Closing my eyes, I whisper, “I missed you, too.”
It will be nearly impossible to take the armor off again.
As if the threads sense my thoughts, they shiver around me, tightening against my skin before several of them extend up into my hair, grazing the back of my head.
I lift my hand to them, plucking them gently away from my head where they would be visible.
“I need you to hide.” Running my hand aroundthe high neckline, I tug the wayward silver tendrils back down, humming a sultry note as I coax them out of my hair.
I pull them even farther down, encouraging the material to form a lower, wider neckline. Continuing to hum softly, I draw the left sleeve halfway up my forearm, where there’s no chance it will show beneath the cuff of a training suit. As always, the right arm of the Lethian suit doesn’t extend down across the blood bind.
Finally, I tug at the threads trying to cover my feet, nudging them back above my ankles.
Satisfied that every part of the armor will now sit neatly beneath the training suit I’ll need to wear over the top, I give a long sigh. “Thank you.”
The threads shiver again, and I check that they haven’t extended out of place, but they continue to obey the limits I’ve placed on them.
Heading back to the bathing room, I quickly braid my hair down the left side of my head where the long braid falls across my shoulder and down my side.
I pull on the training suit, checking every part of it to make doubly sure I haven’t miscalculated where my armor sits.
Last of all, I reach for my Alak-Teahan cloak. I’ve barely needed it the last few days. My body has quickly acclimated to the icy temperatures, but I continue to take the cloak with me in a satchel, in case a snowstorm strikes unexpectedly. The satchel has long straps that allow me to fasten it around Nara’s torso, and she doesn’t seem to mind carrying it.
After hoisting the satchel over my shoulder, I don’t stop to look back, heading to the front door and closing it firmly behind me.
Stellen waits for me beside Nara.
The white wolf greets me with a soft growl.
Stellen gives me a onceover. There’s no doubt he knows I’m wearing the Lethian armor beneath my training suit.
“You don’t need my approval,” he says, “but you made a good choice.”
I thought he might object, but he gestures to Nara without another word.
I strap the satchel to her back, where it sits neatly across her left shoulder, high enough that it doesn’t impede my legs, and then I alight gently, so much smoother than the first day I threw myself onto her back. Maybe I should question how fast my body has responded to training, but I don’t want to break the confidence I’m building.
Stellen settles in behind me and within minutes, we pass through the palace gate and into the second circle.
“Lilis is checking the troops in the north,” Stellen says, which explains why she isn’t shadowing us. “She’ll be busy tomorrow too. Your training will resume the day after.”
The soldiers we pass stop what they’re doing and bow low before returning to their tasks.
Soon enough, we approach the second gate, this one leading into the city. The guards on this wall stand to attention, their hands on the levers that will lift the portcullis.
After drawing Nara to a stop, Stellen raises his right arm. “I’ll signal the city now. My frost power won’t touch you.”
I catch his forearm, dangerously close to experiencing a shot of ice. “What if you don’t?”
His brow furrows. “Don’t what?”
“What if you don’t signal them?”
He stares at me, his arm remaining elevated, although his fingers curl inward.
I tip my head back to see him. “What will happen?”
His forehead puckers. “I don’t know.”
