Born of Flames

Chapter 6 ~ Words of Care

    The first few days of Gaelen's stay were almost worse than Neeri had anticipated. He hadn't approached her since his arrival, but she heard plenty from members of the Cahirim, Vardan especially.

    Apparently when Gaelen and Arlon were together, both males appeared on the verge of ripping each others' throats out. It hadn't happened yet for which Neeri was thankful, but if tensions escalated any further, that might not hold true for long.

    For now, she was simply keeping an eye on them from a training ring nearby. The pair were overseeing a young group of males while she was accompanied by Astrelle, Neoma, and two other females. Neoma and the Ash Fae, Wenn, were running through some basic defense positions with Laina.

    They had been with the Cahirim ever since Neeri and Arlon arrived, but Laina had only recently begun to train with weapons. Before, the Human woman had worked solely as a medic, until her lover encouraged her to learn to defend herself.

    When Laina agreed, Wenn had sought Neeri out and asked for help in training her, but explained that neither of them wanted Laina to be around unfamiliar males. They'd been holding weekly lessons ever since.

    "She's improving," Astrelle remarked, catching Neeri's attention.
   
    She nodded her agreement. "Wenn said they do some training after everyone else is done for the day whenever Laina feels up to it."

    The corners of Astrelle's mouth turned up. "Good. It's important for us to learn to protect ourselves, Humans especially. They were always viewed as the weakest of us...so they were used the harshest."

    Neeri squeezed her friend's shoulder but said nothing. Just as her past had left dark waves rippling through her life, so had Astrelle's. She, Neoma, and Laina had lived in a group of females enslaved to several Corrupted males for many years. That was where the Ash Fae children had come from.

    There might have been many more if Morana and Tarion hadn't come along, enticing the males into battle where each of them met their end. Only Vardan remained and the fact was owed to his absence at the time.
   
    Neeri understood that despite him and Astrelle being mates, they had faced many dangers within the group. Astrelle had not always been left unscathed in his frequent absences, and as a lesser ranking male in the group, Vardan had been almost powerless to protect her without being killed himself.

    She didn't know half of the sacrifices her friends had made to remain together and to keep their daughter safe when she was born, but she was grateful they didn't have to fight so hard now.

    That never deterred Astrelle from training though, and Neeri knew to prepare herself the moment Astrelle dropped into her fighting stance. Both of them brandished swords this time which meant this session would be evenly matched.

    When Astrelle moved, Neeri was ready. Their swords locked in a ringing of steel and they began to trade blows, weaving in and out of each stance with a steady rhythm.

    "Vardan has remarked on the tension between Gaelen and Arlon," Astrelle said as she dipped beneath Neeri's arm and popped up behind her. "Arlon seems especially tense this time. Has something happened between them or between you and Gaelen to set him on edge?"

    Neeri felt the wind from her blade even as she sprang forward to evade it. She shook her head and hoisted her sword up to block another blow. Astrelle cocked her head, meeting her gaze over their blades. "Has something happened between the two of you? Did you tell him how you..."
   
    "No," Neeri interrupted, and shoved Astrelle back a few paces. The female recovered quickly and countered Neeri's stance. "Of course I haven't told him. Do you think he'd still be here if I had?"