“Yeah. I worked outside year-round. Building trails in the summer and ski patrol in the winter. You probably don’t know what skiing is, though. Basically, I’d help injured people on the snow, mitigate avalanches, and stop dumbasses from killing themselves,” Avery said. “Anyway, I want to use the axe, and I’ll spar against Gaelyn.”
Gaelyn approached, spinning two small curved swords in her hands. “Ready, little mouse?” she asked, sharp teeth bared.
Avery was covered in goosebumps as she approached the sparring ring. She didn’t know what she was doing. Just hack at the creepy fish woman until she gave up?
Kyla entered the ring with them. “Okay, Avery, we are going to see how well you can defend yourself today. Show us what you can do.”
“I think—” Avery hesitated as she looked at Gaelyn’s vicious warrior stance. “I mean. I’ve never fought anyone. I use the axe to chop wood or slice through roots. I have a Pulaski for digging up rocks. Should I use the same approach I do with those?”
“You cut through roots?” Gaelyn asked incredulously. “That is rich! Savine is going toloveto hear you harm trees for a living.”
Kyla spoke softly, gently to Avery. “Whatever you do will be fine. I just would like to assess you.”
“Okay then,” Avery replied as she lifted the axe over her head. She charged at Gaelyn, who stood ready for the attack. With all her strength, she brought the axe down at Gaelyn. A piercing sound of metal on metal reverberated through the prairie as Gaelyn blocked Avery’s axe. The force nearly knocked Avery to the ground. Before Gaelyn could harm her, Avery blocked the twin swords with the handle of the axe, thrusting the fae back.
The pressure from Gaelyn’s two swords splintered Avery’s axe handle with a crunch, and Avery fell to the ground. Gaelyn dropped her swords to the ground, offering Avery a hand, but Avery refused it. She stood on her own, looking at the pile of splinters from the axe handle.
Kyla’s face was unreadable.
“There. I trained. Can I go back to my tent now?” Avery said. Her arms burned. Her heart still had a heavy ache in it, and she wanted to be alone again.
“You did well, Avery. Savine will take you back after training is over. For now, just sit and watch the others,” Kyla said.
Avery walked to the side of the training area and sat down on the grass. She observed fae warriors training and fighting. One, a smaller fae woman with black curly hair and umber skin, fought her guard, Weston. The woman moved with such skill and grace that it was like watching an artist move. Every turn and block was done with such precision that she didn’t know someone could move so fluidly.
In a quick leap, the woman knocked Weston’s sword from him, unarming him and winning her sparring match. She looked happy, proud even. After she left the sparring match, the woman came over to Avery and sat down next to her.
“I saw you watching me. I’m Rue,” she said with a cheerful grin.
“Avery. I’ve never seen anyone move like that before. You’re very talented,” Avery said.
Rue shrugged. “I do whatever I can to help the effort. I’m honored to use my talents to serve Savine. He’s done so much for us.”
That surprised Avery. So far, her interactions with the rebel leader had only highlighted his selfish and stubborn sides. Well, and that fleeting moment of something more when they were on Quartz Mountain. The caring way he’d treated her as her whole world crashed down. But that man was gone.
“Why do you say that? I don’t get what this conflict is really about.”
Rue brushed her dark curls away from her face. “My people are nomadic. We were persecuted for years. Honestly, I’m too young to remember the hard times, but my grandmother does. She also remembers the good times before Jasper. When Savine rebelled, most of the nomadic shifters joined Savine. Which is ironic, considering Jasper is a shifter and Savine has more of a connection to the plants. But that’s the thing about Jasper. His loyalties are self-serving, and he’s never had his people’s best interest at heart.”
Avery felt more confused as she tried to understand the politics of this world. “Why would the king treat his people like that? Savine explained that you can’t kill him without being killed, but I don’t understand why that gives him a reason to be so cruel. Or why your people couldn’t exile the king?”
“This is why Savine’s rebellion swept through the land like wildfire. Most of Latiah is loyal to Savine, not Jasper. We see him as a sort of savior. The areas he controls are safer than they were under Jasper’s rule. But he can’t get a foothold in order to defeat Jasper. The mountains that divide the Midden from Orofine are huge, and the main pass is held by Jasper’s army. It would be a suicide mission to try to take the capital city. So, we remain in constant conflict, with the loyalistsattacking and fighting in the warmer months and each side retreating during our brutal winters.”
Just then, Savine approached, and Rue abruptly stood, bowed, and walked away without another word to Avery.
“What did Rue want?” Savine asked.
“She was just being friendly. She’s the first one of your people to come up and talk to me. Can she be one of our guards?” Avery asked.
Savine pursed his lips. “She’s too young.”
“Well, consider it. If I’m stuck here, I’d like to be around people who I choose to be around.”
“Perhaps. I’ll be just a moment. I want to talk with Kyla about how you did,” Savine said as he walked to his sister.
They talked for about ten minutes, both of them becoming more animated as they spoke. Savine’s irritation was obvious, and Kyla looked flustered. Finally, Savine turned and started walking back to Avery.
Even she heard Kyla shout, “Just try to be nice! You know? Friendly!”
