The Last Daughter of Elysia

Chapter 7

After breakfast Morgana shut herself in her room. She didn't feel like doing anything or seeing anyone. The whole fight with her mother had cast a dark cloud over her morning. Morgana hated lying to Larania but if she'd known the truth of what had happened last night then she'd have a meltdown. Larania had fallen into a depressive slump for two months after she'd found out that Morgana was being bullied. She'd blamed herself for not seeing the signs.

Morgana flopped onto her bed and grabbed a book from her bedside table and started reading. After a while she fell asleep, until a cool breeze drifted through the gossamer curtains and woke her. Morgana yawned and rolled onto her back. Fireflies wove through the air, bathing her room in a soft glow as a starry sky peeked through her balcony. At that she bolted upright and checked the golden clock on her bedside table.

Crap!

She was late for her combat training session with Damon. She jumped out of bed and raced over to her closet. They often trained at night when most of the castle was asleep.

"It's better if no one knows, you'll be a secret weapon," Damon had said.

Morgana snorted at the memory; she was hardly a weapon. Then she threw on some black pants and a tunic, raced out the door, jogged down a flight of stairs and ran through four corridors to the training room.

Crashing metal and a howling wind echoed. Morgana slowed to a walk and paused near the training room door which had been left ajar. She peered through the crack. Aelys and Damon were dueling and wore black training clothes. Aelys sent a gush of wind towards Damon, who slashed it aside with earth magic. She sent another gust and flipped him into the air. He somersaulted and landed on his feet, then he flung a wall of water at Aelys. She shielded with earth magic, but the force was too much, and she was thrown onto the mat. Aelys lay there for a while, panting. "Okay, I think I'm finished for the day."

Damon was so drenched in sweat that his tunic clung to his body. He nodded, too out of breath to speak, and waved her off. Aelys got up and limped her way to the door. Her hair was in a tangled ponytail and her face was red from exertion.

Morgana scurried over to the next room and hid, waiting until Aelys's footsteps disappeared down the hall. Then she entered the training room. A room made of clear quartz with racks of armor and weapons down one wall. The room smelled faintly of cloying flowers, fae sweat.

Damon took off his tunic and patted his face with a towel.

"How come you and Aelys were training so late?" Morgana asked.

"She was too hungover to train earlier. Did you get some sleep? I heard about what happened at breakfast."

"Don't remind me but yes, I did get some sleep. I dozed off while reading a book."

"Well, those romance novels will send anyone off to sleep."

"At least I know how to read."

"Ha, ha."

"Are you sure you're up for another training session?"

"I'm the General of Golah Army, Morgana. Two training sessions won't tire me." He rolled his eyes.

"Then how come I caught you taking a nap in the gardens, two days ago. What tired you out then, brother?"

Damon's face flushed a deep red. "None of your business."

"Was it Lady Scilla?"

Damon threw his sweaty towel at Morgana, and she dodged it with a laugh. "Gross!"

"Okay, enough fooling around. Get into position." Damon pointed to the black mat.

"Aren't you going to put your tunic back on?"

"It's too hot."

Morgana grimaced. "As long as you don't get your sweat on me."

"Many a fae wouldn't mind my sweat on them."

"Ugh, you're disgusting." Morgana shook her head but was pleased that they were back to their usual banter, like nothing terrible had happened the night before.

She went to the mat and took a fighting stance. Without warning Damon spun a kick at Morgana's head, and she ducked, sweeping her leg out at the same time. The kick was a cheap shot on Damon's behalf, but Morgana knew it was because she'd poked fun at Damon for one of his rumored flings. He hadn't introduced Lady Scilla to their parents, nor had he mentioned her to Morgana. But rumors always spread throughout court and Morgana had overheard this particular one from two ladies gossiping near the gardens.

Judging by Damon's reaction the rumors were true.

Morgana grinned as Damon tried to punch her and she dodged it. They sparred for a while; a flurry of punches, kicks, blocks, and swearing. It didn't take long till Morgana became red faced and sweaty.

Twice, Damon tapped her jaw. "Keep your guard up. Remember, you need to protect your face."

Her teeth clenched and she threw everything she had into the spar, even though her muscles burned with fatigue. She needed to get stronger. Morgana delivered a roundhouse kick and her foot collided with Damon's cheek.

He crumpled to the floor.

"Sorry!" She yelped.

He grinned, nursing his face. "That was good."

Morgana's whole body ached, and she longed for a bath. "Are we finished yet? We've trained double the usual time." She patted her forehead with her sleeve.

"Not yet. I promised you more complex training and I intend to deliver. I need to see what you can do when I attack you with an element."

Morgana froze. "Is that safe?" Panic spiked her heart rate. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Morgana didn't want Damon to see how much this scared her. "We've never done that before." She ignored the ringing in her ears. Morgana didn't want to soak up more magic. Even if a fae's element didn't touch her, just being near it was enough for the magical essence to soak into her skin like the sun's radiation. Morgana hadn't even had her elixir yet because she'd been too sick to choke it down. She made a mental note to have it as soon as this training session finished.

"Last night made me realize that I should've trained you with elements since the first attack." Damon got back to his feet.

Morgana gulped, remembering how it had felt when Dain had stolen the air from her lungs. A sick feeling crawled in her stomach. She didn't know if she could face that again. Not so soon after the attack.

"Can you try water magic? It's just ... Alston and Dain mainly attacked me with earth and air. Elvenia lifted my tears off my face, but it wasn't as bad as the others."

Damon stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "If you're strong and quick you could knock me out or get a hit in first." A globe of ice formed in his hand. "Are you ready?"