6. Zarios

Chapter six

I spent the morning gazing out at the training yard. I watched Sorcha go through her motions. She did some conditioning then moved to working out. They then broke off into skills, and I smirked as she threw at least four men down to the mat. Her movements were swift and precise. It was impressive. Something about seeing her like this, as opposed to the princess in a gown I'd seen last night, attracted me even more. Though none of this was meant to be real, the attraction to her wouldn't need to be faked.

It also made me realize she was the only woman there. That must have been a tough position to be in, but she seemed to hold her own.

A while later, Kiaza came to take us to another meeting. It ended with more of the same. I told my side of the story over again, and they never admitted to already sending the magestones. Without Sorcha, I would have had no clue, but now that I did, I was irritated. I was being kept here and observed, waiting to see if they trusted me enough to send another shipment.

I couldn't say anything, though. If I did, it would give away our plans, which I couldn't have. Though getting the stones were important, ending the mutiny I felt rising took priority.

After the uneventful meeting, I left to make my way to the garden.

"Wait," I heard as I moved down the hall.

When I turned, I found Sybil Yulean. Her dragon guard stood behind her but stopped a few feet away, offering her some privacy. Though dragons did have excellent hearing, so maybe it was to give her the illusion of privacy.

"How can I help you?" I asked.

She gave me a scrutinizing look, but I didn't waver. Years of being raised like a soldier taught me not to crack under such a thing.

"I'll get to the point," she said. "What are you doing with my sister?"

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Everyone saw you dancing last night. She has never shown interest in…well, anyone. What are your intentions?"

Never? The thought stirred something in me that shouldn't be there, something possessive.

I shrugged, hiding my true feelings. "No intentions. I just found her interesting and decided to keep her company."

She continued to examine me. "If there's nothing else," I said, "I have a prior engagement to make."

As I continued to walk, she called out, "Don't play with her. Though I'm not skilled with a sword as she is, he is," she pointed back towards the dragon, "and I will ensure it doesn't end well for you, if Sorcha doesn't first. "

I paused before smirking. Though I normally didn't respect people who got their throne through bloodline, I liked her spark and her protectiveness over Sorcha. "Noted."

If only she knew what we truly had planned.

I found my way to the gardens. As I entered, I noticed a single red Yaisy, its five petals spread wide. Though the fall was creeping in, there were still a few flowers around. I picked it, thinking of Sorcha. That was a thing people did while courting a mate, so it seemed like a good idea.

Sorcha was already there, still in her training gear. Because it was all hand-to-hand, she was in a loose pair of trousers and a tunic. The trousers showed off her legs in a way I could appreciate.

When she saw me, she smiled, and it gave me pause. I had to keep in mind this was all a ruse. She was smiling at me, not for me. That smile was for all the others milling around, taking notice of my approach.

"Hello, Princess," I said when I was close enough.

Her eyes narrowed. "I wish you would stop calling me that."

I handed her the Yaisy. "It's what you are."

"For now," she muttered. I wanted to pry but decided this wasn't the place.

"I skipped breakfast but snagged this from the kitchen," she said, going to her bag.

She pulled out two bowls with lids.

I thanked her and popped mine open to eat. I'd missed breakfast observing the training and was starved. " This is very good," I said. It was a bowl of oats, mixed fruits, and a splash of honey.

"Right? It's my favorite. I have it for breakfast almost every day.""I can see why. How was training?"

She cocked her brow. "You're really curious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

She glanced away. "It was fine. We're working on hand-to-hand combos. I need to focus a bit more on my double leg takedown. It's not perfect yet."

"Those can be tricky to nail," I said. "It's all about where you're throwing your weight. People think it's all about strength, but it's not. It's more about balance. If you're sturdy, their opposite weight should be enough to throw them down."

I could see her imagining what I said, picturing the change in form. "That makes sense. I'll try that. How does a king know so much about fighting?"

"Not a king," I asserted. "But my father was the High General under the previous Grand Clarak. He taught me a lot from a very young age."

"That must be nice," Sorcha said.

"How so?" I wouldn't say I had a bad childhood, but I wasn't treated as a child for most of it. I was expected to act the way a general's son did, and I suppose that was like a soldier.

"I always wished I had been born into a more normal setting. It still may have been hard for me to become a knight, but I wouldn't have the literal rulers of the kingdom working against me. "

She looked defeated. It was the first time I'd seen her look anything but confident. "It wasn't all rainbows," I said. "I never really had time to be young. Though I loved my parents, it was intense. Still, it molded me into the person I am today."

She took a bite, mulling over what I said. Soon, we were done with our lunch, just staring out at the gardens. They were pretty, with lots of flowers around and vines traveling around short fences. It reminded me of Sobury, but more organized and contained.

"Would you like to walk?" I asked her.

"That would be nice."I stood and put my hand out to help her up. She gazed at me, looking back to my hand before standing on her own, swiping at the non-existent wrinkles on her skirt. I let my hand drop and took my place by her side. Though it was strange she didn't take my hand, I decided to let it go. We were just acting, after all, and there was no need to worry over every little gesture.

After a few paces, we entered an enclosed pathway, lined with thick bushes on each side.

"Do you think it's working?" she asked quietly.

I couldn't hear any movement around, so I knew we were alone. "I believe so. I had a nice chat with your sister this morning."

She paused. "Sage?"

"No, Sybil."

Her face scrunched up in confusion. "Why?"

"She wanted to know my intentions." I could feel my tail whip a bit harder behind me of its own volition.

"What did you say?"

"I was interested, but we were just getting to know each other. She threatened me with her dragon guard if I hurt you."

She snorted, her face a bit red. "Yes, Sybil isn't afraid to wield Holland to her advantage. And he's even more willing to oblige."

"What's the deal with those two?" I asked. I'd never been particularly nosey, but his presence piqued my interest.

"I don't really know," she admitted. "When we were young, something happened, and then one day, he was here, shadowing her everywhere she went. At first, he was just training with the guard, but even then, when he wasn't at training, he was always right behind her until the day he finally finished academy and became her personal guard. Now, I rarely see them parted."

"Interesting." It was quite an odd situation, but sometimes, fate had a weird way of entangling people together.

"Maybe I could help you later," I said, my mind flitting elsewhere.

"With what?"

"Your takedown," I said. "I'm pretty good at them."

"Really?" she asked, seeming surprised.

"Yeah," I leaned in a bit. "It could help with our cause."

When I pulled away, she was slightly flushed. "That sounds like a plan."

Later that night, we met in the training yard. The set up was nice, with a running ring around the outside, sparring circles in the middle, and targets to the far end. Sorcha was on the other side, tying her hair back.

We stood in one of the sparring circles, the lights beating down on the space. The chilled night air breeze ruffled against my fur.

Sorcha began to lean this way and that, bending her limbs.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

She gave me a quizzical look. "Stretching?"

I huffed. "You can't stretch before battle."

She brought one arm across her chest, pulling her breasts together, accentuating them in a way I quickly took notice of. "But we aren't in battle," she said. "This is training, and it's better to prepare beforehand than be injured during training and weakest during a fight."

I considered her words. As I did, she bent down to stretch her legs. She lunged to one side, then the other, her back to me, her thigh stretched and her pants clinging to her body. It was as if my eyes were glued to her, unable to look away.

When she stood, I managed to pull my gaze elsewhere. My tail flicked behind me and my ears twitched slightly.

"Now I'm ready," she said.

"Perfect." I gestured her forward. "Show me what you got."

Determination set into her features, her eyes burning with confidence, she ran at me and wrapped her arms around me, trying to throw me off balance. I could feel her trying to force me with her legs instead of her core.

With ease, I twisted from her grip and grappled her, taking her down. We landed with a thud, but I was careful not to throw her with all my strength, cushioning her a bit with my arms.

"Again," she said, pushing against my chest.

I stood and moved across from her once more. "You need to use your core. You're only pushing with your legs, and it's easy to throw you off center like that."

"Got it." she seemed to really take in my words. I could see her slightly adjusting her weight while standing there to practice.

She came at me again and though I could feel the shift in her weight. Her core was much tighter, but she still wasn't able to throw me off balance. I once again spun us and threw her down.

I could see irritation building in her eyes. "Again."

So, we went again. And again, and again. Before I became Grand Clarak I helped train soldiers, and none of them worked harder than she did. She pushed herself harder every time. Though her tactics were improving, I was able to evade her on each attempt .

I'd thrown her down for the sixth time when she groaned in frustration. "You're just too big," I said. "I'll never be able to take you down."

I stood and tried to help her up again, but again, she batted my hand out of the way. "That's not true," I said.

"Of course it is," she said. "You're double my size, your strength makes it impossible."

"A great fighter doesn't blame their opponent for their shortcomings."

Her glare turned icy. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"My strength is not the reason you can't beat me. If you're not as strong, you always find another way to get ahead of your opponent. If they get the better of you, it is your fault, not theirs."

"I'm not saying you could beat me," she snapped. "I'm saying I can't throw you to the ground because you're heavy."

I smirked. "I believe the night we met, I was not the one being carried away."

"That's because you took me by surprise." she said. "Why don't we see now, on equal terms?"

My heart thudded in my chest, excited at the thought of going toe-to-toe with her once again. "Fine."

We both held our stance, neither ready to make a move. I decided to go first, swinging in for a grapple. She dodged me, moving to the side easily. As she did, she tried to sideswipe me with her shoulder, but I held firm, my balance still centered.

I threw a backhand she caught easily. Her leg swung up for a kick I easily dodged. We went back and forth, trading blows and dodging. Even though I was larger than her, she kept up with me, mostly on defense, but holding her own.

Until she went for a risky hook kick she didn't think I was prepared for. But I was—I caught her foot and twisted her, sending her flying to the mat. I then scrambled on top of her, pinning her down.

Our hard breathing and the singing of crickets were the only sounds around. I flopped down on the mat next to her, staring up at the stars and the moons. The large blue one had just appeared while the smaller pink one has almost made it halfway across the sky. They had names, but right now, I couldn't recall them.

"How was that, Princess?" I asked.

She smacked my shoulder. "You got lucky."

I huffed in amusement. "Whatever you have to tell yourself."

We laid there in silence, taking in the crisp fall night. "Ready to go inside?" Sorcha asked. "We wouldn't want to stay out too long and give the wrong impression."

"I suppose." I had forgotten about our little plan for a moment, just enjoying the training.

I got up and offered to help her, but she again ignored me. It was starting to get to me, but I, again, didn't say anything.

We each wiped off with a towel before heading inside. Though it was quiet, there were still a few people wandering around. Sorcha took my arm once we reached the first door, smiling easily the whole way.

As we neared her door, I heard light footsteps behind us. They followed us through most of the corridors .

I pulled Sorcha to my side, trying to appear a bit flirty. "Someone is following us."

She didn't look around to give us away but did pause. She leaned into me this time, but closer to my face, as if she would kiss me. My heart fluttered unexpectedly. "Once they get close enough, we'll ambush them."

"Got it," I breathed.

The steps rounded the corner, and we prepared to surprise them.

I could feel the mental countdown between us. Three, two, one…

We turned, her jumping behind them and me in front.

"Moons!" a woman's voice shouted.

I dropped my guard when I realized it was Sage, the youngest Yulean girl. "You didn't have to ambush me like that!" she squealed.

"What are you doing here?" Sorcha asked, not looking apologetic at all.

Sage pouted. "I was coming back from my party and saw you together. I just wanted to see what was going on since you've been so secretive."

Sorcha sighed. "Nothing is going on. We're just…spending time together."

She looked between us, a small smile touching her lips. "Right. Well, I'm going to go. I have someone to spend time with myself," she said with a wink. "Goodnight."

"Wait, who–" Before Sorcha could even get the words out, Sage was gone.

She sighed heavily. "That girl is more trouble than I am."

I let out a small chuckle. "I'm not sure that' s possible."

She pushed me against my shoulder. "I can walk the rest of the way." She gestured to her door at the end of the hall. "Goodnight, King Zarios."

I grumbled. "Goodnight, Princess."