“Guess you’re stuck with the problem, then,” he teased, using my own words against me.
“I can ask Joel if—”
“No. I’ll help you mount. Place your left foot here and—”
“I know how to mount,” I said, before doing so. I must admit, it felt good to be on a horse’s back. I missed it. I missed her.
“Of course you do,” Aegir grumbled, before climbing swiftly behind me.
I adjusted myself forward, avoiding my back touching his chest as we rode. But they touched still when he, too, leaned forward.
“We’ll be riding west until dusk. We’ll stop only for lunch.” I nodded. “Are you hot?” he murmured, close to my neck, as he moved the clenched reins at my hips.
I stiffened and thanked the gods that he was facing the back of my head and not my overly expressive face. “What?”
“Is this better?” he asked, relieving me from the scorching and suffocating heat. I closed my eyes, suppressing a moan.
“Yes, thank you,” I all but choked.
Then, to my mercy, he leaned himself back, setting a very thin barrier of air between us.
After a four-hour-long and silent ride, we stopped at a spread. A few palm trees and tall cacti emerged from the grainy land that stretched around us. To our right were the remnants of an oasis, now parched. I imagined Rameli people frantically gathering water in buckets and scurrying to their homes. I only wondered what it would be like in the near future when both the Wellspring and the Dunehaven Oasis became just as dry.
Aegir quickly dismounted, then turned my way and offered me his hand. I took it without thought.Fool. He snatched my hand and pulled me towards him. I yelped as I lost my balance, half falling off the horse. But Aegir swiftly grabbed me by my waist and lifted me up, then put me down at his side. I gave him a scowl that came with a useless small punch on his sandstone-hard arm.
He chuckled under his breath. “You do know that hitting a prince is averyserious offence, right?”
“Well, the prince was not acting like one,” I replied, crossing my arms.
He smirked. “Tell me then, Cordelia, how is it that I should—”
“Are you ready to have some fun, boys?” Joel shouted from somewhere behind us. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. We were stopping for lunch, right? I twisted myself around, just in time to see Georgious pulling free the heavy bag’s string.
“I took the liberty of putting aside the must-tries,” Georgious said with a grin. Aegir, too, grinned, tapping in approval on Georgious’s back. The rest of the males came running towards us. They all but wrestled each other to get to their weapons.
Children, really—when in the presence of an unusual amount of weaponry, they turned into children.
Theodor and Torvin sparred with identical silver swords and defended with round shields. Alarik went for the foldable spear. I watched him snap it in place, then throw it with impressive force and speed, his misty shadows assisting his throw. My eyes hurt against the sun, and then they widened as I witnessed the spear hitting its mark—a cactus that was barely visible from where I was standing. Georgious, too, reached for a spear. Joel and Darius fished out the daggers. The way they fought each other—bantering and grinning from ear to ear—resembled a lively yet lethal dance. Then my eyes fell on Aegir and somehow got stuck there.
He sauntered towards an unobstructed stretch, brand-new twin axes in hand. He tested their weight, tossing and catching them in his palm. Then he launched into a solo dance. First, he blocked an invisible opponent, then rolled himself sideways, rising to his knee and crossing both arms in the shape of an X. He leapt, then twisted himself midair, slashing another invisible opponent with one arm, then with the other. It went on for a while.
I leaned against the carriage, setting one foot in front of the other while munching on an apple. I admired its beauty, the destructive grace of it—an art form, I thought. Then his gaze settled on a dying palm tree. He threw one of the axes with his right arm, then the other with his left. It was impressive, the way one lodged just above the other at the trunk’s mid. He went to retrieve them, then hurled them both at the same time. They embedded simultaneously with a deep thud. I couldn’t help myself. I moved closer, watched his movements attentively.
Aegir didn’t look my way when he asked, “Have you ever thrown one of these before?”
“I haven’t.”
He turned to me. “Do you want to try it?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure if I could do it.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” He grabbed me by my arm and moved me closer to the tree. “Here.” He handed me one of the axes. Its weight surprised me.
He tossed the other to the ground and moved behind me. My belly quivered as he placed his hands on my sides. “First, you have to find your balance,” he said, adjusting my angle. Then he slid his hands down to my hips and tapped once. “Feet slightly spread while facing your target.” Then his hands went to my arm. “You’re right-handed, so you have to grip the handle left hand at the bottom, right hand just above, like this.” His hands covered mine and he pressed gently. “Grip should be firm but not too tight.” Then he guided my arms back. “Lift your arms until the axe is positioned behind your head. Right, about, there.” He pointed a straightened arm towards the tree. “The sharp edge should be aimed directly at your target. Focus on the centre of the tree, imagine that it’s your worst enemy.” He moved behind me once more and said, “Then bring the axe down in a straight line, like this, and the moment the handle reaches the centre of your face, you must let go.” Before releasing me, he added, “The axe should spin once before hitting the target. Oh, and when you let go, keep motioning forward.”
I stayed like that for some time, holding the axe behind my head, trying to maintain my balance.
“Go,” he urged. “Today, Cordelia.”
