Shadows and Scars

Chapter. 19

Adria

"You're light on your feet" Cassian told me during our training lesson. "When you're not stomping about" It had been a week since the dinner. No one brought up the subject of the Cauldron since then. Not even when Rhys had offered to teach me how to direct my new powers.

"Stomp? You sound like my mother." I rolled my eyes. "My mother thought it appropriate for all of us to taking dancing lessons." I finished the exercise.

"Who was the best?" Cassian crossed his arms. "Let me guess, you? You're better than Feyre, I can tell you that"

"No" I wiped my brow. "Nesta" I drank from my cup.

"Nesta?" Cassian didn't hide his shock.

"Nesta" I repeated. "my sister is many things, one of which is being a brilliant dancer." I passed him water and he thanked me.

"I can't see it" he drank from his cup.

"I can... Back when the Archeron name first meant something, we were invited to all kinds of events. Nesta dominated them all." I smiled at the memories of whole halls watching her in awe. "We all have our talents," I returned to the ring and my drills "our passions." I went through the moves with ease. It had only been a week but muscle memory was my biggest asset. I didn't spare with Cassian, not yet... but everything else I trained.

"Which are?"

"I cook, Elain gardens, Feyre paints, and Nesta dances" I finished the combination of hits on Cassian's padded hands.

"A dancer... maybe I can picture it" Cassian's smirk appeared and it was devious. I smacked the side of his head when he didn't expect it. "Shit." He rubbed his jaw.

"Stop thinking of my sister" I shrugged.

"Now I know where Feyre gets it from" I laughed as he returned his hands in the correct position.

"My mother would be rolling in her grave if she knew how all those years of dance panned out for me" I started a new combination of hits, one where I would have to watch for Cassian's hit and move out of the way.

"Feyre has mentioned how strained her relationship with your mother was." Cassian swung his arm midsentence to distract me. I effectively blocked it.

"That's saying something" I laughed at the idea of it just being a strained relationship. Before he could continue Azriel landed just outside the ring in easy swoop.

"Cass..." Az approached the ring. "Rhys needs you to check out the Illyrian camps"

"Duty calls, Adria" Cassian tossed the pads into my arms. "You can finish up hitting the bag, or" he smirked. "hit Azriel, your choice" Cassian thundered upward and we watched as he headed north.

"Well?" I looked toward Azriel. After last week's dinner I had expected to see less of him. He said nothing during the dinner, and I suspected he was annoyed with me just like Amren and Rhys were. He surprised me when he apologized on behalf of them the next morning. He made sure that I knew it was my choice to talk about what happened to me. And if I was ever ready, I would choose who to tell.

This past week we had spent time together just talking. Azriel was nothing like I had imagined. I expected him to be guarded and distant, but he wasn't. He could talk about anything and never made me feel inferior or below him if I didn't know what he was talking about. And he was funny. One day after training with Rhys while flying me back up the House I almost fell out of his arms laughing. Given our bargain I felt like I could call him a friend. I would remind myself that, that's what he was. He was a friend. Friend or not his presence was distracting.