A Court of Teal and Shadows

Chapter 1

Gwyn

"Open your knees." Azriel instructed Gwyn as she sweat.

She was glad for the warmth already in her face as she nearly blushed.

"If you keep your stance more open, you won't have to work as hard dodging attacks." Azriel explained, his instructions clear and serious as always.

After Cassian and Nesta had their mating ceremony, and Emerie was helping train the Illyrian women in Windhaven, Gwyn and Azriel often found themselves as the only two who showed up for training. They had been training in more hand to hand combat after the Blood Rite, and Gwyn was grateful for any extra moments in the ring to hone her skills. Even the work she did for Merrill in the library below didn't bring her the same sense of purpose that she felt as she trained with Azriel. She knew that every moment spent here, in the ring, there was a strength building in here, letting her know she would not be the weak and fragile person she had been two years ago. Azriel approached her, and she snapped into focus.

"Show me what we went over," Azriel said, walking near her with his hands in a defensive position.

She jabbed and dodged, keeping her thoughts clear and breathing even. She was a warrior. She was a Valkyrie.

Azriel gave a slight smile as he saw that she had full grasped the new technique he had showed her, and Gwyn was thrilled, his small smile was like seeing him beaming with excitement.

"Impressive. We'll practice that again tomorrow, and throw in a few more new additions to your stance. Get some water and cool down." And with that Azriel nodded his head and left the training room.

Gwyn downed two whole cups of icy water from the ewer before she started her cool down.