"I've been with Kellen since I was eleven, Ariana. I assure you that I have been through far worse than what you could inflict on me. Come now, I'm sure you've wanted to hit me plenty of times since we've met."
She was outraged at the accusation, her eyes rounding. "I have not!"
"You know, your eyes only get that large when you're lying. You claim that you know how to fight. I don't believe you." He leaned forward when she matched his stance, his smooth voice full of teasing as he dropped it to a whisper. "Prove me wrong and hit me like you've been longing to do since I dragged you into this disgusting cave."
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. My Dad's best friend really did teach me how to fight." It was only a little bit of a lie since she had never really paid much attention. Varrick had grumbled something about bullies and how he wanted her to know how to defend herself, but she had never dealt with bullies in her entire life so she had dismissed his concerns easily. She squared her shoulders, trying to remember what he taught her. She balled up her fist and threw it into Alec's stomach.
Alec didn't flinch but lifted a brow as though he was unsure whether or not she had actually made contact with him. "Would you like to know what you're doing wrong?" When she responded with only a glare, he took that as the closest thing he would get to a yes. He took her fist into his hand, adjusting it accordingly. "First, your thumb should be here," he said as he tapped the area in between her first two knuckles. "Not tucked away inside your fist. Don't lock your wrist. Let it bend just slightly so you don't cause yourself more harm than the person you're trying to hurt. Let it straighten when your fist connects so that your knuckles here are hitting your opponent." He stepped behind her, pulling her arm back into the proper position, then closed his hand around her fist and guided her through the motion of the punch. "How did that feel?"
"Good,' she admitted and tried it again on her own. "But if this turns into some 80's movie training montage, I'm leaving."
He blinked at the back of her dark head. "I don't understand what you mean."
She glanced at the ceiling, remembering once more how different the world she had been used to was from the one she currently found herself in. "It's a Dhara thing, I guess. So what's next?"
He walked back over to the sack and pulled out a dark purple burlap dress and a black cincher. "Now you get changed and we hit the road."
She turned her nose up at the offered clothes but took them anyway. "Haven't you people heard of jeans and t-shirts?"
"No," he answered honestly, not catching that it was more of a complaint than a question. "Is that another 'Dhara thing' as you call it?"
Ariana exhaled loudly. "Yeah, it is. I've got to say that from what I've seen of your world, it sucks in comparison."
He shrugged. "I would suggest you get used to it. We have to blend in if we are going to get to the tairseach without raising any suspicions and that will be difficult enough since we are both so young and I am accompanying you."
"What do you mean?" she asked and motioned for him to turn around.
He turned his back to give her the privacy to change, speaking to her over his shoulder. "Well, we are too young to be on our own individually, for starters. We could try posing as a newly married couple, but given our ages that might be a bit of a stretch. We can only hope that people don't ask too many questions."
"Can't we pose as brother and sister then?"
"I'm afraid that would raise even more questions. In our worlds, children stay with their parents until they are wed or until they are taken in as an apprentice. It is unheard of for someone our age to be traveling alone."
"Okay," she said, dragging out the word to show her displeasure at that idea. She had been looking forward to being able to pull the 'I'm eighteen and officially an adult' card on her parents with her birthday right around the corner. She paused, realizing she wasn't sure if her birthday had passed or not yet. "What about orphans?"
"They are placed in the care of relatives or local families. No one is ever on their own here."
"I thought you said that kids were sent away to apprentice or whatever at a young age. How does that fit in with what you just said?"
"While studying in their apprenticeship, they are under the care and supervision of their masters. Most return to their homes, back under the roofs of their parents or family members, by the age of twenty in order to be married. Others aren't so lucky and stay under the command of their masters."
"Like you?" she asked softly and touched his shoulder.
He turned around, taking the cincher she held in her hands as he nodded silently. "That raises yet another problem. My being with you will cause suspicions if I am recognized for what I am."
"And what are you?" Ariana asked as she looked up at him from under her lashes.
He swallowed hard, avoiding her gaze. "Not someone you should be seen with. Turn around."
She did as he asked, lifting her dark hair out of the way when he wrapped the cincher around her waist and began to tighten it. "So what are we going to do? We can't pose as siblings and if people recognize you for whatever it is that you are, we're in trouble. Sounds pretty hopeless."
"My kind don't originate from Cahira, which I believe is where we are. We live mostly in Estridia, so I am hoping that the people here won't be able to recognize my race since they are not accustomed to seeing my kind here," he explained while he tied the strings of the cincher together. "There, all done."
She turned around to him, their faces inches apart. "You keep saying your 'kind' like it's a bad thing. I think you're too hard on yourself. You don't seem so different to me."
He stepped out of the intimate space between them. "There's much you don't know. We should get going. If my estimates are correct, we have an extremely long journey ahead of us to get to the tairseach."
"How long exactly?"
His shoulders drooped and his grey eyes lifted heavily to hers. "Months. From what I have been able to gather about Cahira over the years, it has a very distinct and broad geography, much like Estridia. There are mainly mountains to the north and deserts to the south. The east is made up of flat planes, mostly farm lands, and the west is mostly dense forests where all manner of creatures live. Unfortunately, that is also where the tairseach is."
"And we're northeast, aren't we?" she concluded, thinking back to their surroundings and the hilly terrain they had trekked to get here.
"We'll follow the river north for now. There's another cave half a day's journey from here where we can take shelter for the night."
"Great, another cave," she muttered, once more missing the comfort of her own bed. "After you," she said sardonically and gestured to the mouth of the cave. She impatiently shifted her weight to her other hip when he motioned for her to wait.
"I have something that might cheer you up," he said and dug around in the pack. He sported a bright and proud grin when he pulled a stick out and offered it to her.
Ariana quirked a brow at the offered stick. It had a soft edge, almost like a fan of fibers, but other than that it just looked like a twig to her. "How thoughtful of you…you got me a stick."
"It's for your teeth,” he explained, wounded by her lack of enthusiasm. “You were complaining before about not having a way to clean your teeth on our travels."
She brightened significantly at this. After their first night on the run, she had started to feel the dirt and grime of the cave. She had used the river water to rinse out her mouth and try to clean herself off the best she could, but she would hardly be satisfied until she had a proper shower. Even still, she was very touched that he had thought of it when gathering supplies. "Thank you, Alec. That's very sweet of you."
He beamed at the appreciation in her voice. "It's my pleasure."
She bit her lip as they started on their journey. "I don't suppose you were able to find any toothpaste, were you?"
COMING SUMMER 2014
, Heirs of War
Heirs of War Page 32
