She gave me a quick grin before she left, disappearing down the corridor.
Chapter 39
Ordeals Not Yet Settled
ANNA
The ornate chamber of the Prince of Celestia was eerie when I reentered alone.
I slowly ascended the stairs that turned ninety degrees, leading to another corridor. Everything was in the same design and appeared to all be part of his private chambers. I followed along the corridor lit by two candlelit sconces. As I neared the end, I heard noise from the last opening. Carefully, I peered into the low-lit chamber, finding him at the center of a training hall about half the size of the others at Nightfall. Ash was standing there, alone, eyes closed. He was cast in shadow and a chill came over me as I realized I was invading something I shouldn’t.
“What is it?”
I stiffened as he addressed me without looking up or opening his eyes.
Of all the Aurkai, Ash felt the most foreign. He was intimidating due to his demeanor and the way he carried himselfbut I had no reason to feel this way other than my preconceived notion of what his properness and pristine attire must signify.
“Are you okay?” I asked, stepping into the entryway to the private training area.
He lifted his arm out to the side of his body, his hand outstretched as if reaching for something.
Suddenly, a sword flew into his hand from the weapons rack.
“Spar with me,” he said, holding the sword in his hand, his eyes still closed.
My heart raced as his everi swirled around me like a storm.
Okay, so this was how he was going to play it.
I walked into the room and lifted my hand as he had and summoned my everi. It pooled into my hand as it began to churn throughout my veins. I wielded it easily now, especially when it came to Raicanya.
I focused on the sharpest blade, reached for my everi, and summoned it. The steel cut through the air with a whistle as the hardness of the hilt slammed into my hand. I caught it easily, grasping the hilt tightly as I flourished the blade.
He looked up in acknowledgment that I had accepted his challenge. Now, it was my turn.
“What happened back there?” I asked.
“Blake and I do not agree on much of anything,” he said resolutely.
Ash’s blade met mine in a clash of metal and everi. The way our blades met was strange. We had similar techniques, and each clash had an odd balance.
“Why don’t you agree? It sounds like you used to be friends,” I asked between breaths.
Ash’s stoic expression rivaled Blake’s. He was every bit as handsome as you’d expect a prince to be but his expression was weathered. He carried a heavy burden. The prince of a Realm that was dying, the friend who couldn’t get over a lost friendship,and much more that was buried deep in the layers of his everi I could not reach.
He watched me, taking in every detail of my stance and focus. He was well-trained, his style similar to Derrick’s, but there were subtle differences. The position of his hand, the way he would lay it upon the blade. These were marks of another master, one as good as Derrick was.
“How long have you been able to read people?” he asked, almost accusingly.
I faltered. “What?”
He took a swing at me, maneuvering in the air to get around my guard that my most skilled taekwondo opponents couldn’t have pulled off. I dodge-rolled, escaping his blade narrowly before throwing a burst of everi forth to halt any counter-attack.
“You have all the markers of a soul affinity user,” he said, knocking me back at the intense strike he delivered against my blade.
“I don’t understand,” I said, being put on the defensive as he pursued with more intense strikes with every step forward.
“Who trained you?” he yelled, taking me to the ground, his hand grasping the wrist of my sword hand, holding it to the floor. Every second I didn’t answer, his grip grew tighter and more painful.
