𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐑 • 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴 & 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 • 𝐒𝐦𝐮𝐭

Illyrian camp • Cassian

Prompt: You are training with Cassian, and he discovers you are his mate.

•   •   •

The Illyrian camp was intimidating, it smelled like dirt and sweat, and the sounds of swords coming from the place told me everything, this place would either save me or end me.

If I didn't get stronger, I would die. The Illyrians would take my life with pleasure, I was positive about that.

Illyrian males flying high caught my attention, there were so many of them flying free in the cloudless blue sky.

Some males were looking at me, judging me simply because I am here,  wanting to be strong like them instead of protected by them.

"You are new here," someone called.

A tall Illyrian male was looking at me, his expression was silly and light compared to the other males.

And also compared to the other males, he looked like the definition of sin. Whoever this male was, I was sure that he was different from the others, and not just because of the way he looked at me.

Instead of judgment, I found determination filling his eyes.

Determination and something else I couldn't quite understand.

"It's my first day."

"You are the Illyrian who came from the north."

Illyrian, not an intruder.

"Yes, that's me."

He smiled, and I could see that his humor was something I would want close to me.

"I'm Cassian, and I will be the one training you," he shared and completed. "You should start getting ready."

So I did.

•   •   •

Illyrian swords were lethal, light, and easy to hold - and to cut your own arm by accident -, so I chose the dagger.

It's been a while since the last time I wore Illyrian leather, I forgot how soft it was, it was perfect for warriors to move. Perfect to attack, and ideal to fly.

"I thought you would choose the sword," Cassian told me.

I looked at the black dagger in my hand, how something so dangerous could be so pretty?

"And I thought you would choose the dagger." Cassian chose the long gray sword, it looked as sharp as the claws of a dragon.

He grinned.

"I like the innumerable possibilities of moves I have with a sword."

And that's how we started training, Cassian showed me how to improve some movements, he stopped the duel two times, the first one was because while I attacked him I left my back exposed, and the second time he made us stop was because I didn't turn fast enough to defend myself from his fluid moves.

"Do you know why people say that dueling is like dancing?" He asked, and he wasn't even sweaty.

"No, I don't." I was breathing hard.

"It's because of the moves, you have to train to do it correctly."

Dance, dueling with Cassian was like dancing. I breathed one, two times. 

You know the moves. I thought. Now dance.

Cassian was waiting for me to feel ready, he looked at me and didn't move, he wasn't going to attack me while I analyzed his words, I was sure about that. I held the Illyrian dagger using my left hand, and unlike other males who would say that using my left hand was wrong, Cassian didn't question me, I felt more comfortable using my left hand, and Cassian noticed that somehow.

We circled each other very slowly and carefully, each of us looking for an opening or a distraction, a way to end the distance between us. The tension around us was as clear as the sky.

I leaped forward, and Cassian moved his huge body out of the way.  The touch of our blades produced the first battle sound of our duel, and then the second. I tried to aim at Cassian's waist, it didn't look impossible, at least not until I tried.

"Don't do that," Cassian said suddenly.

"And why not?"

Cassian held me by my unarmed hand and made me spin, and then he held my dagger. Training with this male would never get boring. With the blink of an eye, huge bat wings showed on his back, and as fast as the wings showed they took us from the floor to the sky.

"Because of that."

I showed my wings too, the sounds of the wind and our wings were the only things that we heard for a while, at least until our duel continued in the sky.

He flew fast, but I did too, and every time our bodies met, the sound of blades filled the air.

We repeated the same moves for a while. Fly. Attack. Defend.

I attacked Cassian from above.

Fly. Attack...

Cassian tried to stop me with his sword, but the Illyrian dagger was strong enough to stop it with precision.

...Defend.

Now we were both 'falling'. His long hair almost touched my face because of how close we were.

And then we felt it. We, because I knew he felt it too by simply looking at his face.

"You... you are my mate," Cassian said.

We were falling so slowly that I thought that Cassian was using magic, but I didn't care, because the connection, the mating bond between us was shining, taking our attention away from the rest of the world.

Mate. This beautiful male in front of me was my mate.

I was speechless and dizzy, but I felt completed. How is it possible for a simple bond to make you feel so connected to a male you just met?

"I want to show Velaris to you," was all that he said.

I smiled.

"Do you want us to go there flying?"

He nodded, and we didn't go back to the Illyrian camp that day.