It only takes me a heartbeat to see why.
There, standing in front of us, is Caroline. Honey-blonde hair, dark skin, and even though I can’t quite see them, I’d bet there are green freckles in her tear-filled eyes. Eyes that look solely at Llinos.
‘I don’t know if I wanna kiss you or kick your arse for being here,’ Caroline says quietly.
‘How about we start with the first one?’ Llinos replies, striding forward and taking hold of Caz.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I say to Benny. Tears prick my eyes. ‘I should have brought her days ago…’ As a Rettling, every single day counts, and I’ve cost my friend three precious days.
‘It’s fine, really,’ Benny says, touching my arm. ‘Besides, if Caz had wanted to know, she could’ve easily found out. I suspect she’s been deliberately avoiding it.’
‘Because she didn’t want to know that Llinos has put herself at risk?’
He doesn’t answer my question. He doesn’t need to. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen true love – absolute devotion no matter what trials the couple has faced, adoration even when exposed to each other’s worst version of themselves. I never understood how my mother stood by my father’s side for all those years, but the way Llin and Caz look at each other, as if staring at the full glory of a God made corporeal, helps it make a little more sense.
‘Come on,’ Benny says, gesturing to the stairs behind us. ‘I suspect Llin is going to miss training this morning.’
The battle yardis the fullest I’ve seen it, which I take as a sign that everyone’s hand has finally healed completely from the blood ceremony. Everyone’s trying to get in as much practice as possible before the first trial.
Which could be announced at any time.
All we know is that it will happen before the next full moon. Or at least, we assume it will.
My eyes immediately seek out Zelle.
The commander is not just a skilled fighter; he’s also a formidable teacher. The way he teaches, guides, and pushes me in every session with just the right amount of force and encouragement reminds me of my father. Or at least, the man my father was before my brother died. I watch him working with Zara and Oke, forcing them to fight with one hand behind their backs, as if they were injured. To make it ‘fair,’ he’s fighting them the same way. Two against one, and yet he’s still winning effortlessly.
Zara’s teeth are bared, her eyes glowering as if she’s desperate to rip open his old battle wounds and win with magic. But nobody can use their powers on Zelle. That’s his power. He’s a siphon; he blocks out other people’s magic. And from what I can tell, he can do it from a fair distance. Sometimes, when they’ve been right on the edges of the yard, a few people have managed to use their skills, but if you’re anywhere near Zelle’s vicinity, it just doesn’t happen.
It’s a great skill for a teacher, allowing him to force people to work on their physical strength rather than relying on their magic. But against the Issen, where his presence alone is enough to neutralise their ice magic, it’s enough to win battles. It’s no wonder he’s so renowned.
‘So what kind of training do you want to do?’ Benny asks. ‘The type they’re doing?’ He nods to Zara and Oke, then Grenda and the other knights before looking back at me. ‘Or our type of training?’
‘Which one is more likely to keep me alive?’
A grin widens on his face. ‘Our type of training it is.’
We are thirty feet up,perched at the top of a sandstone wall, looking down at all the fights that are taking place below us. Benny refused to let Jonas join us because yesterday, when we were sparring, I thought it was going well, only to discover he was using his left hand and deliberately holding back. That was when Benny stepped in.
‘You’re not helping her.’ He scowled at Jonas. ‘If anything, you’re giving her a false sense of confidence.’
That was definitely something Benny couldn’t beaccused of. He had me flat on my back in a matter of minutes, then called one of the guards to join us. He blindfolded her, then handed me an axe while leaving her with nothing more than a wooden shield so I could see just how inferior a fighter I was. When he called over Loch, I wanted to throw down my axe and cry.
‘Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that you’re bad,’ he says to me today as we survey the crowded battle yard. ‘It’s just that most people here are exceptional. Except perhaps Elenor, but she’s got Shim.’
Apparently, after I left the ball, everyone learned that Zara’s brother and Elenor are a couple and have been together for years. At this point, they’re a well-oiled machine, and with Mattieu the fire wielder in the Rowell group, they’re practically indestructible.
Our group has already lost two of its members, and as I’m a powerless dud, we are at a distinct disadvantage. But as passive as Benny’s powers to slow things down and examine the details appear to be, having time to observe your opponents is more useful than I thought.
‘Okay, tell me again, what’s Shim’s weakness?’ he asks.
‘He loses balance slightly after striking with his sword because he overthrusts,’ I confirm.
‘Right. Doesn’t matter how big it is. If you overthrust, you’re going to embarrass yourself. Or so I’ve heard.’
I roll my eyes before offering the answer to the question I know he’s going to pose next. ‘I’d counter by using his momentum against him. Sidestep to his left – his weaker side – pivot, then ideally strike him from behind so that he topples forward.’
As much as I want to believe that the trials, and not the other competitors, are the only risks to me, I know that’s not true, which is why Benny’s right. If I don’t know how to at least defend myself against them, the chance of me even getting to the Ofur, let alone winning, is close to zero.
