Surprise flashes in his eyes, and he grins broadly at me, shaking his hand out. “That was incredible, Lena.”
Mathilda claps beside us. “Natural footwork, and you didn’t drop your hands once! Good job.”
Their words fill my heart as much as my head, and I grin fully back at them.
“You guys are great teachers,” I say in between gulps of air.
Time has passed quickly, and the sun is beginning to set.
My arms hang limply at my sides from throwing so many punches, and my skin glistens with sweat. I stumble over to the water table, and my arms twitch, trying to pick up the glass. Gods, I am out of shape. Mathilda and Tane follow behind me and laugh at my shaky arms.
“Next time, we’ll start with some hand-to-hand sparring, and then we can go over the various weapons and their grips,” Mathilda offers.
Tane shakes his head. “No, we need to work more on sparring and footwork before we introduce weapons.”
They argue the merits of both plans, but my body begins to sag. My stamina is running on fumes.
“You guys figure it out and let me know. I need a bath,” I murmur.
They nod, and I begin trudging back to the Great Hall. My body is exhausted, but my mind is sharp. The elation from a successful training session is filling me with joy.
The sound of a crowd spills through the passageway and onto the terrace. I try not to grumble at having to meet anyone new while my body is covered in sweat and dust. But I square my shoulders and enter the throne room. This is a realm of warriors. Surely my appearance, which was caused by hard work, would be appreciated.
Odessa leads a large group of warriors across the throne room and, as luck would have it, in my direction. But my eyes lock onto the familiar, tall, dark-headed man at her side.
It’s Lachlan,my Lachlan.
My breath catches in my throat, and I let out a small cry before hurtling myself across the throne room. He’s actually here. All this time, I’ve been constantly wishing he were here, and now he is.
Thank the gods.
My footfalls echo across the hall with each slap upon the marble, my necklace bouncing in time with my steps, and my heart races alongside them.
Surprise widens his eyes a moment before I’m catapulting myself into his arms. His scent smells stronger somehow, the cedar scent reminding me of the evergreens lining the Ayele. It wraps around me before settling into my bones.
He smells like home,this home, and this is real. He’s really here. I pull back to look into his green eyes, my own eyes burning with tears. I blink furiously to keep them from spilling over. But his eyes are vacant, no happiness or relief is displayed on his features—it’s just blank. He doesn’t seem nearly as happy to see me as I am to see him.
“How are you here?” I whisper, not caring about anything else, just so relieved to see him here.
His jaw ticks as he clenches it, a familiar perturbed gesture like when he’s put on the spot. My arms are the only thing keeping me up, and I realize he’s not embracing me back. The ruffle of wings over his shoulder draws my attention from his distant green eyes.
The feel of leather against my body causes my mind to stall before it begins rapidly spinning. Those are wings peeking out above his shoulders—Lachlan has wings. He’s in Idirihalla, and he has glossy, iridescent black wings like the guards.
My mind finally puts the pieces together.
Lachlan is a royal guard.
He gently places me on my feet before taking a step back and dropping into a low bow. “Your Majesty,” he murmurs.
My mouth drops open, and I take in the man before me,the stranger in front of me.Odessa places a hand on his arm.
“Helena, I’d like to introduce the captain of the guard, Lachlan Freysson.”
My eyes bounce between hers and Lachlan’s before taking in the group of warriors and guards around them. Realization hits me right in the face, and I stumble back a step.
He knew.
All along, he knew who I was and what the necklace meant. The necklace that now hangs like a deadweight from my neck.
