The Raven Lord | Book I

XV. The King

Kaira

The next day, I trudged groggily down the hall to the training room, my arm sore and my ego bruised. After Lex took me back to the estate, he claimed that he would not listen to what I had learned until I saw Noctia, who told me my shoulder would heal quickly and sent me on my way. But by the time I found Lex afterward, he bore a livid expression as he strode from the room, simply saying we would talk later. Finding myself more exhausted than I had thought, I went to my rooms for the night.

To my ever growing dismay, I awoke to a note from Ciel saying he still wanted to meet me for training. Apparently wounded shoulders were common and training with one would do good in battle. If I ever lived to see one.

I approached the training courtyard which was filling with the soft light of dawn from the open roof, the salt air and the mountain breeze brushing my cheek as if to say hello. 

Ciel was nowhere to be seen. 

Thinking nothing of it, I made my way to the center mat and began stretching, being sure to savor the moments alone before I no doubt got my ass kicked. 

A familiar presence filled the room and I whipped my head to the door. Lex strode through, a cocky grin splitting his face. My stomach twisted and dropped at the sight of his fighting leathers, slightly unbuttoned at the top, and the massive sword sheathed at his hip. 

I groaned. 

"That's not very nice, Kaira. You don't look so pleasant in the morning either," he smirked. 

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, getting to my feet. 

He stopped a few feet from me and crossed his arms. "I'm filling in for Ciel today." His grin only widened. 

"No," I shook my head. "I'll wait for Ciel, thank you very much." 

Lex shrugged his broad shoulders, saying, "I told you. He can't make it, so I'm filling in."

"Is this your way of making me pay for yesterday?"

"Perhaps," he unsheathed his sword and examined the pommel: akin to the raven-hilted dagger strapped to his thigh. "However, there are many things that I can teach you that Ciel cannot." He winked and strode to the weapons rack. 

My mouth was still hanging open in half-rage and ire, when he called me over to the mat. I said a silent prayer and grabbed my usual training blade from the rack and padded over to a rather amused looking Lex. 

I took a defensive stance, bending my knees and readying my blade. Lex did the same, the stance looking oddly natural for him. With Lex's signal, we began. 

Lex's blow came down on my sword with such force that I was nearly knocked off of my feet. Nonetheless, I held my ground and quickly recuperated, sending my foot outward to catch his ankle. Lex saw the movement before it came and jumped back, his steel singing. I sneered and feinted left, striking right. He blocked the blow, our blades crossed. The grin he gave me was wild and untamed, before he pushed back and broke the connection.

I grinned in return, and we continued. 

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀

Ciel

Steel against steel was the only sound louder than my rapid breathing. 

I stood just out of sight in the hallway outside of the training courtyard, where Lex and Kaira were now sparring. I had run all the way from a meeting, thanks to Lex putting up wards against jumping the day before, cursing myself for being late, only to find Lex already in the ring with her.