No More Choices (Void and Light Book One)

Chapter Twenty-Five

~Akiriya~

I walked with Emory to the training yard with three goals in mind. Number one was to figure out who out of the people out here I could trust with my life. Number two was figuring out how I was going to deal with an upcoming war. And three, I needed to find out how to get the small silver box open without anyone around. Everyone had wanted me to open it last night, so that we could find out what was inside it but I had insisted on waiting. I'd told them that I'd had enough revelation for one day and we all dispersed for some sleep.

I'd woken up this morning with Emory and Saffron chatting in my room on some couches. They'd been oddly friendly since we'd gotten here and it was starting to freak me out. Yama had still been out when I went to check on him. The color was coming back to his face and I was happy about it. He was getting better and I couldn't wait to find out if he was okay. I needed to confront him and thank him. He'd saved my life.

We got to the end of a long hall that led to the outside of the castle. Two guards in the palace's golden armor stood at the doors and bowed.

"Royal Daughter, it is a pleasure to meet you," one of them said softly.

I flustered and didn't know what to say. Emory saved me by thanking them and rushing out the door when hundreds of people sparred, ran, and worked out. They were training their bodies for battle. A large group of men in red shorts and white tank tops stood cheering around an area. We wore similar outfits but the fabric was softer and the red shorts were shorter, coming up to about mid thigh. I admired Emory out of the corner of my eye. Her dark hair was in a stylish but messy ponytail, her tank top clung to her form, and the shorts looked fantastic on her. I was wearing an outfit similar to hers. The only difference was that my pants were lined with gold and made of some sort of silk like material.

I tugged on the hem of Emory's tank top and motioned over to the group, "What's happening over there?"

She tilted her head and considered, "It's probably the men sparring with Ethen Basilah."

"You say his name like I didn't just get here."

"It would be easier to show you, rather than explain."

We walked over to the group of people and as we made our way over people stopped what they were doing to look at us. Some whispered among themselves while others just watched. It was an area that looked to be all male and yet they were gossiping like a bunch of high school girls.

When we got to the group we pushed our way through to the front and watched as two men battled it out with swords. The first man was a tall tanned specimen with a lot of scars and dark hair. He was solidly built and barely looked like he was breaking a sweat. He was solid in the way that you would expect a warrior to be. Power and strength radiated from his very being but he moved like liquid. The man that he was fighting on the other hand was small and lithe. He looked more like a dancer than a fighter but his attacks had a deadly precision to them that spoke of hidden skill. He was pale and lean with white hair that curled on the ends and clung to his sweaty face.

They looked evenly matched until the dark haired man got the upper hand. He struck out at the smaller man with his sword but at the last second pulled back and kicked him in the gut. The kick launched the man onto the ground and he was stuck like that, gasping for air. The men in the crowd cheered loudly. Clapping for the tanned man.

I was amazed and I wanted to fight. "Who is that?" I asked, pointing to the victor.

"Weren't you listening before?" Emory rolled her eyes.

I shrugged and smirked, "I'm bad with names."

One of the onlookers interrupted us and said, "His name is Ethen Basilah, rumor has it that he wants the role of head guard for the princess so he put out a challenge."