2. Sorcha

Chapter two

My sword clanked against Jareyth's, the sound ringing around the training yard. He tried to gain leverage with his strength, the brute always tried to throw his weight around. I parried him away easily, and he backed off, circling, planning his attack.

I waited back, getting a read on his next move. I'd been sparring for a while, back-to-back. He was trying to take advantage of my tiredness, but I barely felt it. In the ring like this, it felt like the world was silent. The sounds of others fighting and training in the yard fell away, leaving only me and Jaryeth. His breathing was labored, already tired from going all out in the beginning. His eyes bounced around me, deciding what to do. "Come at me, Yulean," he called, trying to bait me.

I didn't take it. I barely even heard him, focused on where his eyes traveled. As soon as he made his decision, his brows moved slightly, giving away his plan. Right then, he faked left, going right.

I leaned my weight to the side, throwing him off balance before I lunged forward, pushing hard and sending him backwards. He fell on his ass, and I pointed my practice sword at his neck, a smirk across my face .

He scoffed and flicked my sword aside. "Whatever. You got lucky."

I sheathed my sword. "Yeah, you wish." I hadn't lost a sparring match in over a year.

He stood and brushed himself off, acting like he didn't get his ass kicked. I stepped out of the circle, only to be approached by my commander, Hendrix.

"You had great technique, Yulean," he said, "but you left yourself open on your left when you threw him off balance. If you were against someone with matching wit, they would have taken the chance."

I nodded, taking in his words. "I'll work on that." Though Jaryeth didn't take the opportunity, I wasn't foolish enough to think someone else might not.

He glanced around me to Jareyth, who was now walking towards us.

"Pierce," Captain acknowledged. "Can you tell me where you went wrong?"

Jareyth huffed like a petulant child. "I let her get me off balance."

"Yes, but it was because you were only relying on your strength. There is much more to combat than physical strength, which you should know by now."

Jareyth's head hung, and his jaw tightened. "Yes, Captain."

Kendrix turned around. "Line up, men," he called. I tried not to flinch at that. I knew I was the only woman and it was a simple thing, but it was still a slight I felt deep in my bones. "Training is over for today. Pierce and Cade, you have the morning watch at the main gate. Smith and Kain, you have night watch in tower three. The rest of you are dismissed until training tomorrow. Get some rest."

"Yes, sir," we all responded in unison.

As I packed up my things, Jareyth approached me again, hovering over me. "Looking to get your ass kicked again?" I asked him.

He scoffed. "It's funny someone who doesn't have to take guard shifts thinks she has any room to talk."

I ball my fists, trying not to let his effect show. "I have other responsibilities," I defended, keeping my tone level.

"Whatever you say. Oops, better not disrespect you, right? Could get me fired. That's why no one treats you the same."

I balled my hands into fists. There was no point in arguing with him, mostly because he was right. No matter how many times I won in the sparring ring or proved myself in technicals, I would never be equal to them.

I was still just a princess.

"Sorcha," a voice called. As if to prove my point, my sister Sybil stood on the edge of the training yard. She wore a light blue dress, her brown hair back in a tightly braided bun. Her personal guard, Holland, stood a few feet behind her, as he always did. Her shadow. He was a dragon who'd been her guard since we were young. "We need to be going."

Jareyth gave me a victorious grin before sauntering back towards the locker rooms.

I stood and grabbed my bag, heading over to my sister. All eyes were on us, and I could feel them boring into my back. "Yes?" I asked through clenched teeth.

Her brow rose. "It's nearly dinner time," she said. "And we're supposed to have it together. I thought you may get…distracted and forget."

I pinched my nose with my fingers. I had forgotten. Our mothers instated family dinner at least twice a week. Though I enjoyed spending time with them, it took me away from this, which they did enough.

"I didn't," I lied.We began walking back into the castle, my training boots clicking against the marble floors. I looked at the balcony above on the second floor, knowing guards were posted beside the four pillars, as well as a few hidden among the walls. What I wouldn't give to be in their position. But instead, I was walking the halls pretending they weren't there, that they were nonexistent.

We made it to my room. I kept it simple, with cream walls and very little decoration. I never had plans to stay here, so there was no point in customizing.

"I'm going to find Sage and make sure she's ready for tonight. Can I trust you to be on time?" Sybil asked

"Yeah. Thanks, mom," I said. Sybil only nodded and left, her shadow behind her, his blue wings tucked tight and his curly horns sticking out above his silvery white hair.

After I bathed, I put on a pair of loose-fitting pants and a basic tunic. Normally, I would do what was expected and put on a dress, but I couldn't be bothered today. I knew I would get stares, but no more than normal. Ever since I showed interest in training with the knights, I've been looked at oddly .

I walked from my room to the main dining room, where I was sure everyone else was. As I traversed the halls, all the areas where knights sat on guard weighed on me. I knew they all saw me, knew I was a fraud. I felt like one.

When I got there, my mothers and Sybil were already there. I sat next to Sybil and noticed Mom eyeing my pants as I approached. It was fifty-fifty on whether she would mention them, based on her glance back to Sybil, she was going to keep it to herself.

I released a deep breath. "Where's your sister?" Mother asked after a moment.

Sybil looked towards the door. "I checked in, and she said she was coming. I can go get her."

She moved to get up, but Mama waved her off. "I'll send someone. You know how she can be."

As if on cue, Sage bound through the room, her blonde hair straight and her bangs hanging in her eyes. She had on a light pink gown, her favorite color.

"You're late," Sybil said. "You said you'd be here."

She looked confused. "You told me I had a few minutes."

"That was half an hour ago. You need to manage your time better."

Sage narrowed her eyes. "It's not my fault you were so unclear."

She plopped down angrily in her chair, crossing her arms.

"A few minutes is a concise–"

"Girls," Mama cut in. "Why don't we stop fighting and eat?"

Food was quickly served, and everyone dug in, staying relatively silent.

"Oh, Sorcha," Mama said, turning her attention to me. "How was training today?"

"Fine," I said. "I nailed a new technique that allows for easier kills if you need to go in for hand-to-hand."

They silenced around me, but I continued eating. I only got asked occasionally, and this was why.

"That sounds nice," Mama said, trying to be encouraging.

Mother cleared her throat and turned to my sister. "So what do we know of the situation in Valcor?"

My ears perked up, but I kept my focus on my food. When I showed too much interest, they tended to stop talking.

"I'm not sure. If he's to be believed, either information got out about the route of the transfer, or it was a thieving troupe who stumbled over it by accident. But that's if he's to be believed."

Mother seemed to contemplate that for a moment. "Do we think they're being truthful?"

"Perhaps," Sybil continued. "Requesting a meeting would be strange if it was him, but we should be on our guard. He could be hoarding them for some other reason." Sybil had been training to become queen since birth. It was what she was destined to do, and it had nothing to do with her being next in line. She was sharp but kind, the perfect mix for a leader. Mother had been giving her more responsibilities as of late, and this was just another one of those .

"Hopefully, with more careful observation, we can learn more."

I had to bite my tongue. There were a million ways I could think to help, different tactical moves we could make, but I knew saying anything would just end in rejection.

"If it was a random group of bandits, it's strange none of the stones have appeared on the black market," Mother continued.

"Do you mean magestones?" I asked, unable to stop myself.

They all looked at me, and I made sure to keep my face neutral, to not give away too much.

"Yes," my mother said eventually. "We have the King of Valcor visiting after a shipment went missing."

"And he's behind it?" I asked.

"We're not jumping to conclusions," Mama said evenly. "We're trying to hear him out. He seemed to be truly unaware."

I drank in every word they said, memorizing the details. Even with my extensive training, we never learned much about Valcor. They were a nation comprised mostly of Minotaurs and largely kept to themselves. Our mothers went to visit once, briefly, when the newest king was picked, but I had never seen him, nor had I been to Valcor. All I knew was they were a country with a lot of tradition and a history in battle.

But they were right, targeting trade routes wouldn't be something a king with a plan for war would do. Then what was going on? I turned it over in my head, trying to figure it out. I wanted to suggest sending people to do recon while their king was away, but I knew where that would lead.

"Goddess above," Sage said, pushing food around her plate. "Can we talk about anything else? Who cares?"

"You should care," Mother said. "Though you're not in line to rule, it's still your kingdom."

Sage scoffed. "Well, I don't."

Mama changed the topic to appease Sage and avoid a fight between her and Mother, but my mind stayed focused on what could be going on. Dinner finished relatively quickly, and I planned to go to the yard to blow off some steam.

As I took my leave, Mother called my name from behind me.

I froze. Sybil and Sage had already left, Sybil to get some work done and Sage to go to another ball with her friends. "Yes, Mother?" I said.

"I would appreciate you dressing appropriately for the ball tomorrow night. We need to make a good impression."

My jaw tightened. I had forgotten about the ball, just another torturous thing to do. Another way to be shown off as different. "Sure. Can I go? I'm exhausted."

She eyed me before nodding, and I left, my thrumming footsteps echoing off the marble. I could feel the eyes of the guards on me as I walked, knights I trained with and worked with, all doing their jobs while I was here, expected to attend extravagant parties and get shipped off to marriage someday .

All I'd ever wanted was to become a knight. Since I was old enough to pick up a toy sword, I knew that was what I wanted to do. I used to sit in my lessons and stare out the window, watching the training yard, yearning to be there. When I turned sixteen, of age to start training in the ranks, I begged my mothers to let me join. I'd been asking for years, and by the time we were there, I had whittled them down enough to say yes.

I would go to my lessons, then every day when they were done, I would train, working hard to improve my skills. I was sure my parents were secretly working against me. Suddenly, my tutor insisted I needed to spend more time in class after lessons, planning more events and meetings I had to attend. Luckily, whenever I had time to practice, Hendrix would help me, telling me I showed promise, teaching me the technique I was lacking.

By the time practicals started in the spring, my mothers thought I would have given up. Until then, nothing had caught my interest the way sparring did, so they assumed I would give it up before I even got started.

I nailed my practical. I was third on the list to join the ranks and ecstatic. A lot of the guys acted like I got in because I was royalty, or that others went easy on me for fear of injury, but I won on my own merit. Jareyth got waitlisted for a year and was still upset, which was why he picked a fight with me any chance he could. Too bad I threw him to the mat every time.

Even though I was twenty-two now, plenty old enough to be a real knight, I wasn't granted any of the real jobs that came with it. I'd never been able to take a watch or patrol the town, much less seen battle. It was like I was playing pretend all the time, and I was sick of it.

My parents insisted it was too dangerous to send me out, that enemies would target me to get to them. When I suggested being able to keep watch in the castle, they denied me again. How would it look to the other royal families for a princess to stand watch? That was what it all seemed to boil down to, public perception.

So for now, I stuck to the training ring, waiting for my opportunity to prove to them I was more useful on the battlefield than I was in a dress. Then, public perception be damned, they would have to let me fight.

I escaped to the yard, the cool, crisp fall air chilling my skin. Magestone lanterns lit the area as I moved around. No one was here, and it was my favorite time to learn a new skill. I'd been working on knife throws. It wasn't something I'd ever been proficient in, but I was determined to learn.

I grabbed the throwing knives from the stand and stood across from the target. I lined the knife up and took a deep breath. On my exhale, I released, sending the blade flying towards the target. It smacked it with a resounding thud, echoing through the empty space. It landed in the third ring on the right side.

As I went to throw the next one, I heard a rustling. Glancing around, I didn't see anyone, but I knew I heard it.

I heard it again, finally spotting movement over the fence. Large horns stuck out over the top, and my interest was piqued. What was a minotaur doing out and about this time of night? It made me recall what my mothers talked about over dinner. Was he looking for something? Spying?

I knew I should alert the guard, but the curiosity, mixed with this chance to potentially stop him myself, was too great to stop. I crept to the fence and snuck out the side gate, following after the minotaur.