us.” They all began to laugh again, and this time, I let myself smile.
“I remember,” Phoenix laughed.
Just like that, the table fell silent.
“What do you mean, you remember?” Jax asked, an awkward smile on his face. “You weren’t there.”
“I was,” she said persisted. “I mean, you may not remember me, but I was there.”
I stared at her. Was she insane? What did she mean?
I let my mind wander back three years ago, back to the carriage where I first met the twins. I looked around, trying to remember, and then—
“You were the fourth one,” Isabel said, shocked.
There she sat in the carriage, huddled in the corner, wrapped
in a dark cloak. I had never paid any attention to her since there
were many stops and different people got off and on every time. She disappeared halfway to Crea, and I never gave it a second thought.
I jumped to my feet. “Have you been following me?”
“I don’t see why you’re angry,” she shrugged, taking a bite of turkey. “It’s not like I did anything wrong.”
The fire that burned in the pit of my stomach was being fueled by every word that passed her lips.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“You’re the assassin. You should have figured it out by now.”
“Why?” I demanded, and now, the entire hall had fallen silent. Soft whispers slithered through the tables like snakes. I stood, waiting for an answer.
“Because,” she said, getting to her feet, her voice deadly calm. “I looked up to you. But for some reason, ever since you met me, you’ve been treating me like trash.”
“Maybe because that’s exactly what you are.” I felt the harshness of the sentence the moment it left my mouth.
Well, of course I was treating her that way. What was I supposed to do? She was tossed into my lap without any warning, and now I was supposed to raise her into a marvelous warrior no one had seen before.
That was supposed to be me. It sounded selfish, but I was the best out there. I worked more than fifteen years and was trained by dozens of different teachers to become what I was now, and I had the scars to prove it.
Ashes wanted to become that in a couple of months.
I wasn’t about to let her have it that easily.
As she set down her utensils and marched away, I waited a
couple of minutes before I followed suit. No one stopped me.
And to think, all I wanted was a few minutes to eat in peace.
Now they wouldn’t ask me to eat with them again.
“The room’s ours. Queen’s orders,” Ashes declared, standing in the doorway of the training room I had created.
The Knights glared at her, annoyed. They couldn’t protest. After all, it was a direct order from the queen. They grabbed their stuff, shooting us dirty looks on the way out.
“Great,” Lance said, stopping in the doorway. At the sight of him, my lungs constricted.
Breathe, Adalia. This is no time to feel guilty.
“What?” Ashes asked, sizing up to him. She was shorter than me, but was definitely intimidating . . . to others.
“You’ve taken away the only place we can practice. You do know we’re going to be on the frontlines when the war happens. We protect all of you. Now, we’re probably going to end up dead.”
“I can feel the positivity just radiating off you,” Ashes rolled her eyes. “Frontlines my ass. You do know it’s going to be Adalia and I in the front, don’t you?”
Lance barked out a laugh, humor in his green eyes.
“Oh, really? With that arm to protect yourself?”
I lunged before I could stop myself. Lance was prepared, ducking and grabbing my waist, throwing me over his shoulder.
“Put me down, you son of a—”
“It’s too easy to get you riled up. They say you changed, but I don’t believe it.”
He gripped me hard as I thrashed, trying to pull myself out of his grip.
Lance was laughing, a sound that seemed almost foreign.
He finally put me down.
“Put those walls back up,” he said, grabbing a towel from
the fresh stack near the door. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as I fixed my tunic, running a hand through my hair to set it back in place. He tossed the towel at me and I dodged, letting it hit Ashes square in the face. “They’re important.” He pointed at his head, and then walked out, winking at Ashes as he left. Her cheeks filled with a rosy blush.
“You know Lance?” she asked, excitement filling her voice.
“I do.”
“Right. The story Charlotte was telling. You fell for him.”
“It was the other way around, Ashes.”
“My name is Phoenix.” Her eyes brightened with an idea. “I’ll just have to start calling you Assassin.”
“Fine by me, Ashes.”
“Aren’t you going to apologize?”
I walked over to the stack of swords, lifting up each of them and testing their weights.
I never apologized. If I ever did, it was either because I cared enough to make me feel like I was dying without saying it, or because it really was all my fault.
There was no way Ashes was going to hear me say it.
I picked up the sword, feeling my wrist shake at the weight. I would fight it, that wretched feeling, just to show Ashes who really had the upper hand.
“Come on, Ashes. Pick up your sword.”
“You’re not going to apologize for humiliating me in front of the entire Great Hall?”
“I only spoke the truth.”
That got her to pick up the sword. I kicked a towel out of
the way, clearing up the area. As Ashes held up the sword, I
examined her stance. Her grip was perfect, and her legs were spread apart just enough to hold her balance. She had been
trained well by whoever it was that brought her to this level.
I used my usual tactic. I waited for her to attack first. Ashes was left-handed like me. She attacked from the right, and I quickly blocked. The swords clanged.
She was fast, but I was faster. I spun around, attacking from behind. Ashes rolled away, barely dodging the blow. She aimed at my knees, and I jumped over as she lashed, the blade grazing the toe of my boot.
She was barely breathless, which was a good sign. I’d never admit it to her, but she was doing very well.
And yes, I learned that in the first five minutes of our spa
r.
I blocked her next attack as she tried to fool me into thinking she was coming from the right. Instead, she delivered an uppercut which I safely blocked.
“Where’s the action?” she asked, stepping back with a smirk.
Suddenly, I stared in horror at her leg.
“You’re hurt.”
Confused, she looked down at her leg. In that second, I spun around, kicking my leg against the back of her knees. Ashes fell to the ground, and I immediately held the blade of the sword at her neck.
“Is that enough action for you?”
Ashes scowled. I didn’t offer my hand, and she didn’t reach out for it. Ashes pushed herself to her feet as I stepped back.
“Let me see your aim.” I set the swords against the wall, looking through a fresh set of knives. I held four double-edged ones, handing her the fifth, and pointed at the targets on the far
end of the wall.
There was at least twenty feet of space between us, if not more. I watched as she pinched the blade between her thumb other fingers—except the pinky. She raised the knife above her head and stepped forward with her left leg. Then, she brought it down at a ninety-degree angle with as much force as she could. The knife flew straight ahead, perfectly, stabbing the center of the target.
She turned to me, her face smug.
“Well?”
“We’re not done yet, Ashes. We still have a long way to go.” I clapped my hands, walking back to the center of the room. I pulled off the belt at my side, lightening the weight from the weapons. I tied my hair up and grabbed a few hand wraps—only to protect her face. I didn’t need her spreading rumors about how I’d given her a black eye.
Not that anything was stopping me.
I quickly shook the idea out of my head, holding up my fists and she wrapped her knuckles nice and tight. She punched. I blocked the attack, aiming for her stomach. She grabbed my wrist, yanking it hard enough to push me behind her.
I held my balance, facing her against as we circled each other. Without warning, quicker than I analyzed, she lunged for my waist. I grabbed her, bringing up my knee. It wasn’t that hard of a jab, but it was enough for her to lose her breath for a moment. I let Ashes go as she staggered back, catching her breath.
As soon as she’d regained her composure, she was back in offense mode. I applauded her for it. She was going for my legs, trying to get me off balance.
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