My brows creased in concern. “I’ll talk to him. He’s had terrible headaches since we saved Samkiel, but I promise he will be fine.”
“I know.” She wrung her hands. The teal tank top she wore was a harsh contrast against the faint pink hue of her skin. “My tea helps, but it’s not just that. Healers like me, like my mom, are attuned to nature itself. We came from it, the wind, the trees, even the ground below. It is how we heal, and every part of me feels prickly.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Even with the sweat from our run, goosebumps rose. “Something is wrong, or it’s going to be wrong, and I’m just scared.”
“We’re family, right?” I asked, turning her to face me.
Miska nodded furiously, her eyes welling with tears. It was as if those words were ones she’d searched for her whole life.
“Then trust me when I say I am the only scary thing you have to worry about, and I will protect my family with everything I have.” I held out my hand. “Pinky promise.”
A smile finally bloomed across her face as she grabbed my finger with her entire hand. I giggled and showed her how to do it properly. She smiled back at me as her small pinky wrapped with mine.
“Pinky promise,” she said.
“They’re practically law,” I said, my nose scrunching.
She giggled in response. I turned toward the trail that headed deeper into the forest. “Now, come on. Let’s see if Cameron is surviving his new training.”
She skipped to my side, the mess of flyaways in the twin pigtails I had given her blowing in the wind.
“Will you train me, too?”
I glanced down at her as we walked up a small incline. “Sure, if you want. What do you want to learn?”
“Well, I’m not as strong as you, but I want to protect myself.”
I smiled, making sure she made it up the incline before it leveled out. “You are. Our strengths are different, but it doesn’t make you any less powerful.”
I placed a hand on her small shoulder, making her look at me. I was proud of her. She had stopped flinching away from our touch. Jade City rested in pieces at the bottom of the ocean, but I would burn them a thousand times over for what she endured at the hands of those wretched souls.
“Look, I’m going to show you how to defend yourself just in case we are ever separated, okay?”
She sighed deeply but nodded.
“You don’t have to kill like me, just disarm long enough until Samkiel or I find you. All right?”
A small smile creased her cheeks. “Okay.”
“Besides,” I smiled and leaned forward, “if anyone touches you again, I’ll rip them to pieces.” I tapped her nose as I stood upright. A small giggle left her lips. A loud grunt and the low murmurs of male voices came from higher up on the hill. “Now, come on. I can hear Cameron whining, so he must be getting his butt kicked,” I said and wiggled my brows. “Let’s go watch.”
She flipped her pigtails over her shoulders and took off with me as we ran the rest of the way, her laugh infectious. We cleared the treeline right as Cameron landed on his back with a grunt. Samkiel stood and offered him a hand, helping him to his feet. I was happy to see that only a few places were singed from flames. Maybe one or two trees were burnt to a crisp, but their clothes were still intact, and there didn’t seem to be any serious wounds. All considered, it seemed it hadn’t been a terrible day. Cameron was improving remarkably fast.
“Baby, can I have a knife?” I asked. Samkiel didn’t even question me. He just summoned one from his ring and palmed the blade, offering it to me.
Cameron grimaced and took the opportunity to stretch the arm Samkiel had tossed him with across his chest.
I took the dagger from Samkiel and turned to hand it to Miska hilt first. Her eyes widened, and her gulp was audible.
“You wanted to be trained. We start now.”
She took it cautiously and then looked up at me expectantly. I could sense her hesitancy, but her determination far outweighed her fear. Samkiel came up behind me and rested his sweaty arm across my shoulders.
“What? Miska gets a blade, but I don’t?” Cameron scoffed. “Insulting.”
Samkiel cut him a glare. “You don’t need blade training. You need to learn to control the fire you wield.”
Cameron mumbled something I was sure was a string of curses and insults.
I smiled. “Miska, I want you to try to stab Cameron.”
