She’d gotten swept away by it all. Every blow she’d successfully deflected driving her adrenaline higher.
It helped that she hadn’t actually been in any danger. She’d noticed in the midst of the encounter that no one was trying to hurt her. It was a game. One only the Tuann would think of. A showcase of her abilities and perseverance.
Toward the end, she was pretty sure a few had held back their true power.
It allowed Kira to sink into herself. To reach deeper. Move faster. Hit harder.
The few blows that made it through her guard provided a stinging counterpoint to the euphoria-like feeling.
Sweat dripped down her forehead. The shirt she wore was wet and sticking to her.
The hand holding her blade had developed a fine tremble from the extreme amount of stress she’d put on it over the last few minutes.
Quiet rang in the air as Harlow regarded her with a severe expression.
This was the Overlord. The most powerful person in Roake. Her uncle but also the person she would obey if she decided to stay.
The moment lengthened. The room still as if those present were holding their breath.
Kira braced, letting the blade fall to her side. She planned to take his blow head on.
It was crazy.
Then again, what was life without a little craziness in it. There were moments you needed to be fully present for. Your defenses fully down.
This felt like one of them.
It might be painful, but pain made everything that followed a little sweeter.
Harlow’s hand lifted.
Here it came.
A touch landed on Kira’s head as Harlow ruffled her hair. A broad smile broke through his harsh expression, like the sun through a mass of storm clouds. Radiant and warm.
“I’m proud of you,” Harlow told her as she froze in surprise.
A cheer shook the training hall as Wren and Finn congratulated her, patting Kira’s back.
Graydon clapped as he joined them, a soft look in his eyes that made butterflies take off in Kira’s stomach.
It was different than the way he normally looked at her. It was more than passion or love.
There was a tenderness. An affection that acted as a cool balm.
Devotion—and yes, passion.
She would have turned away from those emotions not too long ago.
A laugh broke from her. A cathartic release, every bit as needed as the one she’d gotten while fighting.
For so long, home was a concept she didn’t understand. It was something other people had. Never Kira.
This feeling right here must be what so many spoke about. The thing they wanted to defend even at the cost of their life.
She understood now.
This was something worth defending.
