Mumbling carried from afar, and I quickly hid the potion, or whatever it was, in its secret place. I blew out the candle and nestled myself in bed.
As the sounds drew near, I hoped that Aegir would be able to heal me. A bargain that would not only give me back my memories, but would also save me from having to gather the courage to drink my way to the soul-eating Seer.
I kept my eyes closed, even when Nadya came in. I steadied my breathing. She placed something on the chest of drawers. I couldn’t possibly eat anything else. And not only because I was full, but also because I didn’t want to ruin the memory of its delicious taste. So I pretended I was asleep, until I truly was.
CHAPTER 24
The following morning, everything changed.
I was about to leave Semuel’s stable when I spotted Aegir coming out from behind the mesa. He approached, carrying a concerning number of bags. He lined them up next to each other along the wall opposite the stalls.
“What are you doing here?” I asked curiously. He handed me one of the bags. My eyes rounded—it was packed with food.
“I’m here to have breakfast with you. And to start your training.”
My gaze shifted from the food to Aegir. “I’m sorry, start my what?”
“Training. We start today.”
I followed him outside. “Training? As in fighting? As in sword fighting? What kind of training?” I never thought of myself as someone who could train. Yet remembering how my stomach had filled with churning exhilaration when I watched Princess Yosefa with her female Sand Warriors at the Graind Races, brought with it familiar excitement. The sight of them riding, with their swords held in the air as their hair whipped behind them, was truly empowering.
Aegir chuckled at my too-many questions. “We’ll start slow. Stretching, running, weight lifting, nothing big. Then we’ll go through the basics of combat, weaponry, and—” He looked up at the sky and I traced his movement. A white eagle was hovering above us in silent circles. Eldric.
“Did you tell him about this place?” I all but hissed.
“No.” His brow furrowed. “He must have picked up my scent.”
“Why does he remain up there?”
“I warded this place. No one can come in unless you want them to.”
My eyes searched his. He had been protecting her and I hadn’t even known.And since when?
It felt awkward, watching Eldric circling up there. “You can let him down only if you trust that he won’t say a word.”
“I trust him with my life.”
“All right, then.”
Cinnamon squealed at Eldric’s shift.
“You scared her,” I called out. I was about to go calm her down, but Eldric beat me to it.
“Hey, hey.Easygirl.” She calmed at once, delightfully accepting all of his giant pats. “I’m sorry—” Eldric looked at me and asked, “What’s her name?”
“Cinnamon.”
“Cinnamon? Seriously?” I gave Eldric a borderline scowl, and he let out an exhale, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry,Cinnamon.”
“So, what are we doing here exactly?” Eldric asked, his gaze still on my mare.
Aegir briefed him on the secret-horse situation and told him that we were about to start my very first training session. Eldric, who I was sure looked like the god of training, if one were to exist, was quickly interested and said that he wanted to help.
I wasn’t sure if I liked the sound of that.
I had never known that there was an overwhelming amount of detail and a meticulous technique in a simple long body stretch. Eldric went through so much detail, it seemed like he would not shut up. That was not at all torture when compared to the intermittent intervals of jogging, running, and sprinting around the paddock. Not to mention that I was doing all that whilst listening to Eldric’s yaps and shouts. Then he called my muscles weak and pathetic, and said that we had todefinitelywork on those.
Eldric watched attentively as I lifted rocks, squatted, and jumped as instructed. It was hence justified to feel instant relief when Eldric told me that he had to head back to his men. My muscles had long turned tired, and I could feel my dress sticking to my clammy skin. Trickles of sweat trailed down both sides of my face, collecting at my chin before falling to the sandy ground at my feet. I had never breathed so hard. I was sure I was going to faint, or hurl—possibly both. But I made it.
