“Nothing brilliant comes when you say that.”
Theo’s anger began fading away with Esaias’s quick jabs and laughs as he danced around him. Esaias had always been a skilled fighter, hailing from Mount Juniper. They were known for crafting legendary warriors. A smile curled on Esaias’s lips as he guarded Theo’s next blow and the next and the next.
“Hear me out,” Esaias began, stepping back to allow them both a few breaths. He cocked his head and grinned. “Twins.”
Theo rolled his eyes. “No.”
Esaias groaned, dropping to the floor and making to kick Theo’s legs out from under him. Theo jumped over his foot and rolled across the ring. Esaias whirled around, dropping his sword and readying his fists.
“How about you quit toying with each other and actually fight?” Sephardi cut in.
“Come on. You already have a date to the Conjugation.”
“You mean my wife?” She cast her gaze to Gris, who smiled at her and blew a kiss from across the ring.
“How about a go, Sephardi?” Esaias grinned.
Sephardi rolled her eyes but stepped into the ring and popped her knuckles. Before Theo even stood, Sephardi sent a jab straight into Esaias’s nose. Blood sprayed across the floor.
“Fuck off,” Esaias shouted at her.
“Make me,” she taunted.
Esaias lunged for her, but she rolled past him, coming to a crouch behind him while he stumbled forward. She shot up and sent her foot straight into his ass. He toppled out of the ring.
Gris jumped and shouted, “Kick his ass, love!” Her small hooray was extinguished as she caught Theo’s icy glare.
He may have felt a bit of relief from his small tumble with Esaias, but he was still angry she hid the events of the river from him. He had a right to know the truth.
Esaias sank to the floor, grabbing a strip of linen from the wicker basket to dab at his nose. He winced as he stanched the bleeding.
“You could have spared him a broken nose,” Theo shot at Sephardi.
She only shrugged her bare shoulders and unwound the brown wrappings from around her hands.
Gris extended a cloth to her to dry her hands of Esaias’s blood. “How did your supply run go?”
Theo had instructed Sephardi to start stocking up on various supplies. After they returned from the war, he felt the need to stockpile Ms. Borstad’s pantry and their shelves of herbs. He needed to be prepared for whatever troubled Duncaster. During the war, supplies became scarce. It pained him to think he may have been right and a threat could be waiting in the Black Sea.
“I’ve procured the extra herbs Pricilla listed. The rations were a little harder to come by, but Ms. Borstad is storing them as we speak,” Sephardi said. “Next time, I’d like to accompany you to Duncaster instead of running around doing your errands.” She raised a brow, but it wasn’t a demand, only a request. Sephardi was one of the most loyal soldiers Theo had ever known. If he asked her to follow him to their deaths, she’d pick up a sword and guard his weaker side. “Gris updated me on the possibility of Deavopan’s slave trade coming to Duncaster. Do you suspect they may find themselves in our harbor?”
Luana Bay wasn’t an illustrious port city like Duncaster, but their docks were still crowded with fishing vessels and some merchants. With the chaos of the last few days, Theo hadn’t thought much regarding Luana Bay’s harbor and whether slavers would move along the coast trapping innocents.
“We can’t be sure,” Theo began. “Fortifying our coastal border and adding more patrols to the docks wouldn’t be a terrible idea.”
“I can start on a new sentry duty schedule,” Sephardi suggested. “We’ll run double shifts.”
“Extra shifts won’t be necessary yet.”
“Is a guard rotation needed for Amaris?” Sephardi asked.
All their eyes snapped to Theo, pressing against the weight already threatening to shorten his spine. He hadn’t stopped to think about what would become of her now. His father appointed her as the mystique, but she was still under investigation. It was a precarious situation, and one he’d never dealt with.
“I volunteer.” Esaias grinned. “Does she need a guard in her bedchamber as well? I promise not to fall asleep. There are far too many activities to keep us occupied.”
Theo didn’t bother entertaining him with an eye roll or a remark. Of course, Esaias would be the one to attempt to woo a suspected murderer.
“Exclude Esaias.” He attempted to protest, but Theo raised a hand. “Stay as far away from Amaris as possible and rotate with Alan with his watch by the stables.”
