Guardian of Calandria | ✔️

Chapter Twenty-One

           Metal on metal clanged through the night. Wind howled through trees, shaking branches full of browning leaves. Clouds, illuminated by streaks of lightning, concealed the stars and moon. Ry leaned against the trunk of a tree, staring at the dancing electricity with a frown. Since they arrived in New Calandria he couldn't remember a time where the weather wasn't perfect, even at night. Now, with every crack of illumination, a chill filled the air creating unrest within Ry's stomach. He tore his eyes from the storm filled sky to the sound of Sabina screaming. She dropped to her knees, favoring one arm.

"Dammit." She struggled to force her legs to a stand, picking up Kira's sword from the tall blades of grace.

"You're doing fine, Princess."

"Don't patronize me, Demitra. I haven't won a sparring session."

Demitra laughed. "And what did you think? That you'd pick up a sword and rule the world?"

Sabina snorted.

"Sorry, Princess, but that isn't how the real world works. In the real world people don't cater to your whim and allow you to win."

"Stop calling me Princess. I'm not a Princess anymore, I'm a Wilder."

"Until you stop acting like a Princess, expecting everything to work for you instead of against you, you're a Princess. Your blood may make you a Wilder, but you have to earn the right to be considered one by me."

"I'm here, I'm learning to fight, and I haven't whined once, what more do you want?"

Ry shook his head, tuning out the rest of their fight. He'd gotten bored of their sparring session an hour earlier, but he couldn't pull himself away. Often he'd tried. Wilder women came by, beckoning him with them. He'd get up to follow, get a half mile from the clearing where Sabina and Demitra trained, before he'd feel a tug at his stomach. He'd blink and see Sabina's face or feel the sting of pain in her chest. Her jealousy drew him back.

Ry often had women desiring him, he invited it, but he wasn't used to knowing their feelings. Worse yet, he wasn't used to caring what they felt. He was never an ass to women, he treated everyone with respect, but he never concerned himself with their feelings. Before the Seer mixed their bloods using magic, Ry had never thought about Sabina the way he did other women. But now it was different, now he was bound to her by magic. He could think of nothing but keeping her safe, keeping her happy. Ry didn't get the same rise from other women as he used to.

And he hated magic for that.

He ground his teeth, fisting his hands. Sabina's sword swung at Demitra, missing and sending the Princess lookalike to her knees. She screamed again, bouncing to her feet and lunging at the Wilder. Ry shook his head. Sabina wasn't listening to a word Demitra said. Instead of being patient, analyzing her attacker's movements and style, dancing with their blades, Sabina wanted to lead the charge. It was exhausting her. Without the training of a swordsman, Sabina didn't have the luxury of attacking first and thinking later. Each of her movements had to be calculated, her attacks and defense dependent on whom she battled. She had to counter, take the moment given to her. Ry laughed, watching Demitra's blade cut against Sabinas shoulder, drawing blood.

"Will you stop trying to use force against me?" Demitra knelt beside Sabina, rubbing her hands over the wound and healing it with magic as she'd done with every wound that came before it. "You're not strong enough or skilled enough to beat me with sheer force. Study me, find the tells I give that say when to strike."

"If you think Rodyn will wait for me to find his weak spot, you're an idiot!"

Demitra cursed, kicking the Princess lookalike in the stomach. "Are you even listening to me? We're not teaching you to fight Rodyn, we're teaching you to survive. There isn't enough time to teach you the skills needed to take on Rodyn, or Zarich, or harpy which might be following Zarich. The only thing we can do is teach you to counter an attack and survive. It takes months to get to the level in which I, or Ry, fight. Now pick up your sword and counter my attack. Find my weakness!"