Warrior's Mind (Book 2 of The Warrior Chronicles)

Chapter 49

"I thought I might find you here."

Leyla let the stick hang by her side, shielding her eyes from the early morning sun with her free hand. When she snuck out to practice a little while ago, she had been certain everyone else was still asleep.

"You're awake early," she said, watching Raphael approach. He was immaculately dressed as always; not a hair out of place, nor a shadow under his eyes to denote the ridiculously late hour they had all taken to their beds.

"And so are you." He looked quizzically at her stick. "What are you doing with that?"

"I couldn't find a sword," Leyla shrugged. "It's a little unsettling that there doesn't seem to be a weapon anywhere inside the central gardens."

Raphael crossed his arms over his chest, looking pleased. "Are you worrying about the defences of the White Gardens?"

Leyla rolled her eyes. "I was just making an observation."

"It makes me happy to see you care," Raphael said seriously, then he was holding out his hand. "I don't have much time before my meeting with the defence minister, but there's something we need to do."

Leyla looked from his hand to the expectant gaze on his face. She didn't want to let him lead her anywhere, but she reminded herself to be docile.

"What do we need to do?" Leyla put her hand in his, following him around the back of the central gardens. The weather was warm despite the earliness of the hour and the birds were wide awake, filling the gardens with movement and music.

Raphael ignored her question, a habit which she was fast getting used to. Instead, he pulled her along until they were walking through a dense forest outside the White garden complex. Many of the tall trees had bits of material tied around them; markers of a sort no doubt. 

It wasn't long before they came to a clearing and she saw that they were at the edge of what looked like a rock pool. A tingle of unease crept into her chest, so she averted her eyes from the water.

"What are we doing here?"

"Don't worry, I promise to go slow." Raphael said as he undid his shirt buttons.

"You'll what?" Unsure what he was saying, Leyla took a step back. "What in Four Kingdoms are you thinking?"

His fingers stilled on the last button, his honey eyes taking in her expression before one sardonic brow lifted in response. "I'm thinking you need to defeat your fear of water before it turns into a fixation."

Had he noticed her discomfort on the journey up? Leyla had mastered her expressions long ago, so she shouldn't have given her feelings away. Even Michael thought that she wasn't affected by what happened.

Raphael undid the last of his buttons, then discarded his shirt. A ray of sun fell over his naked chest. "What did you think I was doing?"

Leyla could feel heat rising in her face.  By Tevvuk's beard, why did she feel so nervous all of a sudden? "Nothing - I wasn't thinking anything." 

With a short laugh, Raphael walked into the pool until he was knee deep, then he turned to face her, "Come on."

"Your clothes..."

"Will dry, as will your dress." He gave her an impatient look. "This is important Leyla.  I know there was no water near the Warrior lands, but there is a lot of it in this Kingdom. Once you overcome your fear, I will teach you how to swim so that you will be safe."

She did not want to go anywhere near the pool, but he was right. Warriors never allowed fear to build lest it made them hesitate and cost their lives. Plus, being able to swim could come in handy once she left. Determined to overcome her wariness she walked to the edge of the water then froze. Memories of rocks and splashing water flashed through her mind, making it hard to draw in breath.