stardust chords | the darkling

5 | WINTER FETE

WHERE IS THE SUN SUMMONER?

Aleksander was trying to kill Ithaca. That had to be it. Because why else would he have removed his shirt during training, revealing a smooth and defined chest that was shining in the morning sun with a thin layer of sweat? Ithaca wanted to kill herself every time he adjusted her body to correct her form.

Okay, maybe she was being dramatic, but Saints, he was perfect and he fucking knew it.

But Ithaca was nothing if not spiteful, so she removed her own kefta, leaving her in a simple chest covering, exposing her own skin to him. She almost didn't hear the groan Aleksander let out when she sat the black kefta to the side. He decided then and there that the only thing better than seeing her in his color was seeing her out of it.

"Your movements are harsh and not thought out," he was saying, not that she was particularly paying attention. How could she when he'd come up behind her, his chest grazing her back. "If you take an extra moment, you can put more control behind them."

"An extra moment in battle is the difference between life and death," she argued.

He sighed as he always did when she argued with him. "Just try it. See if you can feel the increase in power."

She rolled her eyes as if he was wrong and then performed a similar move to when she'd killed the Drüskelle at the ambush. But rather than half-hazardly throw out her hands, she took a moment longer to concentrate on summoning the starlight. And fuck, if the tiny shards didn't fly all the way through the bark of a tree and out the other side rather than stopping halfway through as they usually did. She could already imagine using it on the enemy, and Kirigan could see the look in her eyes.

"Told you so," he murmured, lips brushing her ear.

She scoffed and rammed her elbow lightly into his stomach before moving away from him to grab some water. Then he beckoned her forward once more, requesting a fight — a non lethal one, meaning neither would be summoning. His excuse was that it was keeping his own combat skills fresh to go up against someone as skilled as she was.

"I want to ask you something," he said while dodging one of her punches. They always talked during their fights, using the excuse of learning not to get distracted. It certainly wasn't because they wanted to get to know each other better.

"Ask away, General," she said while jumping up, missing his ankle as he tried to kick her legs out from under her. Then she spun and landed a firm punch on his gut.

"Last night. I want to talk about what happened," he said before catching her oncoming punch and turning her in his arms, keeping her trapped to his chest.