She was too slow, Taryn grabbed her forearms and yanked her towards him, her body slamming into his, their faces so close their noses could touch. Her breath hitched as her chest pressed against his. Taryn smirked, towering over her. She didn’t trust him, and he didn’t blame her for it.
Airess' brows knitted together in frustration as she glanced to his hands gripping her arms and whispered, “Are you going to betray me, Taryn?”
So close. His gaze lingered down her gilded irises, her constellation of freckles and sultry lips. So close to touching her, kissing her, running his fingers through her hair. His eyes widened, the alcohol letting his stream of forbidden thoughts flow freely now. Taryn no longer shook the thoughts that intruded into his head. He gladly welcomed them now, no matter how wrong they were.
He wasn’t sure why he was answering this way, his silver eyes boring into hers, “No, Airess. Never.”
It was the first time he had used her first name, their relationship–friendship–entering a new depth.
Airess loosened a breath before glancing at his hands on her arms. He quickly dropped his grip and took a step back to put distance between them, not realizing his heavy breathing until they’ve separated.
It took all of Taryn’s strength to turn and walk towards the stallhouse. “Are you coming or not?” He said casually over his shoulder and felt agonizing relief when she fell in step beside him.
Chapter 23
‘We are the remnants of burning stars.’
— Excerpt from House Deyanira’s personal history book
Airess
“Atwig?” Airess asked as she held the six-inch-long stick up to eye level. Taryn stood across from her, his feet planted to the ground in a position that could only be muscle memory with how easy it came to him. He held up his own stick in a defensive position and cocked his head to the side.
“Did you think we would be using real daggers?” He laughed, his head tilting back in genuine amusement. The sight of it brought a grin to her face. Airess tried her best to fight off, but failed. Taryn’s canines glinted in the night from the reflection of the fyre a few feet away from them.
“Unless you want to accidentally hurt yourself, you’ll find thetwigsuseful for your lessons. Now, assume a stance similar to mine.”
She mimicked his stance, planting her feet firmly to the ground. She held the dagger up with amateur skill as she tried to figure out the best way to hold her weapon. He dropped his stance and walked up to her, his fingers gently tilted her elbow upward. The heat of his touch ignited a fyrewithin her. Taryn’s other hand lightly guided her wrist in front of her center. The softness of his touch surprised her.
Has she ever known a male to be so gentle, besides her own father?
Her brows creased at the intrusive thought, and she swallowed it down. No need to pay old memories any mind.Focus.
It was certainly hard to focus as they locked eyes. For the first time, she saw something deeper behind those silver eyes–an emotion richer than his usual amusement, his cloak of sarcasm and humor failing him in this moment. His pupils dilated, his eyes trailing down her face, down to her lips.
Taryn coughed and stepped away, breaking the tension. He assumed an offensive position, clearing his throat as if he didn’t just look at her like he wanted to taste her. Her entire body heated at the thought.
“I moved your arms so your weapon would guard your heart. Now, let’s see what you’ve got. Go ahead, strike me.” He tilted his head in encouragement, a subtle smirk on his pretty mouth.
Confident bastard.
She struck forward recklessly, not really knowing what her legs were doing as she jabbed her twig toward Taryn’s heart. Airess barely registered Taryn swiping her twig out of her hand, the wood now fallen onto the forest ground.
He clicked his tongue. “First lesson,” Taryn picked up the twig and handed it back to her, “It’s better to start from an angle. You want to be able to cover as much area as you can. You’re quick, so this move would benefit you if you ever had to engage in combat. Like this.” He drew his twig behind his shoulder and slashed directly across in front of him.
Airess emulated his demonstration, making sure to slash her twig across from her right shoulder to left hip.
Taryn nodded in approval and sidestepped away from the tree. “Good. Now practice on this tree. Get a feel for striking something solid.”
She gave him a weary look but obliged–only getting a few slashes in before her twig broke in half. Airess thought they would move on to another move, but Taryn replaced her twig with a thicker, sturdier one each time.
“Again.” He said, his muscled forearms crossed as he watched her.
So she struck.
Againand again and again.
Hours later, the pair agreed to find an Inn to stay at for the night. They had both grown tired of camping out for over a month on end, and with them being so close to the edge of the continent, Airess thought it would be a wonderful idea to finally sleep in a real bed.
