Fate had her remain with her father and youngest sister the day the debt collectors came.
It was fate that her father let her go.
It was fate that gave her a new husband, a new home.
It was fate that her younger sister disappeared.
It was fate that...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The following morning began a new routine for the third born Archeron for a few weeks. Iyla would wake early, dress in some form fitting training clothes Mor had kindly purchased for her, and proceed to get her ass handed to her by Cassian or Azriel. They had her running, lifting, and squatting to get her body into shape. Then they would teach her the basics of self defense, how to get away if an attacker does this or that.
Iyla would eat breakfast with her Illyrian trainer or trainers, and they would take her to Amren to help her with her powers. In regards to magic, their first goal only took a few sessions and Amren seemed sincerely proud of Iyla when she not only found her magical core, but was able to feel it and flex it. The ancient fae had been impressed with the depth of her power, but neither were quite sure what she could do with it other than to heal, so they practiced a variety of generic powers. So far, they had learned Iyla could indeed heal wounds, clean and organize spaces, winnow, and change clothing and hair styles with her magic.
For a few days after training with Amren, the High Lord would retrieve Iyla, and they would work together on creating what he called her 'walls' in his office of the Townhouse. As they sat across from each other at his desk, Rhys explained that the walls of her mind were barriers which she needed to build to keep himself and any other Daemati from entering her mind. Rhys wasn't surprised that she accomplished the feat quickly, he told her that it was probably due to the fact that she was constantly having to hide her thoughts and emotions from being read across her face or actions for the past decade. When she imagined them she could see walls made of diamonds that showed like stars surrounding her thoughts and feelings to protect them from intrusion and projection.
After their third lesson, Rhys claimed that her walls were beyond perfect at dinner. At his words, Iyla had an upset feeling within her belly. She felt worried that she would be losing time with the violet eyed man, and that feeling upset her as well. She didn't want her happiness to rely on spending time with a male, but she also didn't want to be away from him. The blonde twin didn't know what was wrong with her, but she came up with a solution that she hoped would help.
The night Rhys had declared her walls were fortified, the Inner Circle gathered for dinner at the Townhouse. Ignoring the conversations of the rest of their friends around her, she looked at him alone. "Rhys, would you be willing to tutor me in court matters? I understood what was happening within the human world. I studied history and politics under my, err, Lord Sieve," she paused as Rhys frowned at the mention of Sieve. "Well, I understood my old world, and I'd like to understand this one. The books you loaned me before I was... Blessed.... They were extremely helpful and interesting. And well, I was hoping you would continue that part of my education. I understand if you're busy though..."
He interrupted her rambling with a smile and she was grateful he didn't tease her immediately. "I would be happy to fill in the holes of your education of the courts, my lady." She grinned at his offer. "I would like to help you on the days you aren't with Amren in the afternoon, or evenings after dinner, if that's amenable."
