Cyn quickly crawled to where Thalion was sitting up from the ground. He looked down and grabbed the shard of blade, flinging it across the training yard. A small amount of blood oozed from the whole in his jerkin, but the wound seemed superficial.
Cyn was breathing just as hard as he was as she stared at him. The anger seemed to have simmered down, though it was still there, just below the surface.
“Better?” Thalion asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Hardly. You’re still alive.”
“You wound me … literally.” Thalion coughed as he pressed his hand to his heaving chest. “Surely you do not really wish me dead.”
“I suppose I don’t … or you would be.”
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. She was sexy on a good day, but seeing her so angry only increased her allure. “My beautiful Cyn. You never cease to amaze me.”
The two clung to each other as they helped one another to their feet. Only then did they seem to realize they still had an audience, which seemed to be slowly coming out of a complete fugue state themselves. Then slowly, one by one, the elves began clapping until a great cheer erupted from the crowd. Thalion feigned humility and waved, but Cyn only held her all-too-familiar stoic mask in place.
“Warriors,” Thalion said, raising his voice to address the crowd, “this is Cyn of the fae. She would have us train together. Who here will step in the ring and spar with her?”
All of their eyes seemed to grow wider, and a few actually took a step backward. Thalion burst out into a huge belly laugh. “Well, maybe not today, then,” he said as he turned to Cyn.
“Shall we?” Thalion motioned toward the palace. He was surprised when she didn’t flash them there but instead began walking beside him. He wasn’t about to complain. If it meant she would be with him longer, he’d walk to the ends of the realm with her.
“I am not here to repeat my inquiry of my past visits,” she informed him.
That surprised him. Thalion knew how persistent the high council could be when they set their sights on something. His intrigue was peaked and he waited for her to continue.
“The high council has accepted that you are unwilling to put your people in danger for the sake of others. They have decided instead to request your assistance in procuring certain weapons. It is no secret elvish weapons are superior to all others. What just happened back there with my sword is proof of that. The fae would like to wield these weapons against our enemies.”
“Interesting,” Thalion said, nodding his head.
“And they are interested in allowing our warriors to come here and train with you and your warriors. We fae wield magic in battle, but you elves have unmatched skill in arms. Something else that was just demonstrated in that little display, I might add.”
“Why would you need skill in arms? As you said, you have magic. You can blast an attacker before he even gets close to you.”
“True, butblastingtakes a lot of energy. We can only use so much magic without resting. At some point, we must resort to martial combat. And certain beings have their own magic that can sometimes be used to nullify fae magic. Better to be safe than sorry.”
Thalion was speechless. He couldn’t have predicted the high council would ask such a thing. The fact they were even willing to admit elves were better fighters was shocking. He mulled the prospect over in his mind. He couldn’t see any drawbacks. The proposal wouldn’t put his people in danger and could actually be lucrative for him.
“I will help.” He held up his hand to stop her from interrupting him. “On one condition.” Thalion could practically feel the frustration radiating off of the fae. He placed his hand on her arm, wrapping his fingers around her smaller frame, pulling her to a halt, and turning her to face him.
“And that would be?” she said in the cold tone he’d come to know intimately.
“You.”
“Me?” She scoffed. “I am the condition?”
“You are the price,” he clarified. “I want one night with you.”
“E-excuse me?” Cyn stuttered.
“You’re hearing and ability to understand are not in question, Cyn. You heard me.”
Her mouth opened and closed several times as she folded her arms defensively across her chest and shifted on her feet. He’d stumped her and that made him smile.
“Pick something else,” she said through gritted teeth.
“No.”
“Thalion.” Cyn practically growled.
