She smacked my bare chest, the sound biting my ears and stinging my skin. “Why didn’t you do that first?!”
A slow, insidious smile spread across my lips. “I had more important things to tend to.”
“Fix it. Now,” she demanded. An order from my queen.
“Yes, my lady.” I sat up and concentrated on the tendrils of pain. Hovering my hand over the lowest point I could find, a soft purple light emanated from it. The pain pathways ignited, and like a fuse along an alcohol soaked rope, I concentrated on where the tendrils led, taking my time until I finished at the base of my neck. Testing a couple of rotations, I was admittedly impressed. It felt like it’d never been injured. “That was the most thorough one yet,” I said, near laughter.
Nora ran her hands over my shoulder and kissed it. “I have some good news of my own.”
I adjusted upright against the cushioned headboard. “Do tell.”
“They agreed.” She beamed with a smile she so rarely made, one that told me she saw change.
I praised how incredible she was for making it happen, but she explained it wasn’t exactly how we’d planned. Rahana wouldn’t be moving, at least no mention of it was discussed. It would only be the newly displaced citizens of Argora Vale. Nora already sent word to the selected town, Solei, who’d been previously informed of this possible outcome and had agreed.
I slid my hand around the back of my wife’s neck, holding her firmly in place as I pressed a smiling kiss to her jaw. If anyone could usher in the reign of magical acceptance, it was Nora, if not through anything but sheer determination alone. “It seems we have preparations to begin.”
11
Ro
“Come on, hit me. You know you want to,” I taunted Rav as we circled each other in the fighting arena. Well, less of an arena, more so a spot where grass had died that we used for training exercises.
Every time we’d spar, I’d end up flat on my ass with bruises for a week. Still, it didn’t prevent me from getting in on the action. I’d rather learn from the best and lose than waste my time with anyone else.
“Don’t overlap your feet,” he repeated for the ninetieth time.
“Oh, you mean like this?” I criss-crossed my feet back and forth in rapid succession, essentially dancing in place.
Mistake.
Rav charged, smacking my cheek with his elbow, and sent a roundhouse kick directly to my ass. With a tangled stance, there was no hope of recovery as I flew forward, soaring through the air like a boulder launched from a catapult. Landing with a harsh thud, I lay prone on the ground, palms digging into the dusty soil.
“I warned you.” He never hesitated to rub it in.
Still, I accepted his outstretched hand and rose to my feet, despite my screaming knees. He’d been going easy on me, and I knew it was because he was still mad for what happened in Hava City. The pain felt like triumph, knowing he’d gotten a little bit of it out of his system. I would have preferred he’d yelled at me instead of this weird refrain. Like defeat was beginning to best him because of how bleak things had started to seem. So coaxing him into sparring had been my last resort.
We cleared the ring, letting the next pair take up their fighting positions. Radhak and Rav had ensured that all active bodies on patrol duty trained several days a week. After all, a guard that can’t stop an intruder is useless. I tried to hide the hobble from my torn up knees as I asked, “So, what’s going on with you? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’. I can read you.”
“If you can read me, then why don’t you know?”
I smacked his bicep, the slap stinging the back of my hand, and he smiled, the closest thing to a laugh I’d get. We continued our leisurely stroll back to camp.
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “I don’t know how to prepare for a threat I can’t see coming. Sure, things are fine for now, but with Argora Vale’s curse, and an odd lack of information from Windguard, I feel like problems are closing in around us.”
“Rav, you’re a lifeline to everyone here, but no one expects you to take on every threat single-handedly. Don’t put that on yourself. Besides, if your wind won’t stop them, my arrows will. Problem solved.” I clapped my hand on his shoulder, extending my arm upward to reach.
He offered a pathetic attempt at a laugh, mostly just air rushing out of his nose. There would be nothing I could say or offer to soothe his mounting worries. They were valid. Maybe I’d been in denial about the severity of everything, since we’d been so well isolated and secure for years.
A little blue blur raced to me and perched on my shoulder.
“Hey you. What have you been up to?” Braxius wasn’t allowed in the training arena—my rule. Also Windguard, hence why I’d left him behind. Since Mira had been at camp, he had no issues racing off to spend time with her, anyway.
“I helped roast some meat! My flame got pretty big. Impressively big.”The little lizard preened.
I chuckled. “I’m sure it was.”
Mira came into view as Rav and I parted ways, and I asked, “Will you be making the trek with the first settlers? I’m sure Dante told you about the town in Highcrest.”
