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“I guess,” I mutter. “It makes sense, but I still want to track the beasts’ movements better for the future.”
Talodus nods. “Then ask Connak to teach you how to hunt them. The land speaks to you, so you should be able to do something similar to what he does.”
“That’s a great idea,” I mumble before taking a sip of cool water.
The temperature catches me off guard, but it shouldn’t.
That was one of the first tricks I learned to do with my power, though at the time, I didn’t know I was doing it. If I wasn’t so aware of how in tune I am to my element, I would swear the water was cool because the canteen was against the post, angled to sit in the shadow and out of the sun.
“I know,” Talodus sarcastically agrees, grinning at me. “And I’m offended that you think I would give you a bad idea.”
“You give me plenty of bad ideas.”
He steps away from me. “No. Don’t do that. I still have to train with the—Madigan, and the last thing I need is to hear that tone from you.”
I smile at him. “I bet you have a spare minute or two.”
Rin pitches the bridge of her nose. “I’m so torn. Is it immature if I say gross? But also, a minute or two? You’ve seriously got to raise your standards, Ada. Or he needs to practice more.”
“I wish I did,” he says with a sigh, ignoring our company. “Madigan is right on time, so we’ll pick this up later. Without Rin’s commentary.” Then he turns to his friend. “A minute or two for her. We weren’t talking about me. That’s what happens when you join conversations without being invited.”
“Right.” Rin snorts. “I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing what I now know.”
Talodus drops a quick kiss to my cheek before he meets Madigan at the training yard’s entrance. I wave to her as they pass, but she doesn’t return the gesture.
“She’s still mad at you?” Rin quietly asks as we watch the start of Madi’s first training session.
“It’s going to take more than one apology and a few days to stew on the past for her to entertain forgiving me. I didn’t apologize for what I did, just what I said.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not sorry. Pushing her away led us both to a second chance at life. But I won’t pretend to understand what she went through without me.”
Rinya huffs as she pushes away from the fence. “I kind of like her. She’s feisty, even for a Shade.”
“They couldn’t beat that out of her,” I whisper. “Though some have tried. I’m happy to see she’s still herself after everything she’s been through.”
“Everyone changes when they stay, Ada,” Rin murmurs, frowning at me. “You were in over your head, drowning and overwhelmed, but rolling with the punches. You changed for the better, but some don’t. Check on her before you assume she’s still herself.”
Rin doesn’t wait for me to reply. She jogs toward Talodus and Madigan, ready to get our Shade guest in fighting shape.
I only stay for the first few minutes, observing Madi attempt to throw punches or dodge Rin… The pixie of a guard is just too fast for the future Shade queen. Talodus swaps places, his hands moving much slower than I remember from our first session.
But Madigan struggles.
I can’t figure out why the lessons aren’t clicking for her.
I’ve seen her fight. It’s not that she can’t do what they’re asking of her... But it’s almost like... Like she doesn’t trust herself to strike back. Or it could be that she doesn’t trust that she can hit back. As if there’s some catch to the Shade hitting the Mongrel.
Her feeble attempts make me uncomfortable, so I venture away from the arena, thinking possibly it’s just me making her uneasy.
And then I hope… Just hope.
That she hasn’t lost herself while she’s been alone.
That she hasn’t given up before she’s gotten started.
That she fights for her second chance at life, the one she deserved all along.
