At the time, saying fourteen years old had seemed like a good idea, far enough away that they didn't need to worry about it but close enough that she wouldn't argue. However, now with that date only a few days away to say Cassian was stressed was an understatement. Azriel and Rhysand were better at hiding this than he was, and Keena could see that he was worried, although she didn't voice anything.
Her training with her powers had stopped to an almost halt as Cassian prepared her for the camps.
Whose dumb idea had it been to agree to taking her to the camps? That's right, his.
He'd given her a small knife and sheath for solstice, she had practically jumped on him as she strapped it to her thigh over her leggings.
Mor had tried to get her to wear a dress but to no avail as she'd changed as soon as Mor'd left the room. Azriel had gotten training leathers made to fit her small stature, and Rhys had given her a book-nothing to do with war-with a short letter to one of the camp lords stating she was to start training with the boys.
That had been months ago, now they were preparing to leave for the mountains. Rhysand had put all of their belongings into one of his magic worldly pockets. Azriel and Cassian were armed to the teeth in weapons, more than she had ever seen on a person at one time. They looked like warriors. And Rhysand. He looked like a High Lord, not the sophisticated one she'd grown used to, but one that wore a mask that promised death.
She looked at the men, trying to picture them with the flower crowns she'd continued to make them, or with the dozens of flowers she'd braided into their hair when she grew bored, or the males that had given her lessons for years but never raised their voices.
Cassian knelt in front of her, holding her hands between his.
"Are you sure you want to go?" He asked her one final time. She nodded her head determinedly.
"Kee, when we get there we have to wear a mask. We have to act all mean and scary, and we can't help you once you step in the ring, but that doesn't mean we love you any less than we do now, than we did yesterday, than we will tomorrow."
"I know, but I want to train. I want to prove myself to them." She smiled as she spoke, pulling Cassian into a hug.
"I love you, princess."
"I love you too, dad, and you two too." Rhys and Azriel each took their turns ruffling her already messy braid.
"Now look what you've done, it looks like she's been dragged through a hedge." Cassian untied the string of leather and began redoing her hair.
"Stop, it doesn't need to be perfect. I don't want to look like a little princess, they'll never take me seriously." She strapped the knife to her thigh. Cassian withdrew his hands and messed up her half-done hair.
"Are we ready to go, half the day is already gone. We don't want to be arriving in the dark." Rhysand said. Keena broke away from Cassian bouncing in her feet with excitement.
"Wait, I forgot Mr Bumble." She was halfway to the stairs went Rhysand called her back, holding the old stuffed dog in his hands.
Keena had been given the dog by Cassian when she'd first arrived in the city. He'd takes her into a dozen stores while she cried until finally they had found something that seemed to settle her.
"Thank you, I'm ready now."
Rhysand winnowed them all to the camp, with the help of Mor, who quickly winnowed back to the city, not wanting to be in the war camp any longer than was necessary.
The Illyrian camp was nothing like she'd expected, even with Cassian's warnings she'd never expected it to be so dull, like all of the colour had been drained from the world. She walked in formation behind Rhysand, Azriel and Cassian trailing. She watched from behind Rhysand as another Illyrian approached them. He was older than the males she was with, more serious-looking than she liked. He seemed less content with their arrival as his eyes landed on her.
Keena had been warned about the dozens of prejudices the Illyrians held against the other fae, or just the women in the camp.
"We housed your dog the other week for a camp inspection," the Lord drawled.
"Pleasant to see you Devlon, clear out a house we'll be staying."
"What have you brought into my camp?"
"Keena, meet Lord Devlon. Devlon, meet my protégée, she'll be training with your boys and this is not up for discussion. Put her through any task you deem necessary to test her adequacy." Cassian fought to hold back voicing his displeasure.
"I needn't I remind you that she is mine, and anyone who touches her inappropriately will have that part removed from the rest of their body. Her knife may not look sharp but she has other... qualities." The Lord didn't respond to the threat before turning away back to his soldiers.
"Cassian, show her around the camp. Mainly the training rings, she'll be going there alone tomorrow so I want her to know the way." Cassian didn't hold her hand, or throw her up on his shoulder as they did while they were in the city. He was strictly a general showing a new recruit to their place of training. His steps were long and quick, moving through the camp without looking back to ensure she was following, which she was.
He stopped on the outskirts of the camp, standing on the edge of the training ring, watching as the men sparred each other.
She stayed on the edge of the ring as he entered and began to bark orders at each of the warriors. Each began to fight better as he walked through, inspecting their forms with critiques.
Keena followed one pair that Cassian had walked past without comment, although not because they were perfect.
"Dropped right guard, uneven center of balance," she mumbled to herself.
"Lord Devlon wants the girls cleaning the tents before they're done." She spun at the sound of the voice. Behind her was a boy, close to her age, if not only a few years older, wings tucked in tight.
"I'm supposed to be here," she said, half ignoring him as she turned back to the ring.
"He'll get mad at you and give you lashings if you're not cleaning, that's what he did this morning."
"I was told to come here, not clean. I'd like to see him try to touch me," she didn't get to finish before Cassian barked at her.
"Keena, how would you have done that differently?"
"His guard was dropped on his right side after his attacks, instead of stepping back to begin defence he could have taken another step to make his opponent stumble on the uneven ground," she explained with her head high.
"Why would he stumble, they've been trained on uneven ground since swaddling for a reason?"
"His balance was off, favouring his right leg. I'd guess his leg is injured or still healing from another wound."
"Are you injured?" Cassian barked.
"Not badly, General," the male answered.
"Bad enough that she was able to identify it as a weakness. Go get yourself healed, you're done for today." The two men walked off, many of the other partners having disappeared as well.
"Killian, get in the ring." The boy turned to face the Lord that had 'welcomed' them. The boy scampered into the ring, his head bowed to the command.
"You, girl. Fight him." She looked to Cassian but he offered no protest, despite wanting to with every fiber of his being. She strolled into the ring, rolling her shoulders, stretching her arms over her head.
She unclipped her knife from its sheath and eyes the boy as he plucked twin swords from the rack.
"No magic?" She asked the Lord, who shrugged his shoulders dismissively. Keena wouldn't use her powers, not if she could help it. She didn't want them thinking she was dependant on them. After all that was part of the reason that many of the Illyrians hated Rhysand while he was training.
She watched how the boy walked, how he carried the twin blades, and how his wings were outstretched to look bigger. She took in everything she was able to before his first lunge, analysing how she could defend and counter his attacks.
She was ready for his first strike, swiftly sidestepping the sword's arc.
The sparring was a dance. Moving back and forth, dodging and ducking. Her eyes twinkled as she finally had the chance to fight an opponent that wasn't her family. She drew him in by dropping her left guard for a fraction of a second, earning a small slice in her side. But it was all worth it for the stab she managed to land in his side. His attention shifted to the pain and she swept him off his feet, literally landing him in the dirt.
The Lord called the end of the fight, sending the boy to the healers tent before walking away with a frown.
"We should get to the tent," Cassian suggested quietly. She nodded her head and followed him to a large tent with its flaps closed.
Rhysand, Azriel and Cassian were all upon her as soon as the flaps closed and a shield to silence their conversation was placed.
"Is it as happy as you thought?" Rhysand.
"We can go back if you don't like it." Azriel.
"Although Killian's pride is most definitely wounded." Cassian.
The two men turned to look at their brother.
"What do you mean about Killian?" Rhys's voice sounded as though he was ready for murder.
"Devlon got them to fight, I expect as part of the 'proving herself' part of the talk. But she knocked him on his ass," Cassian said proudly.
"Bad word," Keena said holding out her hand. Cassian slapped a small coin in it that she hid away in her pocket.
"You did that? Of course you did, you're our kid." She'd never heard Rhysand sounding so proud.