His eyes narrowed slightly.“All right. Make it up to me later.”
I winked before turning to look at Miska. “Okay, first rule in these realms. We are dealing with beings who have fought for hundreds of years, trained and killed for centuries. They will do what they must to survive, but so will we.
I lifted my hand, and without looking at Samkiel, I said. “Charge me.”
He didn’t hesitate. It should have been impossible with his size, but his steps were so light against the ground that if I hadn’t been so deeply attuned to him, I wouldn’t have heard his approach. But, as always, I felt him. I spun and dropped to the ground, but not to kick him. No, I hooked the loose dirt with my foot and sent it flying toward his face. That was the last thing he was expecting, and he skidded to a stop, nearly blinded. He shook his head, coughing and blinking as he tried to clear his eyes. It would only take him half a second to recover, but that was all I needed. I grabbed his arm and twisted, using my body weight to propel his colossal form over me. His back slammed against the ground, and he let out a deep huff when I landed on top of him. I rested my forearm against his throat as if it were a blade and looked at Miska.
“Everything around you is a weapon. There are no rules for survival. You fight dirty and do whatever is necessary so that you walk away. We are not only surrounded by monsters but also seasoned, battleworn warriors. Warriors are trained to follow a code. That is a weakness that can be used against them because we are not bound by honor.”
She nodded and stood, Cameron pushing to his feet beside her. I rose and pulled Samkiel up with me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, raising up on my toes to carefully wipe the dirt from his face and eyes.
“No, that was a good lesson,” he said, squinting his eyes as I cleaned them. “I don’t think she will always have access to dirt, but I approve.”
I grinned and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before turning to look at Cameron and Miska. I leaned against Samkiel’s side and said, “Okay, your turn.”
We spent the rest of that afternoon demonstrating different moves and techniques. We showed her how to move her arms and feet, taking her through the steps. After slowing everything down, I had her mirror my movements before turning her over to practice with Cameron.
She was initially nervous and timid, but Cameron threw a few playful punches at her and bounced around her like a fool, making her laugh. Cameron and Miska ran through slow maneuvers as we watched. Her jabs and swings were horribly clumsy to start, but with a few adjustments and Cameron’s corrections, she was doing better by the time we stopped for the day. She still needed a lot of work, but it was something.
Cameron lifted Miska and put her on his shoulders as we headed back to the palace. Samkiel laced his fingers with mine, and we followed behind them.
“Are you sure about this?”he asked down our bond.
“Absolutely,”I said.“Miska may be a healer, but she’s not weak, and with all that’s happening, I need her to have some ability to protect herself. I did the same with Gabby, you know?”I said, turning to look up at him.
He smiled at me.“Oh, yes, I could tell by the way she stabbed me in the gut the first time we met.”
I didn’t even try to hide my laugh.“I trained her well.”
“Very.”He smiled back.
The harsh truth was that while I may have trained Gabby, it hadn’t saved her. I just prayed we could protect Miska because I didn’t think I could handle losing her as I had Gabby.
“Don’t push too hard with her. Remember, she is still a little girl,”he said between us.
“I won’t,” I said, glancing up at him.
“You can only prepare so much, akrai,”he said, squeezing my fingers.“And there is no reason to prepare her for war when it won’t even reach our borders. I’d never allow it.”
“It’s better to be prepared than not. I just want her to have power, or at least feel like she does, if she needs it. That’s all.”
Samkiel, sensing my thoughts, lifted my hand and kissed the back of it. He was aware of every worry that crossed my mind, and I knew in my heart he didn’t need our rings for it.
“I think I am just worried since we are leaving them here while we go to the Otherworld.”
“I know, but Cameron is here. Neither she nor the city will be left defenseless,” he said. “And Cameron has improved greatly over the last few weeks.”
I couldn’t help the worry in my gut, and it had grown so heavy over the last few days that it was like a stone weighing me down. I knew where my concerns came from and why I had them. The fractured, bruised part of me where Gabby’s loss lived may never heal. I didn’t say that out loud either, but I knew Samkiel felt it, his thumb running over the back of my hand. I didn’t want to face those feelings right now, so instead, I changed the subject and sent a mental picture with it.
“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up, and I’ll kiss all your bruises.”
Samkiel laughed, and I heard Cameron and Miska giggling about something ahead of us. I smiled but looked around, unable to shake the feeling that we were being watched.
15
CAMERON
