43. Avery

Chapter forty-three

Avery

The setting sun was casting a warm glow on the training platform. My eyes moved with Zaela as she paced on the opposite side of the ring, taunting me.

“Are you ladies ready?” Gage asked from just beyond the combat line, wearing a grin that stretched ear-to-ear.

“Let’s do this,” I breathed.

“Begin!” he shouted.

Zaela took the offensive first, lunging at me as she unsheathed a wooden dagger from her boot, slicing it through the air. I unsheathed my own on instinct, blocking her strikes as they came at me.

A smile formed on my face. “Ha!” I yelled with a laugh.

“You think you’re beating me, Princess?” Zaela hissed. “I’m merely playing with you.” I countered another strike. “Tiring you out before I put in some real effort.”

Zaela faked a low strike and quickly transitioned into a swinging attack from above—I barely sidestepped before she sent yet another swipe of her wooden blade in my direction.

As we began circling each other, sweat dripped down my brow. A short sense of pride rumbled through me as I thought of the female I was back in Isla. The princess who had never once broken a sweat or allowed to get even a speck of dirt on her finery gowns, yet always dreamed of adventure—and here I was living it.

“Avery, pay attention!” Lia boomed, snapping me from my daydream.

My gaze flew to where the sound of her voice came from to see her approach from behind Gage, Jace right beside her.

Gods-dammit.

“This doesn’t concern you, Lia!” I screeched as I blocked yet another strike. “I’m training!”

“Yes, I can see that. Now focus!” she shouted.

The muscles in my thighs strained as they worked to carry me, quickly pivoting out of the way from where Zaela struck. With a sudden twist, she spun on her heel, lifting her opposite foot, and kicked the wooden dagger from my hand, disarming me.

“No!” I screeched, as she came at me with a wicked grin on her face.

I lifted my own foot and kicked her in the chest, sending her body tumbling backward across the training space.

My jaw dropped as I pivoted and turned to face the others. Lia stood with her arms crossed, a beaming smile of approval on her face. Gage winked at me, and Jace looked…concerned.

Suddenly, Lia’s face dropped. “Avery, look out!” she screeched with a half laugh.

My body crashed into the unforgiving wood beneath our boots as Zaela tackled me to the ground, a battle cry echoing from her. Our bodies became tangled and aggressively rolled across the space as we each threw in a series of punches.

“What's the matter, Zaela? Upset that I beat you?” I taunted her.

“Little princess, it was I who disarmed you ,” she breathed.

“Alright, you two, that’s enough,” Lia called as she stalked over to us.

Zaela rolled off me and pulled herself to her feet, offering me her hand. I eyed her skeptically before taking it, allowing her to pull me up.

“It was a good kick, though,” she offered as she rubbed at her chest.

“It sure as hell was!” Lia announced as she pulled me into a hug. “That was badass.”

I giggled nervously. “She disarmed me, though.”

Lia cupped my cheek in her hand. “That’s okay. You’re still learning.”

“A fight with daggers is different from a battlefield with swords,” Jace said as he approached us.

Gage offered me a smile. “She will get there.”

A soft smile tilted my lips at his words.

“She still has a long way to go,” Zaela huffed, and I rolled my eyes. “The sun will be setting soon, and I promised my mother I would be there for dinner, so let's wrap this up, huh?”

I stuck my tongue out at her back the second she turned from us .

“Gage, will you take Matthias back for us? I want to show Lia something,” Jace stated as he gestured to her horse that waited in the distance.

“You got it, brother,” he answered as he offered me his hand.

“What are you up to?” Lia asked Jace as she moved to follow him.

I turned to Gage and placed my hand in his as my brows furrowed in confusion.

“Oh, Zaela, darling,” Gage joked.

“What?” she huffed.

“Lynelle is expecting me for dinner as well, but do give her my regards.” His eyes returned to me. “I have other business to attend to this evening.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks as I stood beneath his stare, and my heart was fluttering so fast I thought it would beat out of my chest.

“Yeah, yeah, you two go off and do whatever it is all you couples do. I’ll go spend time with Mother Dearest,” Zaela said as she stalked off toward the city.

She thought that Gage and I were a couple? The corners of my lips tilted slightly at the thought of it, but things hadn’t been the same since the disaster at the isles.

In front of the others, he was always kind and supportive, even occasionally flirty, but we were never alone. He never sought me out in the late evening hours or asked me to accompany him to anything in the daylight. It had been devastating, but I was in no position to say anything regarding it. I knew I was lucky they all still tolerated my presence .

Gage escorted me to Matthias, and when I went to place my foot in the stirrup, he instead effortlessly lifted me by my hips and placed me on the saddle.

I let out a nervous giggle as he then hoisted himself up and sat directly behind me, my back pressed against his chest—just as it had been on our journey through the mountain passage.

He wrapped his muscular arms around me, reaching for the reins, and ordered the horse forward.

The silence was deafening as we trotted towards the city, but when his hand wrapped around mine while it gripped the saddle’s pommel, my heart fluttered.

He gently took my hand from it and twisted it in his own, tracing his thumb over the blisters and rough skin forming on the outskirts of my palm.

“Did you ever think you would earn these?” he asked.

My cheeks flushed. “Never, honestly. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t hate them and how they looked.”

“You should be proud that you have them. You’ve been working hard—just as hard as anyone else out there.”

I pressed myself closer to his chest, enjoying not only the warmth it brought me but also the rapid beats of my heart.

Craning my neck to look back at him, I whispered, “Are you still upset with me?”

He blew out a huff through his nostrils and I felt the heat of it tickle my cheek. His stare shot down at me, but a tiny smile formed, giving me hope.

“No, my lady Avery. It takes a great deal for me to hold grudges, and I find that is especially true with you. So, I will start this with an apology for my absence lately. It has gone on for too long.”

I released a shuddering breath at his admission, and I held back the tears of relief as they burned my eyes.

“I thought you would hate me in secret forever. I’m sure some of them do.”

“People make mistakes, Avery. We all know that you wouldn’t have brought the book with ill intentions. And you didn’t hand it over, even when demanded of it. Zaela told me you held on tight, with fear in your eyes, as magic ripped it from you.”

“Zaela?” I breathed, confused that she had defended me.

“I’ve told you many times, she means well. She’s just overprotective and stuck in her ways. Her reactions often come on too intense and quickly for her to reel them in before saying something she regrets, but she holds no grudge against you.”

When I couldn’t find the words to respond, he continued. “In truth, she may carry the burden of believing she caused you to feel the need to prove yourself as part of our circle when, in truth, you have always been a part of us, as you are a part of Lia.”

“I just wanted to do something right,” I admitted. “I wanted to be brave and smart like Lia. She always has a plan. I guess I just wanted to be more like her and less like…well, me.”

He let out a deep laugh that rumbled through me, causing me to turn back and look at him through furrowed brows.

“What?!” I gasped with a half laugh .

“I love how and who you are. Just because I haven’t had time or foolishly chose not to be around as much in recent weeks, doesn’t mean I haven’t taken notice of such things,” he admitted, and my cheeks flushed. “Lia is fearless and sharp, just as you said. However, she is also self-sacrificing and reckless. She will be an incredible queen, but it’s our job to ensure that she gets there first. The inner workings of her thoughts often bring us into…challenging ordeals.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” I answered.

“Oh, I am.” He laughed. “It’s funny, though, seeing how much Jace has changed since he met her.”

“What was Mr. Serious like before?” I asked as my hips rocked side to side to the beat of the horse's steps, Gage’s thighs rubbing against mine.

“If you think he’s serious now, you should have seen him before,” he started. “Barely laughed, only ever focused on the war. We were losing him before we met Lia.”

“Losing him?”

“He wasn’t always this way. Yes, of course, he despised the fae, as we all did.” My heart strained as I thought about all they must have gone through at the hands of my mother’s soldiers. “But his hate stemmed from something deeper, and he was allowing it to consume him and make his decisions for him.”

My mind flashed back to the meeting before the city when we first arrived and he explained why his hate for the fae ran so deep.

“And somehow meeting Lia changed all of this?” I wondered aloud.

“She changed everything,” he stated proudly. “Not only him but also Zae and me. The whole trajectory of the outcome of a losing war—she has given our people faith in survival once again. And while they sometimes still gawk at you all with fear in their eyes, there is a hopefulness lingering beneath their stares.”

“You use your humor as a shield, but you are very wise, Gage,” I stated, and his body stiffened behind me. “You should show this side of yourself more often.”

“Well, perhaps I hadn’t found anyone worthy enough to show this to yet.” My breathing quickened at his words. “But I undoubtedly have now. I also have Lia to thank for my own change in stance on the fae, if only for making it so easy for me to fall for you.”

My heart was beating so violently, I thought it would burst in my chest. His fingers gently wrapped around my chin and guided it to where his own waited just over my shoulder.

The kindest eyes resembling pools of chocolate gazed into my own, and it took my breath away. Before I could process his intentions, he pressed his lips to mine.

The kiss was gentle and sweet—his touch making me feel guarded and safe. It was then that I realized I didn’t need to find a mate to experience profound love; all I needed was a man who could demonstrate its essence.