“That is not what I meant, Eislyn, and you know it.” He smiled. “But that is not a terrible idea at all. I could teach you if you’d like. We have plenty of time on the ship to practice. By the time we reach the shores of your great kingdom, you could be skilled enough to take on your Shieldmaiden of a sister herself.”
She couldn’t help but choke out a laugh. “I believe you were a jester before you became Thane’s guard.”
“I mean it, Eislyn,” he said insistently. “Reyna does not have to be the only Darragh sister who can fight well.”
“I would settle for being able to fight decently.” She grinned up at him. “And I daresay you won’t find a student worse than me. I don’t even know how to hold a dagger properly.”
“You could never be the worst at anything, Eislyn,” he said.
Her heart twitched.
Vreis cleared his throat. “So, what do you say? Meet me here at first light tomorrow, and I’ll make a fighter out of you yet.”
“It’s a deal,” she whispered into the wind. Her cheeks felt flush, and her hair was wild around her shoulders. In that moment, she imagined she did not look much different than Reyna at all. Perhaps she could even learn to be a little more like her.
Of course, Eislyn thought sadly, Reyna would never have fled Tairngire or the Grand Alderman. She wouldn’t have let the enemy get the better of her. Instead, the enemy would be dead.
17
Reyna
Sleep was a wily creature. It crept closer and closer in the darkest part of the night, but then scurried away just as it was in reach. Reyna stretched out on the leaf-strewn ground, staring up at the towering canopy of the trees where Wingallock sat watching over the camp with glowing, bulbous eyes. The limbs swayed in a gentle wind, rustling and whispering amongst themselves. The sound reminded Reyna of the hoarfrost worms back home, the tiny translucent silk-spinners whose voices only she could hear.
Nollaig sat on watch, perched in a tree nearby, fire extinguished. The rest of the party slept soundly while the nightmare of her life kept Reyna’s eyes from shutting.
Lorcan lay on the ground only a few meters away. At first, she had kept her back aimed firmly in his direction. But that had not helped. She could feel him nearby. His body seemed to thrum like the steady sounding of drums. He was there. It was inescapable. And she could do nothing but glower in the night.
After hours like that, Reyna had dropped onto her back, her neck aching from jutting sideways for so long. Now, she could see him clearly out of the corner of her eye. His body looked relaxed, one arm draped across his eyes, the other stretched out on top of his sword. A warrior, through and through. Always ready for a fight, even when asleep.
She would respect that, from anyone other than Lorcan. From him, it was probably all for show. Another illusion. A lie.
In fact, she bet she could toss a pebble in his direction, and he’d never know.
Heart tripping in excited trepidation, she dug around in the dirt until her fingers found stone. She tossed it in his direction. It fell only a millimetre away from his ear.
His eyes snapped open. Biting back a grin, Reyna’s lids slammed shut as she desperately tried to steady her breathing to mimic sleep.
“I know that was you, Reyna,” he said in a low growl. “No one else would throw a rock at my face in the middle of the damn night.”
“It was only a pebble,” she whispered back. “If it hit you, it would barely even sting.”
She probably should have found a larger rock.
He sighed. “Go to sleep, Reyna.”
“I can’t. I’ve been wide awake all night.”
He cracked open an eye again. “So, you thought you would throw rocks at me to pass the time?”
“I just wanted to see what your reflexes were like.” She pushed up to her elbows and pointed at the sword. “You barely even flinched. You failed.”
“I heard you shuffling around over there. I knew something was coming.”
She cocked her head. “Can’t sleep either?”
“No.”
“Maybe it’s your conscious keeping you awake, reminding you that you betrayed someone who trusted you with her life.”
