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Chapter 6
Rafferty
Rafe had seenEurig’s expression on many a male fae where Bree was concerned. He had seen it on Taveon’s face, and he had seen it on Dagen’s. It was cautious intrigue, inexplicable fondness, and an attraction that was impossible to ignore. And now Eurig wore it as well, gazing at Bree when he did not think anyone wouldnotice.
While Rafe felt no jealously or anger toward his King or toward Lord Dagen, the idea of Eurig with Bree made his blood boil in his veins. For one, he was not part of the Court. And two, relations with the outposts had been strained as of late. Rafe understood Taveon’s desire to bring one of their shapeshifters into the Academy, but they needed to be careful with their trust. Their secrets needed to stay hidden and protected. And Rafe especially could not trust an outposter with Bree’sheart.
Rafe tensed as he glanced Bree’s way. He recognized her expression just as he recognized Eurig’s. He had seen it on her before. The outposter male was making her flustered, and her eyes had more than once sized up his tightly-coiled muscles. Like many of the fae who lived and worked on the outposts, Eurig was built like the thickest trees found in the Forest ofFireflies.
Eurig caught Rafe staring at the two of them, and he arched an eyebrow, his shoulders rippling as his muscles tensed. “Something wrong,instructor?”
“You need to keep better control,” Rafesnapped.
But Rafe wasn’t talk about Eurig’s control over his shift, and they both knewit.
“More control?” Eurig narrowed his eyes. “I’ve been shifting since the day I wasborn.”
“It is all emotion. There is too much anger in it,” Rafe said. Truth be told, Eurig’s shift was strong, but Rafe was still right in his critique. There was a shimmer of anger beneath the surface of Eurig’s skin. If he wasn’t careful to keep it wrapped up tight, the beast within could go wild with rage. And after seeing exactly what kind of creature the outposter transformed into…losing control was not anoption.
“Maybe if you had been raised on the outposts instead of being coddled inside this castle all your life, you would understand what true angeris.”
Rafe frowned, and a spark of anger lit a match in his gut. “Do not presume you know anything about me or my life. Or anyone else inside this castle for thatmatter.”
“Honestly,” Bree said with an irritated sigh. She strode between them and sent each of the males a sharp look in turn. “I thought we were here to train together, not argue over who had a worselife.”
Rafe fell silent and pushed his irritation toward the male fae away. Bree was right. They were here to train. If they were to succeed, they needed to work together instead of against. And it didn’t escape his notice that, out of all of them, Bree was probably the one who had experienced the most pain and heartache in her life. She had been viciously attacked by a Redcap when she had been a human, and she’d been transformed into one herself. At the time, the Autumn Court in the Light Fae realm had used her for the beast within her. And then she’d been dragged to the Dark Fae realm against her will, forced to become Taveon’sslave.
It was a miracle that she’d agreed tostay.
“Enough of the shifting,” Eurig said, grabbing a sword from the weapon rack that hung on the wall just beside the door. He spun the hilt in his hands, wrapping his beefy fingers around the gold. “I propose we have a real fight. One on one. If I win, we call an end to today’s training. If you win…” Eurigshrugged.
Rafe narrowed his eyes, torn between walking away and putting this outposter in hisplace.
“Well, this should be good,” Lyra said, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling wide. “It is not every day you get to watch an outposter and a Wilde Fae duke itout.”
Rafe heard Bree’s wince, though he didn’t see it. He was too busy glaring at the outposter to glance her way, but he could guess the expression on her face. Bright eyes dimmed with worry. Jaw clenched tight. Hands twisting together as she paced back and forth across the stonefloor.
“There’s no need for this, Rafe,” Bree said, voice trembling. “You’re the instructor. You call the shots here. Not him. And he’s a...well, he’s atank.”
“Alright.” Rafe gave a nod and strode over to the weapon’s rack where he selected his favorite sword. It was smaller than Eurig’s but sharper and much more deadly when used with the right technique. If Bree hadn’t said anything, Rafferty would have probably been able to let this go, but he couldn’t let Eurig show Rafe up in front of his female. He just couldn’t help himself. It was instinctual, something that was hard-wired into the very souls of the Dark Fae. Bree washis, and he could not allow another male fae to come across like the winningparty.
Rafe held up his sword and shot a glittering smile at Eurig. “We will fight. And when I win, you will agree to never question my training methodsagain.”
“Agreed,” Eurig said with a tensesmile.
“This is ridiculous,” Bree muttered while Lyra clapped herhands.
“One more thing,” Rafe said, his voice full of steel. “You will also agree that you will not challenge Bree. Not again. We are all a team here. We will not succeed if we fight amongstourselves.”
Eurig was slower to agree to that one. And Rafe knew why. The outposter enjoyed going toe to toe with Bree, a fact that Rafe understood far better than anyone else. He had felt the same when he’d first met her, and Taveon had kept the dance going far longer than he should. But Rafe would not let some outsider come in and mess with Bree’shead.
Finally, Eurig gave a nod. “Agreed.”
Swords clashed when the fight between them began. Rafe grunted at the contact, wincing at the strength the outposter showed. Taveon had been wrong to believe this fae was not trained. He had strength, speed, and skill that Rafe had rarely seen, not even in members of theCourt.
From an outposter? It was hard to imagine. Those fae lived on wooden platforms erected high above the sea. They lived on fish and fresh sea air, and they did not value swords and steel. How had this male come to be so proficient infighting?
Rafe got his sword up just in time to block another blow from Eurig’s sword. But it was enough force to make him stumble back, and his feet tripped underneath him. Rafe caught his balance just in time, blocking another parry and then swinging his own sword for a forceful blow toward Eurig’slegs.
