A Court of Storms and Shadows

Chapter 8 - Cassian

Cassian vaguely wondered if he'd made a mistake when he saw the grin on the woman's face.

Even though she was human, and couldn't be older than 25, and therefore couldn't be too dangerous, he felt like he had played right into her hands. Or walked headfirst into a trap.

He'd given enough orders to get the troops ready, so he could take a few minutes to train with Celaena. She seemed to be here for a reason, so getting her ready for battle was essential as well.

If the woman could fight good enough, they'd have an extra soldier. Cassian wasn't sure how much a singular soldier could change, especially a human, but he had learned long ago that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. You never know, maybe she had hidden talents.

They walked to a sparring ring a bit more to the back. He was very tempted to fly them somewhere else, so they wouldn't gather an audience. He shook his head, they didn't have time to waste.

Celaena walked to the rack with weapons. She picked a few up, weighing them in her hands before putting them back.

Counting several blades on her body, Cassian couldn't really see why she was testing the ones at the rack.

She grabbed an Illyrian sword and twirled it around a bit. Cassian took in her blade and the twirl and concluded that she had been genuinely judging the weapons. He gained some hope, maybe she was actually good, better than she'd led on.

The thought made him frown, she didn't seem like the humble type.

Cassian grabbed the Illyrian blade he wore down his spine and walked into the ring.

"Nice choice," he said.

Celaena walked into the ring as well. "I know." She winked at him, then started to warm up a bit. "Is it always so cold here?"

"Usually," Cassian answered her, before smirking and continuing, "too cold for you?"

She smirked right back. "Nah. What are those stones on your hands? I've seen several people around here wear them, though not as many at the same time as you do."

"Siphons. They help us control our power, turn it into something useful."

A thoughtful look took over her face. Whatever thoughts she had didn't halt her movements as she started to stretch.

"Okay, are you ready to start?" Cassian asked, once he finished his stretches. The wind around them had picked up. Its howling now echoed through the mountains.

He took a short moment to judge the wind's direction and if it was favourable for flying south. If they had good wind, the army could cover quite some ground before setting up a camp again.

Unless the rest came back before they took off, Cassian realised then, he'd probably have to carry Celaena. He frowned. At least she didn't seem heavy.

"Hello? Grumpy? I said yes?" Celaena waved her hand impatiently in his face, almost hitting him when he finally looked up.

"Sorry. Many things going on." He thought he saw some form of understanding pass over her face.

Then he started some drills. Their swords clashed together, again and again, creating a symphony he was so very used to.

He led her through a very basic Illyrian training, defense, attack, and analysis. Celaena didn't seem to be having a hard time keeping up with him, and to be honest, that surprised him. He gave some pointers here and there, helping her adjust her stance and technique.

She picked the Illyrian style up quickly. She wasn't extremely good, but she wasn't bad either, even by faerie standards.

When his drills came to an end, he looked her over swiftly. Celaena didn't look too tired.