CHAPTER FOURTEEN

T wo more days came and went quickly. Horus’s time limit had passed, which meant my father likely knew where I was last seen. Would he head there himself, or continue to send battalions of soldiers after me? Would Horus work twice as hard to track me, or would he take his time, knowing I left on my own volition?

On top of those lingering thoughts, I also wanted to ask Elias more about his family. Was it his parents who were killed? His siblings? A wife and children? I couldn’t bring myself to ask him anymore about it, as much as I wanted to know.

It had rained here and there over the last two days, but nothing compared to the torrential downpour of the other night. Still, we hoped the new rain would wash away our fresh tracks.

As we traveled, I did my best to maintain casual conversation, although the inner turmoil about my feelings for him was eating me alive. My biggest fear was of what would happen once we reached our destination. This was only a business deal, after all. Once we reached Zolmara, I would pay him the rest of his gold pieces, and that was the end of our bargain. Should I confess my feelings to him then, only to see if he would stay? But if he didn’t, I couldn’t imagine the heartbreak I would have to face. Maybe I wouldn’t confess anything after all, only to save myself from the devastation.

I shook the thought away as I followed Elias through the dense forest. “So what’s the first fighting move you’re going to teach me?” I asked him as we ducked under a low branch.

Elias stopped walking and turned to me. “You have been asking me about fighting lessons for the last two days,” he said with a hint of reluctance.

I stopped as well and folded my arms to my chest. “Well so far you’ve taught me zero things. Maybe I’m just excited.” Or maybe I wanted to take my mind off of other things.

“You’re injured,” he said matter-of-factly.

“My arm is healing nicely. It doesn’t even hurt that bad anymore.” That was a lie.

His brows pinched together. “Your father, the King, could be at our tail and you want to start fighting lessons now?”

“There’s no better time,” I countered. “If he’s relying on Horus to find us again, I want to be prepared. I want to be able to fight him off.”

Elias gave a look of contemplation before slowly setting his pack to the ground. “Alright,” he began. “Hit me.”

I was taken aback. “I didn’t mean now , now,” I said.

“Hit me,” he repeated, unwavering.

I gave him an incredulous look before relenting. I set down my pack just as he had done, then rolled my shoulders back before getting into position. I took a step back with my right foot, grounding myself to the earth, then lifted my closed fists in front of my face. As quick as I could, thinking he wasn’t ready, I forced my right arm towards his chest, expecting to make contact with his firm muscles. Instead, he shifted to his left, avoiding the punch entirely, then grabbed my uninjured wrist, sending energy waves down my arm. I stifled a gasp.

“Good,” he said. “Now escape my grasp.”

“Good?” I bellowed. “I didn’t even hit you.”

“It’s not about the hit yet,” he replied, his grip still tight on my wrist. “It’s about the power of your movement, and your stance. Both are good. It’s also about expecting your opponent’s next move. Now, escape my hold on you,” he repeated.

Through gritted teeth, I attempted to pull my wrist from his grasp with a twisting motion, but he held firm. I tried again, putting my whole body into it, but Elias only used that to his advantage. He pulled me in as I tried to twist, forcing my back into his chest. His breath was in my ear, causing a shiver to go up my spine.

He let go, then took a step back. “Again,” he barked.

I faced him and narrowed my eyes in determination. I went in for another jab, this time towards his stomach. Again, he avoided the blow by shifting to the side with animal-like speed. He grabbed my wrist again, and I instantly tried pulling myself from his grasp. But instead of escaping, he pulled me into his chest with more force than before. I looked up, our faces only inches from each other. I felt a bead of sweat form on my brow.

He smiled a malicious, enticing smile. “Again,” he taunted. It seemed he was getting a real kick out of this.

I let out an exasperated growl as he let go. Without hesitation, I went in for another blow, this time aiming straight for his face. He barely dodged this one, then went to grab my wrist. I expected it this time, and pulled my arm away just before he could reach it. I then brought my left elbow in and drilled the bony point into his forearm. I made contact, and Elias shot his arm back.

The guilt I felt for hurting him only lasted a second because he let out a laugh. “Impressive,” he revered. “You learn quickly.”

I rolled my eyes. “I haven’t learned anything,” I retorted.

“On the contrary,” he smiled. “You anticipated my next move.”

“Only because you did the same one over again.”

“Maybe so,” he shrugged. “Again.”

“Seriously?”

His golden eyes narrowed. “Again,” he ordered.

I huffed, then got back into position. I threw a calculated punch in his direction and, yet again, he dodged it. But instead of going for my wrist, he countered with his own punch towards my shoulder. I blocked him with my uninjured forearm just in time, but he didn’t stop there. His other fist flew at me, and I jumped back to avoid the blow. I kicked my leg up with force and hit the side of his thigh, slightly knocking him off balance. I swirled around to create momentum for another kick, but he had already moved out of the way.

“Excellent,” he praised. He wasn’t even slightly out of breath, unlike myself. “See? I didn’t do the same move, and yet you countered beautifully.”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. “Again,” I demanded this time. Elias let out small laugh, then got into a defensive position.

I threw punches and kicks at him in quick succession, putting the many moves my uncle taught me to the test. Some missed entirely, some he countered, and some actually hit. I wondered if he was letting me hit him every so often just to boost my confidence, or if I was actually doing a decent job. But each round went longer and longer as I got better at anticipating his next move, and was able to keep the attacks going .

We switched roles after a while, and I took the defensive while Elias attacked. I was not nearly as quick as he was, making it difficult to evade his moves. He would stop himself before actually hitting me, then put his hands on my shoulders or my arms or my hips, to shift my body into the correct position. Every touch sent a wave of heat through my senses.

After a while, Elias let me know it was time to stop practicing and move on.

“Just one more time,” I wheezed, trying to catch my breath. I was never this winded after training with my uncle. I knew Balor eased up on me during our trainings just a little so that I could learn, but didn’t realize how much so. With Elias, it was different. It was exhausting. Strenuous. Exhilarating .

He raised his brow as he stood there, not showing any sort of sign of the physical exertion from our long practice.

“You’re tired,” he pointed out.

“I’m fine.” I took a deep breath. “Just one more go, then we can leave. Please.”

Elias uncrossed his arms then let out a sigh. “Alright. One more, then we stop before you reopen your wound.”

I nodded a thank you, then got into position one last time. I began the attack, determined to get at least one good last hit in. Our battle was like a dance, each move and countermove meticulously calculated. I went hard for this last round, causing Elias to have to begin backing up in order to avoid my advances. After a minute or two, I let out one final full-force blow with my fist, straight towards his center. Elias shifted his body backwards, not seeing the jagged rock that came out of the earth behind his foot. He lost his balance as his ankle clipped the stone, and he tumbled towards the ground.

He let out a huff as he fell to the earth, only stopping himself with his arms out behind him. I let out a laugh as his ass landed on the still somewhat muddy ground.

“Always pay attention to your surroundings,” I laughed. An important lesson from my uncle. I stepped towards him and put my hand out to help him up. He flashed me an annoyed look which quickly turned to a smirk. He reached for my hand, but instead of using it to pull himself up, he yanked me down. I flung forward and landed directly on top of him. Before I could even think, he twisted our bodies around quickly so that my back was now against the earth, and his body towered over top of mine. He held himself there, his face only inches above my own. A hungry grin crossed his features as he stared down at me. I gulped, feeling a heat rising in me.

“Never let your enemy have the high ground,” he said in a low, sultry growl. My gaze moved from his eyes to his mouth, and I prayed he could not sense the arousal that was taking over my body.

I didn’t have to worry about it too long, because he immediately jolted up, then reached down to help me stand. I tried to numb the physical feelings I was having, but they only amplified when I took his hand and the energy from our touch sent shockwaves through my system.

I let out a gasp as he pulled me to my feet. “Are you alright?” he asked, a concerned look crossing his face.

I coughed, and looked away to hide the heat rising in my cheeks. “You cheated,” I said, trying to distract myself. “I was going to help you up.”

Elias chuckled. “Never trust your enemy,” he said.

“Clearly,” I hissed, wiping some of the mud from my leather pants. He followed as I walked back over to my pack and threw it over my shoulder.

“You did very well for your first training session,” Elias spoke. “You definitely know all of the basics, and then some. We’ll need to work on your defense more. ”

I let out a short breath. “You think I’m ready for Horus?”

“Maybe,” he shrugged as he grabbed his own pack from the ground. “Every practice, you’ll get better and better.”

“Yes. I will,” I replied with confidence. Elias only grinned in response before nodding his head towards the direction we were to go.

I followed him through the dense forest for miles, but the sun was beginning to set quickly. I didn’t realize how much time we spent training, and I was starting to regret the precious time we lost. I wondered if my father or Horus would find the scene of the brawl in a few days’ time.

“Let’s make camp here,” Elias suggested after we made our way through a small clearing and back into the cover of trees. We began setting our blankets down on a dry section of ground when I started to hear a high-pitched ringing in my ears. I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary until Elias’s head shot to the right like he heard it too. I watched him curiously as I finished laying out my blanket.

A look of concern crossed his face, and I began to worry. “Are you alri—”

“Would you excuse me for a moment?” he interrupted, like he hadn’t heard me. “I need to relieve myself.”

I lifted my hand up. “Spare the details, sir,” I joked. I was expecting him to laugh or at least give me an annoyed look, but he rushed away without another word. Odd.

A few minutes went by, and I found myself twiddling my thumbs. I decided to open my pack and grab some jerky. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until that moment. As I looked in my pack, I found I only had a few pieces left. I began rummaging through to find spare pieces that may have flaked off, but was met with a familiar item instead. The book.

I looked up in the direction that Elias left, but did not see or hear him coming back. I decided to open the book and look over it to pass the time. I thumbed through the pages quickly, opening to the one with the big, dark wolf. I stared at it for a moment as I traced my hand over the drawing. Then I continued turning the pages until I reached where I first discovered the fifth kingdom. I tried to identify where we were on the map, and had a vague idea. It was hard to tell how long it would take us to go the rest of the way, especially since we had yet to reach the Shadow Peak Mountains. Maybe another two weeks? I wasn’t sure how Elias always knew, especially without a map. He truly fascinated me.

Thinking of Elias, I realized that he had been gone for some time. The sunlight was quickly dissipating, and I was starting to worry. I snapped the book closed and buried it deep in my pack, then got up and started heading in the direction Elias had went.

I kept walking, much further than I thought he would need to go to relieve himself. He was acting strange, maybe something was wrong. The worry bit at me as I kept moving through the thick forest. After another minute or two, I heard a voice. It was definitely Elias. Finally, I came up onto his location. I headed towards him, but stopped in my tracks when something felt…off. I decided to stay quiet, sneaking in his direction before hiding behind a large tree maybe twenty feet from him. I peered over and inspected the area through the dim light that barely made its way through the treetops. There, I could see Elias crouched over, and… talking to the ground?

I squinted, as if that would help me see better. There was nothing and no one in front of him other than a small puddle at his feet. I could not make out what he was saying, but he was definitely speaking. I decided to tiptoe closer to him, silently darting between trees until I was as close as I could get without him seeing me.

“Yes, I understand,” he said quietly. There was a brief pause before he continued. “I will,” he growled. “I just need more time. ”

More time? For what? And who the hell was he talking to? I took a step out from the tree to see if someone else was there that I hadn’t noticed. As I took that step, a twig snapped under my foot. I looked down at it. Fuck .

When I looked back up, Elias was standing only feet in front of me, eyes blazing into mine. I jumped back with a shriek. “You scared me,” I gasped, holding a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, no sense of gentleness in his voice. His large frame towered over me, and his eyes looked predatory.

“I came to check on you. You… you were gone a while.” I gulped, fear creeping in under my skin. He looked very intimidating as his eyes bore into mine with anger.

I took a step back subconsciously, and Elias realized my fear. He blinked a few times, his menacing eyes softening, and his shoulders relaxing.

He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he said gently. “I didn’t realize how long I’d been gone. You were right to look for me.”

I didn’t dare move. “Who were you talking to?” I asked, peering over his shoulder at the empty forest.

“Myself,” he replied. “Come on, let’s head back.”

His haste to change the subject did not go unnoticed, but I complied. We walked back towards our camp, the sun nearly gone by the time we reached it. We sat and I offered him one of the last large pieces of jerky. He took it gratefully.

We ate in silence for a long while. I watched him make a small fire, as the night was chilly. I wasn’t sure what to say while I pieced together what I just witnessed. Was he really talking to himself? I certainly didn’t hear any other voices, but the things I heard him say seemed like he was answering someone.

He interrupted my thoughts. “I was thinking,” he began after finishing his last bite of meat. “I think we should go to Monuvia.”

My mouth dropped open. “You’re not serious, are you? We just barely made it out of Chatus without getting caught. We did get caught, actually.”

“Exactly. No one will be expecting you to hide out in another kingdom so soon.” He looked at me, his honey eyes reflecting the small fire he had made.

“Why would we go there?” I asked. I couldn’t make sense of his plan. Monuvia was well out of our way. It would add days onto our travel, at least .

He glanced over to my pack and back at me. “How much meat do you have left in there?” he asked.

I lowered my eyes to the ground. “Not enough for tomorrow,” I admitted.

“We can pick up the supplies at Monuvia that we weren’t able to get in Chatus. We can get food and a bow so we can hunt bigger game than rabbits. And we can get something for the pain in your arm.” He gestured towards my injured arm. I thought I had hidden the discomfort well enough during our training, but I guess he caught on.

I considered his ideas. We did desperately need supplies, that much was true. But I had the inkling that there was another reason he wanted to go there. I looked back up and met his gaze. Yet again, his power over me erased any common sense I had, as I blindly trusted him.

I cleared my throat. “Promise me something,” I said to him.

“Anything,” he answered gently.

My heart fluttered.

“Promise me you’re not hiding something. That there’s not an underlying reason to take us to Monuvia.”

Elias’s body stiffened only for a moment before he caught himself. He glanced at the fire, then back at me after a few seconds. “I promise,” he said finally, if a little hoarsely.

I eyed him up and down, looking for any sign of deception. I trusted him. I had blindly trusted him since day one. But something about this felt different. In the end, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t do this journey on my own. “Alright,” I answered, and I noticed his posture relax.

“We’ll head there in the morning,” he said with a half-grin.

“Great,” I said before lying down on my side with my back to him. “Goodnight,” I huffed.

He was going to take the first watch that night, even though it was my turn. But he didn’t question it. My eyes remained opened – and I could have imaged it, but I thought I saw Elias’s shadow from the light of the flickering flames reach for me, then stop. “Goodnight, Aura,” he said before lowering his arm and turning away.