Grimly satisfied, Adeline turned to face the King and raised her sword for one last battle.
“Ready.”
Chapter 22
Adeline
At the end of her afternoon session, Mareda sailed out of the training room and straight on past her sister without so much as a flicker of recognition. It was almost impressive – she had to have known Adeline was waiting outside, to have summoned that wintry façade so easily.
Adeline allowed herself a moment to feel the cold bite of that snub. She fisted her hands, took one steadying breath, then shook her fingers out.
One disaster at a time.
Her sessions with the King were growing more difficult by the day, for several reasons – most of which she didn’t care to look at too closely. So right now, what she really needed was to get the Weapons Master on her side.
She slipped into the room and found Master Ellis shuffling about, picking up discarded battle arms and returning them to their brackets and shelves. The training floor was a mess. It looked like they’d used every single weapon in the room – probably preparing Mareda for her appearance at the Queen’s Tourney.
Adeline stepped carefully over a triple ended flail and winced at the thought of Mareda swinging the evil looking thing over her head, pale eyes hardened to chips of ice.
“Princess Adeline,” Ellis croaked. “Thought you’d be taking the room in the mornings from now on?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk about, Master Ellis,” said Adeline. She stooped to gather up a set of throwing daggers and handed them to him hilt first.
“Aye?” He took the daggers and slotted them into place.
“My mother has me training with the Merrow King in the mornings.”
For a moment, Adeline thought Master Ellis flinched, but when he turned his craggy face to her, his expression was impassive.
“She says you told her I’d do fine with a training partner.”
“Aye, I did.”
Adeline followed him across the room. “Couldn’t you have told her I still need tutoring?”
“I’m not in the habit of lying to my Queen, Miss. You’re a skilled fighter. You excel at target work and swordplay, and you have for a long while now. You could join the Queen’s Gard tomorrow if you so wished. You’ve no further need of my help.”
He bent to heave a heavybag from where it had toppled to the floor and Adeline grabbed the other side of it, helping the old man lift and ease it back onto its hook.
“That’s flattering and all,” she groaned, struggling under the weight of the bag. The hook caught and she stepped back, dropping the suspended bag into the air. “But still, don’t you think we should talk to her?”
Ellis peered around the bag at her from beneath a bushy frown. “To what end?”
“To whatend?”
Adeline frowned right back at him. This was not going how she’d expected at all. She’d come here to find an ally, someone to sigh and raise their eyes to the Winter skies along with her, to help her decide the best way to approach her unreasonable mother.
“Master Ellis, he’ll be commanding armies. I’m not a fit sparring partner for a King!”
Ellis was silent for a long moment. Adeline watched with growing unease as his thin lips slowly worked into a disdainful curl. When he spoke, his voice was sour and dark.
“He’s no King.”
Adeline stared at him.
It seemed a bizarre, bitter thing to say. Although Kai had grown on her – significantly, perhaps – she could attest that he was not the easiest company. But world-famous grump Master Ellis would be one to talk. And to outright deny his title?
“What doesthatmean?”
