Fire

Playing with Fire

The man’s grin grew wider as we approached him, and he strode out of the concrete structure, thrusting one hand out towards me, “you must be Jess.”

I shook it, trying not to wince at how firm his grip was, “nice to meet you.”

Juku gave me a wide smile, “looking forward to your first lesson?” He didn’t wait for me to reply, turning to Asher instead, “you can head out, your highness. I got this.”

Asher crossed his arms over his chest, giving the other man an even stare. Then he turned and smiled at me, obviously trying not to let annoyance show on his face. It was pretty obvious he didn’t get along with the trainer, “You’ll be alright? Do you want me to stay?”

I glanced over at Juku. Would he think I was a coward if I asked Asher to stay? It wasn’t like I needed babysitting, plus I sort of didn’t want him to see me make a complete idiot out of myself, “No, thanks. I’ll be fine, come get me after though? I still have no idea how to get anywhere.”

Juku crossed his arms, mirroring Asher’s stance. They almost looked like they were facing off now, “I can walk the lady to the dining hall after we’re finished.”

“I think I’ll come check in on you anyways,” Asher said coolly, “just to make sure you haven’t bruised our guest. We can walk together, all three, if you like, Juku.”

Oh geeze. I backed up, reluctant to stand between the two of them. They were practically oozing testosterone at one another. It was ridiculous. I could sort of see why Asher had that tone when he talked to the trainer though, Juku was…well, aggressive.

Finally Asher flashed me another grin and turned on his heel, saying over his shoulder, “I’ll be back in an hour, Jess. Kick his butt.”

I almost wanted to, just to see the look on his face when I told him about it. But when I turned to look back at Juku I knew even the thought of fighting him was ridiculous. He stood head and shoulders above me, and his arm, still crossed over his chest, were ropey with muscles. Everything about him was hard. Even his smile, battle axe sharp, as he looked at me, “So, let’s go over what you’ve done so far. What did you learn…with them. With the rebels.”

“Not much,” I admitted, “My mom – Kari…whoever she was, didn’t do much other than figure out I had the link. She was…I don’t think she was really concerned about me learning anything. Just that she could use me….” I trailed off, not sure why I was blurting all of this out. My cheeks began to glow, but Juku was shaking his head, dark brows knitted together, “that woman, ugh. She’s a piece of work.”

“Did you know her…I mean, before she started the rebellion?”

He hesitated, “Yeah, I mean…she didn’t say much to me, you know, I’m just a trainer, not a royal,” he said it mockingly, rolling his eyes, “she always did think she was so special.”

“Yeah,” I couldn’t help remembering the look on her face as we’d sat by the fire, the way her eyes glittered when she’d learned about the link, “Yeah, we didn’t get along.”

Juku tipped back his head and laughed loudly, making me jump, “I’ll wager that’s an understatement,” he cleared his throat, “So, um…safe to say she didn’t teach you anything really.”

I couldn’t help feeling foolish, like I was failing some kind of test, “Uh – well, Asher taught me to throw a fire ball.”

He looked incredulous, “Really? Asher taught you that? That seems unlikely.”

Immediately I felt defensive, “I’m not lying. He told me how to do it…”

“Woah,” Juku held up both hands. His easy grin was back, “calm down, I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t telling the truth. It’s just strange, seeing as our prince is a dud and all.” He looked smug, and when I didn’t say anything the look faded a little, “Ah, I suppose he must have told you.”