Page 89 of Taken By Shadows

“It’s a library?” Didn’t he read? What did he do with this time?

Rutting and gambling seemed more his style of entertainment, according to Kaed. It was unfair to judge without knowing him, but something slithered over my skin around him.

“It’s quite dull, is it not? There are plenty of nicer places I could show you. Ones where you might have some more fun.” His words were like rotten fruit, sweetness tempered with something foul lurking beneath the skin.

I smiled, but it didn’t last on my face. “Maybe another time,” I said, stepping around him.

He made my skin crawl for reasons I couldn’t explain, and I quickly darted from the library stalls and wound down the walkway back to my alcove.

I didn’t care if he thought I was rude. I wasn’t staying to be salivated over.

Pulling a book on coastal regions and family sigils, I found my way back to the cubicle to wile away the sunshine hours of the day and hopefully drown out the thought of Huxley’s lips on my hand.

I tugged at the rounded diamond shape around my neck. The pendant now felt like a weight that might drag me down if I didn’t find its source.

I skimmed the history entries until Denora came up to the nook to find us. Gavrin was back, looking far too pleased to be released from his duties. If I were honest, I was glad of her arrival too. Anything to get out of here. Huxley hadn’t followed me, but his presence lingered in my thoughts. And on my hand.

“Next time, you’re taking this shift,” Gavrin huffed. “And I get to play with swords all morning.” He scowled and left the library without another word.

Audrie looked up from her book to find that Denora stood before her, and not Gavrin as she’d been expecting.

How did she get so lost in her world of words with research like this, I wondered. I could understand when there was a passion behind it. I had gotten lost in my books back home with every legend and story I could get my hands on. But Audrie found reading about rock formations as enthralling as the trees of Crown Oaks, it seemed.

“Care to join us?” Denora smiled down at Audrie as I packed my things.

Maybe it was the sword that hung at Denora’s hip, or maybe it was the teasing smile she wore. But Audrie blushed and, with a flustered flurry, offered some excuse about having to feed Turnip.

She was gone before I could persuade her to stay.

Denora smiled and shook her head. “Is she always like that?”

“Mostly.” I sighed and grabbed the books as we left for the training grounds.

Chapter twenty-seven

“Is there an alternative style of training we can try where I don’t land my ass repeatedly?” I complained as Denora offered me a hand up off the sodden grass. Gavrin’s chuckle was barely stifled behind me. I’d lost count of how many times I’d been knocked to the lawn in just the space of an hour.

Denora was right and continued to be right. I didn’t watch for the details. I wasn’t noticing when she lifted her shoulders before she would swipe with her sword. I didn’t see the shift in her hips before taking a sidestep.

Once she pointed them out, I noticed them. But in the moment, the adrenaline or charge of blood in my veins always got the better of me, and I acted impulsively. Not deliberately.

“You need to slow your breathing but not your mind. You need to steady your thoughts but not stop. Find balance in the flow of the movements. And I don’t mean your feet. You need to allow the ebb and the flow of the dance between opponents to guide you. You’ll feel their rhythm eventually. It’s harder when you don’t know someone’s fighting style, but it’s not impossible. If you know a person, you can anticipate their movements more easily than if you don’t.”

Brushing blades of cut grass from myself, I looked at Denora like she’d just spoken in a dead language.

“Is that all?” I quipped with a cynical sneer.

“Let me show you.” Denora flicked her head to Gavrin.

His hulking form moved to stand between us on the sparring lawn.

“You’re going to fight him?” I said, unable to hide my surprise.

“Size isn’t everything.”

“It’s more than you think.” Gavrin winked.

They swapped out the wooden swords for the ones at their hips, and I quickly removed myself from the fray.