𝔸 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕎𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙 (Book 2)

Sixty-Seven

"Damn you, you ninja." Cassian said, lying on the floor of the ring like a beached turtle. His eyes were closed as his breath was knocked out of him. You'd think that besting Cassian wouldn't get old, yet after our hundredth round of sparring, it got a bit tedious.

I'd barely had time to sleep the past few days because the General had insisted I teach him everything I knew about combat. I'd obliged, of course. I'd never miss a chance to talk fighting.

    It was only when we were both getting sloppy with exhaustion that he'd said, "Eight AM tomorrow. I'll see you bright and early." I'd merely replied with something along the lines of "Are you trying to make me want to hurl you into a wall?" He'd merely flipped me off and retreated to his rooms.

    Cassian hadn't been the only one persistent against beating me. Mor and Azriel had been nearly as exhausting as Cass. Jumping on every opportunity to jump in and learn as I taught Cass a few of the more difficult things I'd learned at the Flame.

    I wanted to trust them all. I wanted to be able to share all of what I had been taught without thoughts of betrayal creeping in and poisoning my mind.

    They had done nothing but prove how trustworthy they were. Deep down, I knew they could be trusted, and yet some basic instinct of mine told me never fully to trust anyone.

    And I also knew I had good reason for feeling that way...

A small, dainty snort came from a few feet away, "And that would make ten times she's sent you falling to the floor in the last hour."

    Cassian braced his elbows on the floor, turning his chin to look at the source of the comment, "Keep talking, Amren, and I'll drag you into the ring and see how much practicing you've actually been doing."

    The ancient one simply continued flicking the dirt from under her nails with a tiny bone, acting as though Cassian was a pesky fly buzzing in her ear. "Touch me, Cassian, and i'll remove your favorite part. Small as it might be."

    I thinned my lips, stepping away from the ring as I stopped myself from snorting in amusement.

    Cassian chuckled, getting up from the floor of the ring and turning to face Amren.

    We'd spent the last four days doing this—or at least most of them had.  Had been blissfully spared from most of the circle's bickering, mainly because I had no idea what they were bickering about most of the time.

    I'd worked on my magic, aside from brushing up on my combat skills. I'd made...progress. Not much, thanks to Rhysand's annoying presence and his constant distractions.

    Word hadn't yet arrived from Summer Court. All of us had tried to ignore the sinking feeling that word wouldn't arrive as each day passed. Azriel continued his attempts to infiltrate the court of the mortal queens, his spies now seeking a way to get a foothold inside. He'd been quieter than usual as they failed to do so. We'd all tried to cheer him up at some point—even me—but it'd been futile. I figured it would be until we found a way into the court.

    Amren's silver eyes flicked over to the stairwell, "Good. You can play with her."

    Mor and my sister stepped out from the shadows of the stairwell. The third of the Night Court's brows furrowed, "Play with who?" she asked.

    I looked to my sister beside her, still unable to meet my eyes. I wished I knew why my secret had upset her so much. I wished she'd talk to me. And yet I'd barely seen her in the past few days, all I'd gotten was terse nods and small yes, and no's.

    Part of me understood. We'd vowed no more secrets, and I'd kept something so big from her. So many things I'd kept from her that I didn't think I could ever bring myself to admit. Monstrous things.