Creatures of The Dark

Chapter XII

Nightmares found me with brutal consistency. I often woke with a scream at my lips, cold sweat like claws against my skin. I never dared to look back at the bed. The luxury of cushions underneath me never felt so treacherous. The training helped. It was grounding, it took my mind off of...everything. Every morning after training, Ambros would call me to his drawing room and we would discuss the secrets I held and wished to forget.

I spoke of his growing paranoia. I told the king that he had me follow Alexandra around and deemed everyone a spy. The irony was that the only person he trusted was the only one who would dare betray him. I told the King of Light where the Dark Lord had mentioned planting troops. I told him of his outrageous plans to catch spies and traitors.

Roan was staying away from me, he only dared a glance occasionally. The King of Light claimed that he was busy with scouting parties and various military assignments. But I knew he was waiting for me to approach him, waiting for me to accept him.

"Again." Sirus's voice was a deep, commanding thing. I threw my body down and up. I had lost count of how many times I had done this particular exercise though my body screamed as if it was the hundredth. Training hadn't progressed much in the last few days, but I could feel the difference. I hadn't gained an ounce of muscle, but my body was no longer wraith-like. There was more flesh than bone showing.

"Once more." If I had the energy I would have scoffed at the remark. My body was coated in a thin sheen of sweat. My hands pressed into the floor and I was up once more. When I stood, the large male clapped me on the shoulder, and when I swallowed a flinch, he smiled. "Crunches. Fifty." At the look on my face, his smile broadened.

In the last couple days, Alexandra and Tannon had stopped assisting in training and instead practiced outside the solitary room. Occasionally, Alexandra would poke her head in and make a snide remark and leave with a grin. I finished the set of exercises, my stomach trembling with the effort. Sirus pushed a set of weights into my hands. I let out a breath at the exchange and let the male lead me through another set of movements.

"Has Roan spoken to you." The weight fumbled in my hands. I grunted, pulling it back into my palm. I avoided the male's gaze.

"No. No he hasn't."

"It is not my place to involve myself in your family affairs." There seemed to be a but coming, and I recalled the way my sister had looked at him the last time they had been together. "But, you will not get another chance at having a father."

I was about to remark, as I had before, that I had had a father, but something in his voice gave me pause. I looked at Sirus. His face gave nothing away, but I asked anyway, "Yours is dead?"

He nodded and gestured for me to continue the exercises. He was silent for a while, the only sound in the room being my heavy breathing. When he spoke, his voice was grave, "He was Captain of the Royal Guard...during the war, the siege. He fought bravely, cut down dozens of males before he was slaughtered. An arrow in the back." He sighed, his eyes clouded in memory.

He shook his head, banishing the memory from his mind. No one ever talked about the siege, no one ever dared. I realized how different it was in Neulight. Here, your voice was your own. There was no looming dark fae waiting for a misstep, no one patrolling the village. I didn't apologize for his loss, I knew he didn't want to hear it. Instead, I asked, "Is that your goal? To be Captain of the Guard?"

His features brightened at that, "Yes. I expect the promotion to be granted during the Solstice ceremony." Serana had spoken of it briefly, but I didn't know what to expect. He gestured for me to put down the weights. He passed me a canteen of water and when I accepted he continued, "Have you ever been to a Solstice?"