Page 135 of A Legacy of the Light

“What. The. Fuck,” I whisper.

The guard next to me chuckles and I quickly look over to see it’s Alaister.

“Terrifying, isn’t she,” he comments without looking at me.

“Uh-huh,” I reply, turning my attention back to the spar.

Tavish’s eyes sparkle, and he grabs the leg Reyne is using to hold her weight and pulls. Hard.

As she tumbles to the ground, he rolls from underneath her and stands at his full height. Reyne quickly gets up and doesn’t wait for him this time. She moves faster than Tavish, landing kicks and punches to his body with a ferocity that is genuinely scary.

A growl slips from between Tavish’s clenched teeth and white mist curls around his forearms and closed fists.

Reyne laughs. “Getting frustrated are we, Prince Tavish?” she taunts as she appears behind him and takes his legs from underneath him.

He grunts as his knees hit the ground but doesn’t wait for Reyne’s next move before dipping low and swiping his leg out in the same move I tried earlier. Only he makes it work, and Reyne falls to her back. Tavish capitalizes and straddles my friend and lands a few punches to her ribs and stomach.

I step forward to stop the spar. I can’t watch Tavish beat on her like that.

A hand on my arm stops me. “Wait,” Alaister says in a quiet voice.

I’m not sure how, but Reyne frees one leg from underneath Tavish. With enviable flexibility, she brings it back and kicks Tavish in the shoulder so hard he’s shoved back.

Reyne frees herself from underneath him, then rolls backward and onto her feet. Blood trickles down the side of her mouth. She wipes at it with the back of her hand and gives him a wicked grin. They go at each other again and again. I wince every time one of their hits land, for Reyne and for Tavish.

After ten minutes, and neither of them gaining an advantage, a guard to my right calls, “Alright, next hit wins!”

Tavish and Reyne take a step away from each other and circle the ring. They never take their eyes from one another, sweat pouring down their faces and their breath heaving out of them.

They pause, nod their confirmation, and run at each other. Reyne launches herself high to wrap a leg around Tavish’s neck, trying to use her agility against his bulk. Tavish catches her with an arm around her waist and slams her to the ground so hard that snow scatters into the air in a flurry of motion. A horrified gasp leaves my throat.

The flakes settle around them and Reyne is flat on the ground with Tavish’s arm pinned across her throat. His dagger—the one he showed me when I first arrived—is aimed under her chin.

She tips her head back and laughs loud. “Well, at least one Seelie in this palace can put up a decent fight.”

Tavish releases her with a smile as wide as Reyne’s and he helps her up. Covered in snow and sweat, they shake hands again and walk side by side toward where I stand open-mouthed.

Reyne and Tavish laugh when they take in my expression.

“Told you not to worry, lass,” Reyne says. “Will you stop hesitating when we spar now?”

I nod, not confident in my ability to speak. I’m never, ever going to beat her in the ring.

Chapter 33

It takes Finneus a few days to review what they teach Seelie children in schools on wielding. We agree to train early in the mornings and in the sealed stone chamber so we don’t run the risk of being caught.

We’ve attempted to coax magic out of me for an hour every morning for the last four days. I haven’t been able to do even the simplest form of Seelie magic. The Craobh Beatha has remained still and unresponsive against my chest, too. I had hoped it might help me in attempting to wield, but recently it’s felt like any other piece of jewelry.

It’s Friday so this will be my last attempt at wielding before the weekend and my frustration is building. We’ve made no progress with our research, I’ve made no progress with wielding, and when I spar with Reyne, I can’t lay a single fucking finger on her. I’m getting faster and stronger but she is always one step ahead of me.

I haven’t seen or heard from Tavish since he sparred with Reyne last week either. He wrote to me apologizing that we wouldn’t be able to ride on Sunday since he was being sent to Lassodie, a town a day’s ride from the city. Dorche attacks have increased there, and Callahan was seen with them, so the King Raghnall ordered him, Hector, and a unit of soldiers to help defend it against the rebels. I haven’t heard from him since he left, and fear grips me whenever I spend too long thinking about what Tavish might be fighting.

“Take a breath, my dear. I can feel the tension radiating off you from over here,” Finneus instructs me. We occupy the blue chairs in the middle of the chamber when we have these lessons.

I close my eyes and try to focus on the center of my chest, which is where I’m supposed to feel the connection to magic. I understand the theory of wielding. Finneus’s first lesson focused on it, and I have taken books back to my room to pore over them in the evenings. Apparently, it feels like a second heartbeat close to your own, which Seelie can draw on at will.

The only thing I can feel in my chest is my heart thumping away and the breath in my lungs. Not a whisper of magic.