by Candy Crum
She swallowed hard, smiling nervously before nodding again. She found herself feeling a little more sensitive to him than usual. Ever since the night he had first shown her how to throw a knife, she'd noticed there was a bit more to him than the rough exterior all rearick exhibited. He was a good man, and a gentle man. He was also a little more than a decade older than her.
Samuel had a similar nervous smile on his own face as he backed away, his eyes quickly finding the ground. "Anyway, let's see how that works."
Celine took the final throwing knife in her right hand, lifted it over her shoulder, and threw, making sure to release where Samuel had instructed her to. The blade stuck hard into the target, striking close to where the left shoulder would be.
"I did it!" she exclaimed, a large smile spreading across her lips.
"Aye, ye did! Now, go get yer knives and do it again."
Still smiling, her eyes met his. He seemed genuinely happy, even excited for her. Before she could stop herself, it came tumbling out. "Why aren't you married, Samuel?" The moment the words left her mouth, her eyes widened. "I'm sorry. That's really personal."
Samuel waved a hand in the air. "Na, it's fine. It is personal, and I don't much care for talkin’ about it most days, or even thinkin’ about it, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell ye."
She quickly went to fetch her knives and came back. "Really, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I shouldn't have asked. It's just… Everyone else thinks you're just a rough rearick. You fight with the rest of them, and you're damn good at it, but you're also surprisingly gentle and supportive. I've learned a lot from you in the short amount of time we've known each other. Just seems a guy like you would have someone in his life."
He nodded, his eyes focused on the ground as he shifted his weight to his left foot and absentmindedly kicked at a rock. "Well, I appreciate that. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure that life is in the stars for me anymore. I had a wife and a daughter. The girl was just like me, only a hell of a lot cuter." They both laughed at that.
Celine was cautious as she proceeded. "May I ask what happened?"
He sighed and nodded, giving her a slight smile as he extended his hand. "I'm not much fer heartfelt conversations, lass. Hand me those knives. Maybe I'll teach ye ta throw better and distract meself while I talk."
She smiled and handed over the throwing knives, taking a step back. Samuel tossed one in the air a few times, catching it by its sharp tip every time. Then, he focused on the target, sizing it up as he prepared himself.
"Her name was Alyssa, my little girl. My wife's name was Beth." Tossing the knife one last time, he caught it by the tip, lifted it over his shoulder, and threw. The blade struck hard and dead center in the target, right where the heart would be. "My little girl loved ta go fishin’ and huntin’ with ‘er pop, so I took ‘er every time I went out. I was even teachin’ ‘er how ta throw a knife, just like I'm teachin’ you."
He paused for a moment and stared at the blade he now held in his right hand. Then he looked at the target and prepared to throw again as he began talking once more.
"My wife was as feisty as they came. That's why I liked ‘er. She was a fighter, and liked ta learn. She let me raise my little girl the same way. Unfortunately fer us, some battles just can't be won." There was a pause as a grimace crossed his face, his features showing anger. "I was on a delivery to Arcadia. That rat bastard Adrien had increased his order, so I was gonna be gone longer this time. My wife took my daughter on a hunting trip, expectin’ ta be back the same day. The remnant had other plans."
Celine's hand lifted her mouth to cover the small gasp she couldn’t help but let out. She felt terrible for having asked him, but honored that he had found it in his heart to tell her his story.
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Celine stated, "although sorry doesn't even begin to cut it."
He launched another knife, the blade hitting the target right next to the first. "No worries, lass. Nothing can bring ‘em back, and no words can replace ‘em. But with a heart as big as yers is, I know just how much ye mean those words. Thank ye. Honestly, that's the first time I've spoke of it since just after it happened. In the end, that was why I joined the battle for Arcadia. I was a straggler comin’ in toward the end and it damn near killed me, but as far as I was concerned, my family died because Adrien was a selfish prick."
"Fighting for the city was like avenging your family. It was a way of coping for you," Celine guessed.
He smiled. "I didn't deal the killin’ blow—I didn't even get ta see it—but I sure as hell heard what happened to ‘im. That girl Hannah did a good enough job fer me. I'll take that, and let my family's memory rest in peace. Past that, I just carry on every day. I know my little girl wouldn’t want her pop pushin’ the world away and actin’ like an old grump." He laughed. "Well, no more ‘n usual, anyway."
"You guys are a grumpy bunch, aren't you? Why is that? And why do you like women who are so feisty? Where I come from, men seemed to like women a little bit more subservient."
Samuel laughed. "Subservient? I take that ta mean the fancy men in Arcadia like their women not ta have any balls so it makes theirs look twice as big, eh?" He laughed again, this time much louder. "That's borin’. Where I come from, we get bored as hell havin’ a woman agree ta any and all the dumb shit we say—and as stubborn old men, it’s a lot. We like knowin’ our women can take care of anything and everything just as well as we can. That way, when we're gone, we know they won't take any shit. Women should be strong. Don't ever let any man tell ye otherwise, or any of those women neither."
Smiling, she told him, "I should've been born a rearick. Sounds like I'd like that a whole hell of a lot more. I would get to be grumpy whenever I liked."
"Keep hangin’ out with me, lass. Ye may not’ve been born a rearick, but yer certainly learnin’ quick. That niece of yers is quite the candidate, too. The women in yer family were built tough. Ye be anything ye wanna be."
With that, he smiled and handed her the final knife before turning and walking away.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Scarlett made her way through the Academy, heading for the stairs to go up to what used to be Adrien's office. Their little group was meeting, and Talia had warned her to be on time. The Dean had been showing signs of paranoia and extreme exhaustion, which Scarlett had expected for quite some time.
Talia wasn't nearly as evil as she'd like to think she was, or at least that was Scarlett's judgment. That left her vulnerable to stress.
Scarlett reached the top floor to find someone standing in the office, obviously waiting for her. It was Rebecca, a fellow teacher, and one of Talia's favorite minions. They'd grown increasingly close as of late, which explained why she was the one chosen to wait for her.
Scarlett decided to make the best of the situation.
"Hello, Rebecca," Scarlett said, her voice slightly annoyed. "Are you waiting for me?"
Rebecca gave her an almost sarcastic smile. "I was asked to make sure you made it on time."
Scarlett smiled. "Why the hostility? If I didn't know any better, I would say you didn't like me."
The woman stepped forward. She was short, right around five feet, and her long, medium-brown hair hung several inches past her shoulders. It was stringy, almost as if it hadn't been brushed, though Scarlett knew it had been. She had deep brown, almost black, eyes and a full face—her cheeks seemed to belong on someone twice her size.
She's very plain and boring, Scarlett thought.
It was obvious Rebecca found her to be a threat for more than one reason.
With a smile that was far too confident, the woman said, "That’s because I don't. Talia doesn't trust you, and that means that I don't trust you."
Idiot. Did she not realize that she wasn’t supposed to reveal that kind of information about the person she was minioning for? Useless... for Talia.
Scarlett had been feeling rather exhausted from using so much magic lately, but she figured this
expenditure would be more than worth it. Her eyes flashed white, and all expression left the woman's face. Subtlety would be needed here, but she would need to push her influence to get it started.
"I'm sorry you don't trust me. I just worry about Talia. You see, lately she's been acting quite paranoid. I worry about her health, don't you?" Scarlett asked.
Rebecca nodded quickly. "Of course! We all worry about her, but I worry the most, I think."
Scarlett allowed a sympathetic expression across her face. "I know you do. We all do, but I agree that you carry the most on your shoulders. If Talia should fall, it would be up to you to take on all that responsibility."
The woman's eyes widened as she shook her head. "Oh, no. I don't think I could. I'm a follower. I've never been much of a leader. I'm not like you and Talia."
Scarlett nodded. "I understand. It's a hard position to be in sometimes. Talia is very sensitive about how…" Scarlett paused for a moment, exaggerating a bit as she pretended to think over her words. "Well, it hurts her to think she might not be doing a good job. It's up to us to make sure we take care of her, right?"
Scarlett knew what she was doing, but it had to be as subtle as possible. Talia was indeed becoming paranoid, and she was starting to lose control. The mystic needed the rest of them to see it, and this bitch had made herself an easy target by challenging her.
Scarlett was going to turn her need to be wedged up Talia's ass against her. The moment Talia saw her whispering to the others and talking about her, it would send her paranoia skyrocketing. Might even cause an outburst, alerting the others that Talia might not be as fit for power as she used to be.
The woman nodded again. "Yes! We need to take care of her."
"Maybe you should talk to the others. Just whisper to them whenever you can. Make sure they know they should be there for her."
Rebecca took a step closer and nodded again. "I'll talk to them tonight, as soon as we go downstairs."
"That's so kind of you. Really. See? Not so bad! We are on the same side. I worry about her, too. We have to take care of one another, don’t we?" Scarlett smiled, taking a step forward. She'd only used a little bit of magic so far, but she needed to end this properly. Talia couldn't know it was her. Scarlett felt her magic flow through her as she reached into Rebecca's mind. "And all of this was your idea. You came up with it on your own. Good job. I had nothing to do with it. In fact, we never had this conversation."
Using only a tiny bit extra magic, Scarlett convinced the woman she'd only just walked in the door.
"Hi, Scarlett," Rebecca said, her smile genuine this time. "Talia had me wait up here for you. Want to walk down with me?"
Scarlett smiled. "Thank you. That's awfully sweet of you both. I'd love to."
***
Talia waited impatiently in the basement, pacing back and forth across the meeting space. Everyone in the room was silent, and she liked it that way. Gave her time to think. She heard the door open and turned, her eyes never leaving the stairs. Within moments, Scarlett and Rebecca descended into the basement.
"Scarlett, so nice of you to join us. Rebecca, thank you," Talia said.
Rebecca beamed at the praise. "Thank you. Oh, sorry, I mean you're welcome."
The girl was pathetic, but at least she was loyal.
Jackson stood and made his way over to Talia. Yet another of her loyal fans. The boy was completely obsessed with her, something that had come in very handy. If he only knew just how little he meant to her...
"Thanks for coming, everyone." Jackson opened the meeting. "As you all know, things have wound down some after the battle. It's been about a week, and everyone is starting to get back into their routine. The scars from the attack have largely been cleaned up and fixed, and people have been returning to work and to the Academy. What we decide now will dictate where the city will go."
Talia was impressed. The boy wasn't a complete and total idiot, only a partial one. "Jackson is right. Now is the most important time. I've reached out to the governor of Cella and invited what is left of his city to come to Arcadia. The reasons were simple. First, Cella is loyal to me. They know me, and they know that I'm a good person to get behind. Second, their army is weak. They lost far more people than we did because their army was small to begin with. Now it's been cut in half, so they're all but useless at this point. Even though our own city was attacked, they would still be safer within our walls."
Jackson was apparently excited by the idea and interrupted, but Talia didn't seem to mind. "On top of them being safer here in Arcadia, they would also have housing. There are still a lot of houses empty after the Battle for Arcadia, and the Boulevard is coming along nicely, too. Even more noble homes will be available once the trash goes back where it belongs."
Everyone seemed to like that idea, the idea of the Boulevard people being shoved back into the corner they’d been kept in for years. The families from that area made it easy by wanting to go back. There hadn’t been a whole lot of pushing necessary on the part of the nobles. They knew where they belonged, and they wanted to return. The group seemed more than pleased to hear this part of the plan was going well.
Talia once again took over the conversation. "Amelia has done nothing but hide in the Capitol building. She has been beaten, and she knows it. She knows that if there's even an attempt by her to do anything in the city, we have the necessary means to take her out completely. She's been quiet because she's hoping for a miracle."
There were a few laughs from the group. Margaret, one of the students who had joined the group, seemed to find this most amusing. "She probably thinks her little druid bitch is going to come back and save them. Pathetic."
Talia smiled. "And that's exactly why she will fail. She's hoping for something that's not going to happen. Arryn is dead on that mountain. She is not coming back. Amelia knows we have control of the city, and she can't do anything. Still, we must be careful. Our control is weak. If we make one wrong step, the spell could be undone and Amelia could swoop in and save the day."
There were several nods from her attentive audience. As she looked around after her speech, she noticed Rebecca pointing at her as she whispered to one of the other teachers. For a moment, they both looked at her before turning back to their conversation.
Try as she might, she couldn't ignore it. It was obvious they were talking about her, and their expressions weren’t pleased. She couldn't help but wonder exactly what they were discussing.
This came as quite a surprise to her, because Rebecca was the one she trusted the most in the group other than Jackson. Both of them seemed quite enamored with her. She made a mental note to get to the bottom of that as soon as possible. She would not be undermined by the likes of them.
Caydon and Camdon both seemed to be very excited about Talia's proposal. Caydon raised his hand before saying, "That's why we haven't taken another student, right? Because it would mess something up?"
Camdon chimed in, "Yeah, we were curious about that, because it seems like if we had more power, we could do a lot more. Nothing could stop us."
Talia almost regretted introducing them to the old myth that drinking the blood of others would allow them to harness more of their power. It had been necessary at the time to get them to play along and do what she needed them to do, but it could backfire on her.
Talia shook her head. "No. We can't do anything like that right now. If we do, it will get out into the city. Right now, they believe Arryn is guilty of those murders. If we kill someone else, they will believe it wasn’t Arryn, and Amelia will have all the power she needs to regain control. Some people might believe Arryn is back in the city, but most will believe someone else is guilty."
Talia went on and on, answering questions that bored and annoyed her to no end. Scarlett was surprisingly quiet as she sat in the back watching everyone. Talia hoped she was being helpful and getting into the minds of the others, but she honestly had no idea where Scarlett’s head was any longer.
At th
is point, all Talia had was herself. She could only trust herself. The plan for Cella to come to Arcadia was a good one. It would create hope in Arcadia by increasing the number of skilled warriors in the Guard. It would further help her because the people from Cella loved her. She'd made a lot of friends there, and that would only increase with her efforts to help them. Soon, she would have enough control to make her final move against Amelia, and soon, the city.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Amelia wasn't the type to sit around and do nothing, though she had been working very hard to make it look that way. She had been practicing more and more with Ash in hopes he would bond with her a bit more, and he had.
It was nothing like the bond Cathillian had with Echo, but she and the raven got along quite nicely.
Every morning, Amelia sent Ash out. Surprisingly, after having met Maddie only once, he was able to find her without issue. Things were starting to point in the right direction for her, but she did not dare become careless. She knew her seemingly good fortune could change at the drop of a hat.
Every moment of every day her enemies calculated ways to send her further into the darkness and prevent her from doing the job she had set out to do. It was true they had her trapped, but she wasn't the type to take that easily. She would do whatever was necessary to survive and help those who needed it most.
That included working with a disgraced Master Engineer.
"Have you figured out what you want to ask me to do?" Elon looked up from the bed in his cell.
Amelia smiled. "Are you going to say no?"
He sat up all the way and leaned forward a bit, his eyes burning into hers. "Is this personal? Is it for your own personal gain, or for Arryn?"
Had he responded like that two weeks ago—before he'd met Arryn—her eyes would've widened and her jaw would've hit the floor, but at this point Elon had proven himself to have more depth than she'd originally thought. His question didn’t surprise her at all.
