16. Sixteen

Sixteen

“Are you coming down to breakfast today?” Taft asked, his tone already thick with annoyance as I sat in front of the fire with my journal. He was still angry at me for leaving with Pri and no matter how many times I had told him it was an accident, he had refused to believe me.

We hadn’t spoken much in the few days, and I realized I didn’t mind the distance it put between us. Usually, I would pretend to be asleep when he left in the mornings, and when he crawled into bed next to me at night.

But this morning was different.

Even with the events of last night and the wards crashing down around us, I felt excited. I kept my eyes focused on the words I was scribbling across the page, and said, as casually as I could, “I’m not hungry.”

He stood watching me for a long moment, his eyes like daggers as I continued writing. Grabbing his coat off the bed, he strode to the door and slammed it behind him. I let out a long sigh and pressed my forehead to the coffee table. The room seemed to grow lighter with each step I heard him take down the hallway.

The storm had finally cleared and today, I was going to train.

Hearing the front door shut, I waited for thirty minutes to pass before peeking my head out into the hallway.

Silence.

I grinned to myself as I rushed over to my pack and slipped into my leathers. I hopped down the hallway, pulling on my boots, tripping over the laces as I raced down the stairs, praying the coffee pot was still on the hot plate.

“Going somewhere?” My body spun around, hitting a kitchen chair and knocking it to the floor. The sound of wood splintering against stone cracked through the room as Landers chuckled at my wide-eyed expression.

“I see I will also have to teach you the art of stealth,” he said, smirking. I glared as I set the chair upright and stalked over to the coffee pot. He followed behind me and leaned against the kitchen archway as I pulled a mug from the shelf and poured the steaming liquid into it.

I turned, taking a sip as I leaned against the counter and said, “I’m going to train.” The corner of his lips turned upward. “For now, I would like it to be kept between us until I—” I tightened my grip on the mug and lifted my chin. “Until I feel like it is the right time to tell Taft.” I pulled my eyes from the liquid swirling in my cup to meet his gaze. He stared back at me with soft eyes and all the remaining anxiety from this decision disintegrated as we stood there, watching each other. He finally broke the silence, pushing off the wall and walked over to the kitchen table that was once again filled with maps.

“There is a secluded cove in close proximity that will suffice for our purposes. I need to place wards and incantations on the area and the path we will take to get there. Once I do that, I will be able to tether you since your scent will not be able to penetrate through the wards.”

I nodded, walking toward the maps as excitement coursed through me.

I was really going to do this.

A smile crept across my face as I looked up to see Landers’s eyes already on me.

“Before I train you, I need you to promise me you will not let another incident like last night happen again. You and Pri were lucky that no one caught your scent. If anyone had, there is a strong chance we would not have made it through the night.” His expression was unreadable, but I could sense something brewing behind his eyes that sent a tingle down my spine. I squirmed underneath his stare and nodded.

“I won’t,” I said, squaring my shoulders and locking eyes with him. He held my gaze for a long moment before smirking at me.

“So stubborn,” he stated with a soft chuckle as he turned back to the table. “I will be back in an hour. Eat, you will need your strength.”

Landers left me to eat breakfast as he secured the area we would be training in, and I shoveled my breakfast down. I had too many nerves to be hungry, but knew I needed the energy. Landers tethered back into the room as I finished washing my bowl. I set it neatly back into its place on the shelf and slipped my pack over my shoulder.

“Are you ready?” he asked, holding his hand out to me, I grinned up at him and slid my fingers through his.

“Why couldn’t we just hike up here?” I dusted off my knees and hands, the familiar ache stinging in my joints from being pulled through the tether’s darkness. The burns on my body stung with the movement and I hid the wince that shot through my body.

“You want to learn how to tether, yet you can not land on your feet.” Landers smirked, squatting down to pull wrist wraps and a canteen out of his bag. He tightened the laces on his boots as I raised my middle finger to him before pulling my jacket off and tossing it onto my bag. I scanned the small opening in front of us.

It was still warm out, even with the lingering fog and thick trees blocking direct sunlight. Holding the wraps in one hand, he stood, reaching for my hand.

“Give me your hands.” Shock rippled across his face as he gripped my arm and pulled it toward him.

“What is this?” he growled.

“Ow!” I tried yanking it back from him, but his fingers tightened around my forearm.

“How did you get these burns?” He grabbed my other hand, dropping the wraps and examining the matching wounds. “Why have you not healed these?” His eyes went dark, tinged with something that looked like fear.

“I thought they would heal on their own in a few days,” I said quietly, looking down at my wrists. He ran his fingers over the burns. They were bright red, blistering around the edges.

“Ahh,” I hissed. “That hurts.”

His grip loosened as his eyes darted back to mine. “Hyacinth.” I could hear the worry in his voice as his eyes softened. Dropping my left wrist, he ran his hand through his hair. “These are infected. This kind of magic does not heal itself. It leaves a residue in the wound that has to be expelled. This will continue to spread across your body.”

“I didn’t know,” I whispered, pulling my other wrist free of him and bringing them both to my chest. I looked down at my body where the other burns pulsed on my skin.

“Do you have other burns like this?” he asked, following my gaze and scanning me. I nodded, avoiding his eyes.

“Who knows about this?”

“No one,” I said quietly.

“How the hell has Taft not noticed these?” he spat in disgust as he said his name.

“He just hasn’t, okay?” I matched his tone, keeping my eyes focused on the grassy ground below our feet. He blew out a gust of air and pulled my chin up to meet his eyes.

“Do you think you will be okay to train today? If I heal you once we get back to the house?”

“Yes.” I crossed my arms behind my back, hiding my wrists as he chuckled and nodded in response to my answer, with no convincing or begging needed.

“Now”—he folded his arms over his chest and grinned at me—“show me what these shadows of yours can do.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot and looked up at him.

He wasn’t treating me like I was injured, like I couldn’t do this. I had expected him to shut this down immediately when he saw them; demand I tell the others and leave to heal them right then and there, but he didn’t.

He let me choose what I wanted to do, what I thought was best.

“Just . . . show you anything?” I felt vulnerable letting him see them. They were an extension of me that I had never openly put on display.

“Anything you want.” He motioned his hand into the open field.

I gave him an unsteady smile, trying to mirror his confidence as I let out a breath. Shadows began pouring from my back as I lifted my hand, forming a billowy black sphere in the center of my palm. I threw the ball toward him, and he shifted his head ever so slightly, avoiding it without removing his eyes from me.

“Impressive,” he said, raising a brow as he took in the black clouds flowing out of me. “But I know you can do better than that.” His grin turned wicked as he pulled a dagger from each sheath strapped to his chest and thigh. Flipping them into the air, he caught them in a battle stance, and without warning, he darted for me. I rolled to the side, ducking out of his path.

“What was that?” I snarled at him, still crouched low to the ground. His eyes glittered with excitement.

“Go ahead, show me, Hyacinth,” he crooned, his features cool and calm as ever. He darted for me again. This time, I willed my shadows to grab the dagger from his hand as it missed my cheek by an inch. I let it fall into my palm as my fingers glided over the skin it almost sliced.

“You almost cut me!” I yelled, tossing the blade to my other hand.

“Almost.” He lifted his now free hand up into a fist and lunged for me. I slipped to the side, turning to face him.

If he wanted a fight, I would give him one. Hand-to-hand combat I was good at, even without my shadows. Using them would make this easy. He bolted toward me again, and I ran. Shadowy steps formed in front of me and I climbed each one at full speed, then turned, jumping off directly where his back was facing me. He spun from under me as an inky net caught me mere seconds before I hit the ground then released me with a thud. I pushed myself off the forest floor and resumed a fighting stance as we circled each other.

“Now that.” He chuckled. “Is what I want to see.”

Smirking, I rushed him. Pushing shadows from my free hand as I ducked under his arm and swirled behind him. The shadows engulfed us in a cloud of blackness. His outline faded as I created more and more darkness around me, keeping myself low, hiding my every movement.

“Hyacinth,” he sang, “you can’t hide in here.” His voice was muted. The sound could be coming from anywhere. I flipped the dagger in my hand. Tip pointing down and ready to strike.

“Hello, Darkness.” A low, velvety murmur brushed against my ear, his breath stroking my neck as his hard body pressed against my back. I whirled around to meet him, slashing my knife in the direction of his voice. He chuckled, his voice swirling around me.

Where are you? I whispered to myself.

“Right here.” His deep raspy voice sounded directly in front of me. I could smell him; his mint breath rustled through my lashes as his hands slid onto my hips and pulled me closer. My chest pressed against his, and the blood in my veins heated as he pressed his nose into my hair, taking in my scent.

My heart raced as his hand inched toward the small of my back, my thighs tightening in response to his touch. Before I could stop myself, I arched into him, pushing my lips closer to his.

“What are you going to do, Landers?” My voice came out in a wanting gasp. I could almost feel his lips on mine. “Kill me?”

An almost inaudible groan vibrated in his throat as he flipped my back to him and held a dagger to my neck and my stomach. My core clenched as the cold metal of the knives and his strong body pushed against me.

“See how easy that was?” He ran his lips up the length of my neck to the base of my ear, and I stifled a gasp as my body shuddered underneath his touch. “You may wield shadows.” He pulled me closer, friction building between us. “But can you control them?” Pushing myself into him, I leaned my head back against his shoulder, the tip of my nose lightly grazing the cut of his jaw.

Two could play this game, and I would not let him win. His jaw tightened as I dragged my hand down his thigh toward the daggers strapped there.

“Hyacinth,” Landers growled, as his hips rocked slightly against me in response. I felt his daggers waver from their places against my body for only a second, and made my move.

I snatched a blade from his thigh as shadows burst from my back, throwing him to the ground feet from where we stood. He didn’t have a second to move before I was straddling him with his own dagger to his throat. Curls flowed over my shoulder, exposing my neck as my thighs pinned him to the forest floor.

“To answer your question, Landers.” I sneered, looking deep into his dark eyes, they glimmered back at me with a flicker of approval. “Yes, I can control them.”

His mouth split into a broad smile as he took in the sight of me on top of him, shadows in the shape of giant wings flowed out of me like running water. He placed one hand on my back and sat up, my legs still draped around him as his knife pressed into the pumping vein beneath.

I was suddenly very aware, with shadows no longer shielding us, how tightly I was pressed against him and my chest heaved. With my eyes still glued to his, I felt him twitch between my legs and my body ground against him in a longing reflex.

I broke eye contact as blood drained from my face and scurried off of him as fast as I could, mortified as we awkwardly straightened out our clothing.

“I’m . . .” I paused, searching for anywhere else to be. “Gonna go get a drink.”

Landers gave a curt nod, lifting his hand to the back of his head and scratching, both of us avoiding eye contact. I scurried away from him before either of us could say anything else.

We spent the rest of the afternoon staying at arm’s length, only touching when we had to. He would show me how to spot him while we were engulfed, and I would practice until I had it down, then move on to the next lesson.

For hours we did this, starting over if I did anything wrong. I was determined to learn. If I could learn to use my shadows to block out magic, I would be able to get us into Ammord without being detected.

The sun was starting to set and my body was shivering, drenched from head to toe as Landers threw another round of water at my shadows.

“Again!” I yelled through chattering teeth.

You wouldn’t be cold if you were good enough to block it. It’s not even real magic, it’s just water.

“Hyacinth, we can try again—”

“Again!” I interrupted him, bracing for another wave of ice water to wash over me. It hit me, knocking me off my feet as I screamed into the air, slamming my fists into the ground, pain searing through my wrists. Frustration flared in my chest as I laid on the training field trying to catch my breath. I looked up at the sky as Landers sat down next to me, his forearms resting on his knees.

“Come here,” he said gently. “Let’s get you dry.” Sitting up, I looked over at him, defeat plastered on my face. He held his hand out to me and spread his fingers. I placed my hand in his, our fingers intertwining as warmth flowed from his hand up my arm and throughout my whole body. There wasn’t any water left on me, my hair and clothes were dry. I dragged my eyes from our hands to his eyes and smiled.

He let his hand linger in mine, his thumb brushing over my knuckles before pulling away.

“No one expected you to learn how to do this in one day,” he said, looking at me with a calm, steady expression. I nodded, not looking over at him as I held back tears.

Why was I always crying in front of this man?

I let out a deep breath, trying to steady my voice before I spoke. “Maybe Taft was right. Maybe I’m not ready for this.” My insecurities hung in the silence between us.

“You are the only one who can decide if you are ready, and one day is not enough time to judge that.” This man, with his rough, commanding exterior, could be so kind and soft when he wanted. I had only just met him, but somehow, I felt like I had known him for years.

My mind wandered to Taft, how after all these years he had never made me feel this strong. I had no right to compare Taft to him—there was history between us; years of building our relationship, our friendship. Taft had known and loved me through some of my hardest moments and that meant something to me. But I could feel something in me shifting.

I couldn’t shake the thought that being outside of the academy would break us. That the people we would have to become to survive—who I would have to become to survive—would not be someone Taft could love. After a few more minutes of silence I asked, “In Locdragoon, is it safe for people like me—for travelers—to use their magic openly?”

Landers smiled at the question. “Yes. The king does not enforce the archaic laws of the other realms. He does not oppress his people.”

I nodded, studying the burns aching around my wrists. “Why does Locdragoon still have a king while the other realms have the High Priests and Priestesses?” I asked.

Landers was silent for a long moment before answering.

“During the Great War, the High Priests and Priestesses rose up against the kings and queens of the realms because they did not support the oppression of Travelers. They slaughtered all of them in order to push their agenda forward in hopes of eradicating Greater Magic and anyone without pure blood. When the war came to an end, Locdragoon was the only realm left with someone who had royal lineage. The High Priests and Priestesses of the other realms refused to give up power, but they could not stop the boy from Locdragoon from stepping into his role as king.” Landers’ brows furrowed as he spoke. “He was so young—too young to be a king if you ask me—but he has done his best to keep Locdragoon safe, to keep his people safe.” Landers let out a long sigh as he pushed up from the ground and pulled me to my feet.

“We need to get you home, I need to heal you,” Landers said as he dusted off his leathers.

I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay here—with him. Anxiety hit me as I realized how late it was. The sun was starting to set and I hadn’t even noticed.

“Not tonight. It’s late and Taft will not like that you knew before him. I need to talk to him first.”

“Hyacinth—”

“Please, Landers. Not tonight.” His jaw feathered as he stared back at me. I could see the internal struggle in his eyes, trying not to force my hand. He ran a hand through his hair before letting out a long breath.

“As you wish.”

I scrambled to gather my things, pulling my jacket over my shoulders as I shoved the wrist wraps into my bag. I pressed my lips together and held my hand out to him, bracing myself to be torn apart as we tethered back to the house.

“Take deep breaths and focus on what your room looks like, that’s where we will land. Once we leave here, let your body flow with the movements instead of resisting it.” Landers threw both our packs over his shoulder. “It will help take some of the pain out of it.” I nodded then in a blink, we were gone.

We landed in my room at the same time the front door closed and voices began filling the house. If we had gotten back even seconds later Taft would have known. Landers handed me my pack, and with a wink he disappeared from the room.

I stripped from my leathers, scrambling as I shoved my pack underneath the bed and bolted to the lavatory. The bedroom door opened with a creak as I plunged into the water, erasing all the dirt from my body.

“Cin?” Taft called from the other room.

“I’m in the bath,” I responded, forcing my tone to stay casual. He slid open the bathroom door and looked in at me. I grinned, the success of my deception hiding underneath my smile.

I had successfully gotten away with my first day of training.

“You’re in a better mood tonight,” he said, sliding the door open wider and leaning against the frame. “I was expecting you to be in bed already.” I shrugged, twirling my arms around in the water. “Will you be joining us for dinner?”

“Yes, I’m almost done, then I will be right down.” He gave me a small smile of approval and stepped out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him. I let out a deep breath and chuckled quietly to myself.

Mission accomplished.

Tomorrow, we were going to have to be smarter.