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!"
Sabina grunted, lifting the slender sword in front of her. Ry shook his head again. Her stance was terrible. Both feet stood together, the sword held out in front of her like a twig, her hands cupped around each other instead of spaced out on the handle—a child could kill her with that stance.
"Having fun, Rylanne?" Addrick asked, nudging Ry's side with the tip of his boot.
"Loads. My ass is numb, I'm cold, I'm tired, I haven't gone to bed with a women since that damn seer sliced mine and Sabina's hands, and she's making the same damn mistakes every time she picks up that sword. I want to yell at her with Demitra, but every time I open my mouth I cringe, seeing how she looks when she pouts." Ry sighed. "Is it reversible? This bond I have with her?"
"Only by death." Addrick grinned.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Aye, a little. Yer an idiot for doing a bonding ritual with a Wilder ye weren't wed to."
"The seer didn't say anything about me feeling what she feels!"
"Then yer an idiot for not asking and an even bigger idiot for doing something without knowing if there were repercussions."
"I love our talks. You're always so cheerful and polite," Ry said.
Addrick sat down beside him, pulling a knee to his chest. His eyes followed the fight between the two women, one corner of his lip twitched whenever Sabina screamed. Ry wasn't sure if the smile was from amusement or something else. The two sat side by side, listening to the clank of metal and the grunts of an angry Princess.
"Where's Kira?"
"I wore her out." Ry frowned and Addrick smiled with a wink. "Relax, Rylanne. I have not bed her . . . yet."
"It's none of my business who she beds, but remember if you hurt her—"
"Aye, ye will castrate me and shove it down my throat. She is resting because she used a lot of magic today. Our magic isn't endless, sometimes it can be overdone. She'll be out for the rest of the night, I'm sure. I pushed her hard, but I think she's ready. Her confidence is back and that was her biggest problem. Killing Astrid's tribe broke her."
Ry nodded. "I think we should head to Osarwin as soon as Kira is awake."
"Judging by Sabina's swordsmanship, she's not ready."
"It doesn't matter."
"Rylanne, we really should—"
"Addrick, look at the sky. You've been in New Calandria longer than I have, when was the last time it rained? Didn't you say the fairy magic keeps the temperature constant? We haven't been here long but this is the first time I wished I had a cloak. Does that look like a friendly sky?" Ry pointed to the lightning cracking through the clouds. Thunder shook the ground. "You might think I'm an idiot, but something is happening. Myra told us to go to Osarwin, so that's where we need to go. Between you, me, and Kira, we'll keep Sabina safe, as safe as she can be given these circumstances."
Addrick snorted, leaning back on his hands. The Wilder tilted his head, staring up at the sky. Wind whipped the growing strands of his hair around, beating them against his face. Ry creased his brow, watching Addrick's growing hair shift in the wind. He touched his own hair hanging unmoving over his shoulders, his eyes lifted to Demitra next. Her braids were also being blown around by the wind ripping through the clearing.
"Why isn't my hair moving?"
Addrick smiled, but didn't look at Ry. "Because the magic in yer hair is wearing off. It'll no longer act like real hair. Eventually it'll fall off and leave behind yer real hair."
"Thank the Gods. I'll no longer look like a girl."
"I don't know, I think it improves yer looks."
"She's impossible," Demitra said, sitting to the other side of Ry.
"I am not! I'm trying the best I can."
"We should leave her when we go to Osarwin. If we come upon Zarich the Princess will hold us back."
"Nay, we can't," Addrick said. "Osarwin is our best chance of getting her magic back without the one who bound it. As much as it pains me to say this, Rylanne is right. We should move when Kira wakes. There's a storm coming when there shouldn't be."
Sabina shivered. Ry felt her chill with the quake of her arms. He could sense the goose bumps rising on her skin, no longer protected by the sweat and heat of a fight the cold wrapped around her. She hugged her arms to her chest, rocking on the balls of her feet and doing a small hop in place. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the way she nibbled on her lower lip to keep her teeth from chattering. A hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Best not to fight the bond with her," Demitra whispered. "It doesn't mean you have to be in love with her, but the more you fight it, the worse it'll get. This connection with her calls to you as it calls to her. The difference is, she's not fighting it the way you are. I think she's rather enjoying it, actually."
"How can you possible know that?" He winced.
Demitra shrugged. "I'm a woman. There are some things men don't pick up on that we do." She smiled, standing and heading back to the makeshift village the Wilders had set up at the base of Dragons Vale's entrance. Addrick grinned, following behind her. With one hand, Ry waved Sabina closer to him. He could sense her trepidation before her feet moved forward, carrying her to the ground between his legs. Ry wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. Her heart thumped in eradicate beats. His arms rose and lowered with her breaths, her round fingers rested against his forearm, twitching with her nerves. Hair brushed his cheeks, filling his nose with the scents of her berry shampoo. It made him nervous how comfortable it was to hold her in his arms without having the desire to rip her clothes off.
"Demitra's right," he said, coughing to clear the crack in his voice. "I know you're trying, I can feel your frustration, but you're holding the sword wrong when you fight. Instead of waiting to counter, you lunge and show your hand in a fight. She's trying to help you gain enough training to stay alive."
He grabbed the sword from where she'd left it. Kira's father had forged the sword himself, at least that's what Emma had said. Its handle was made of black animal hide. To the touch, it was rough with a natural grip for the hand. Cherry shined through the diamond shapes evenly spaced until vanishing at the guard before blade. The polished blade show no nicks, Kira and Emma both seldom used it, but often took it out for regular maintenance. Ry placed one hand at the top of the handle and the second toward the bottom, holding it out in front.
"You're correct to use both hands, but you hold it between your palms like you're holding a ball. Instead you should space them out like this. It'll give you more speed in your thrust. This weapon is all about the speed. Heavy swords can do great damage, but the opponent is slow. Keep the grip gentle, don't white knuckle it. Make it an extension of your hands and arms. The blade should slice through the air without effort."
Sabina took a deep breath. Her hands slide around the back of Ry's, covering them. His lips flickered in a smile, but he shook it off. The size of her hands were like that of a doll, they were soft, not a callous marking them. They were the hands of a Princess who hadn't had to work a day in her life. What little sword play she had, had formed blisters on her palms, the only imperfections he could see. Ry liked her hands. Of all the women he'd been with, none had hands as soft as her. A single mole stood behind her ear. Ry closed his eyes, trying to ignore staring at the beauty mark.
"Why didn't she say it like this?"
He opened his eyes. "She did. You have a problem with listening, however. Stand up."
"It's cold, aren't we following the others? I'm tired, I thought I could—"
"Stand up!" He kept his voice firm. If she wouldn't heed to anyone else, he hoped she'd listen to him.
Sabina groaned, lifting away from Ry's warm embrace. He followed her, nudging her toward the training ground. Droplets of rain fell, not enough to drench them, but enough to make the air colder. Ry didn't bring either of the swords Demitra had recovered for him, but that didn't mean he couldn't still help Sabina. He handed her the sword, forcing her hands into position on the handle.
She bit her lip again, he felt her pulse racing under his touch. Ry knelt down, running his hands along her legs. He pushed her left leg to slide backward, giving a narrow gap between feet. Sabina's arms trembled when Ry rose to stand behind her, his hands stroking her arms. Arms that matched her hands, smooth and flawless. There weren't many muscles to her, most of the meat came from her slightly plump frame. He resisted the urge to inspect her other feminine assists.
"There are many stances you can take when sword fighting, I find keeping your feet apart gives better balance, but you don't want them too far apart. Shoulder length is a good distance, keeping your feet on the ground whenever possible. Glide instead of step. Keep loose, but above all, remember to breathe." One hand rested on her stomach, muscles flinched within her. "Inhale, exhale, as normal as possible. Let the sword be a part of you. If you keep your wits about you, you'll see the way your attacker moves their feet."
"What does it—"
"Shut up and listen to me before you ask questions." Ry returned his hand to her arms, bending her elbows. She turned her head; he could hear her swallow when his chest pressed against her. "It's important to learn how to gauge your assailant, their movements, their habits, everything can be an advantage. In a battle you won't always have time, this is true, but you still have to stay in the moment. Focus on your surroundings, assess the situation, that means as much to your survival as the strength with which you wield this sword. Where Demitra went wrong was that she started attacking you before giving you a moment to practice on your own. Learn the stance, learn the sword, and most important breathe."
Ry's fingers slid along the delicate contours of her arm, moving to her shoulders and down to the mid of her back. One hand remained on her chest, the other pressing into her back, forcing her to stand straight. He felt her heartbeat beneath his palm resting above her cleavage. Ry's own heart joined hers in unison. She looked at him, her chin pressing into her shoulder, teeth continued to bite down on her lower lip. He knew what she was thinking, but he tried to ignore it. Focusing only on improving her stance.
"Keep the elbows bent, close to your body. It will lessen the arm strain. Now, swing forward in a downward arch. Practice your movements without worrying about an opponent. Do that until you can swing a perfect attack."
He stepped back, watching her move. At first she fought against his instructions, ignoring them. Feet stumbled, elbows straightened, she looked more like an animal trying to break free of a trap. Eventually her feet moved in to place, gliding against the grass rather than stepping. Swings of her sword were clumsy, ungraceful, but her elbows remained bent. Air cut along the blade, singing in a soft chime. Ry had trained his sisters to use a sword, but they had the luxury of watching him and Kira spar. Sometimes it was hard to remember Sabina had no training aside from how to be a lady. Her attitude reminded them often enough. He clapped his hands when she completed several swings of her sword without faltering.
"I did it?" Sabina asked stopping to face him.
Ry nodded. "You did it."
She squealed, lunging toward him. The sword dropped to her side when her arms wrapped around his neck. Ry stumbled back when her lips met his. He froze in place, her soft lips slipping over his in a clumsy kiss, hands teasing the base of his skull. Ry's body urged him to return the kiss, but his mind begged him to push her away. He closed his eyes, letting her warm body press against his, his hands rested on her side. Her lips tasted like the strawberries she had for breakfast, tiny nose frosty to the touch slid against him. Sabina's hands trailed along the curve of his spine, moving to the hem of his tunic. His muscles tightened, her cold hands brushing the skin under his tunic. She lifted the fabric, getting it to the mid of his back before he realized what was happening.
Ry opened his eyes, pushing her away. She gasped, raising a hand to her lips, a blush tinted her cheeks. Her eyes stayed downcast to the ground.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what overcame me."
Ry inhaled, stepping toward her. One hand cupped under her cheek, tilting her head to look at him, her eyes followed. His fingers brushed her cheek. Ry looked into her blue eyes, they were kind when they weren't irritating everyone around her. He didn't see a Princess in those eyes. Nor did he see a Wilder. All he saw was a young woman scared for giving in to her desires. For him, doing the rejecting was unfamiliar territory.
"Sabina, I like you, I do. And I can sense you liked me even from before our magic bond. If you were any other girl, I'd have taken you to bed with me right now. But you're not. We're connected now, in ways I don't understand. To hurt you would break me. I need to sort through these feelings, understand them. How much of what I feel is because of our bond and how much is genuine affection? It's not easy to reject you, trust me on that one. I'm not happy unless I'm in the throngs of passion with a woman. The feel of her breasts, her bare thighs, down to the way her hair hangs in her face—those excite me beyond compare." He leaned in, kissing the center of her forehead. Instead of pulling back, he remained close, pressing his forehead where he'd kissed. "It wouldn't be fair for you if I accepted your feelings without understanding my own. Because I know you, you're not a face in the crowd. You're Sabina, the Princess lookalike and Addrick's sister of all people. I won't let you be a notch on my belt unless I know you'll be the last."
Ry adjusted the strap to his swords, following Addrick and Kira marching ahead. Their hands were linked together, arms moving back and forth in a prefect sway. Neither had a weapon, Kira had let Sabina keep her sword until they could awaken her magic. Ry smiled, they could've been any other couple in the world under different circumstances. Instead they had become warriors by default.
Kira had slept for two days, recovering from the magic exertion. Addrick had kept his word, they left the moment she woke up, barely allowing her time to eat or bathe. Sabina kept close to Ry's side, Demitra pulling up the rear. She refused to stay behind, thinking they'd need another capable. There they were, the four of them trudging through grass and mud, braving the rain which hadn't lessened since it started. The storm frightened the Wilders, they expected weather outside of New Calandria, but never within it. Nobody had an answer as to why, even the fairies that came to Dragons Vail with the Wilders were at a loss.
"How much farther?" Sabina kept her voice low, Demitra had already snapped at her once.
"Not much farther," Ry said. "We've been walking for over three days already. Addrick said it was about a four day walk, within a copse of trees at the base of the northern wall in Dragons Vail. If we're not there by night fall, I'm sure we'll be there tomorrow."
"Aye, we're almost there. It should be over this hill," Addrick said. He stopped walking, pulling a water pouch over his head. Sabina sat on a fallen long, rubbing her legs. Addrick passed the water to Kira.
"Do you need a rest, Sabina?" Kira asked after her drink, handing the pouch to Ry. He carried it to Sabina.
"No, I'm all right."
"I told you we should leave her behind." Demitra crossed her arms, leaning against a tree, drinking her own water.
"Leave her alone, Demitra. She's doing fine," Kira said. Ry sat beside Sabina, brushing her back with his hand. Her cloak was drenched, sticking to her body. She hadn't complained, not like she did during their first journey together. Not even Addrick was riding her as hard as Demitra, Ry didn't understand why. All of them were just as cold and wet and tired as Sabina. They had stopped little since they left the other Wilders. "I could use a break, even if Sabina doesn't."
Kira sat on a rock, pulling her boots off to ring out her water drenched socks. Addrick dug through a satchel to retrieve a small loaf of bread, they'd eaten most of it. Without horses they didn't carry many provisions. A three days journey wasn't much and the Wilders knew to come looking for them if they didn't return within a week. Ry would've preferred more than a loaf of bread and some meat with them in case something went wrong, but more weight would've slowed them.
Wind howled through the towering trees, spraying the droplets in their faces. Ry tugged on collar of his cloak, pulling the hood over his head. He'd lost most feeling in his hands from the brisk air, even with wearing thick woolen gloves. Sabina leaned in to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Water dripped from the hood of her cloak, rolling along her cheek like tears.
"We'll be there before nightfall. There is shelter in Osarwin. I can't vouch for the state it's in, but it was built for young Guardians who used to pilgrimage there. If ye can hold out a little longer, Sabina, ye will be much warmer."
"I said I was fine," Sabina said through chattering teeth.
"Yer body says otherwise. Though I can't fault ye, my body feels the same. I'm using magic to keep me warm, but it is hardly enough."
"What exactly are we going to find there?" Kira asked.
"Do ye remember back in Astrid's tribe, when we were connected through magic? That was Osarwin. Within Calandria it was another village, tribe if ye will, where most Guardians called home. In some ways it was Calandria's capital."
"But there were no buildings, just statues."
"Aye," Addrick said. "The buildings were below those statues sitting atop a mountain's summit. That peak is where the gate was created, separating Calandria from the world. New Calandria was built around the Osarwin we're going to now."
Kira frowned. Ry recognized the creasing brow, the way her nose bounced with the shifting of her puckered lips. Gears were turning inside her head. Her eyes connected with his, though she said nothing. Often Ry's mom thought they communicated through their own language the way they stared at each other without speaking and come out knowing what they thought. Ry could read her like a book, and this was one of those times.
"We should get moving," Demitra said.
"Aye. Push a little farther, when we get there we'll have plenty of time to rest while we figure out what Myra wanted us to find." The two Wilders gathered themselves and returned to their march north. Kira held back.
"What are you thinking, Kira?" Ry asked.
"Something doesn't feel right. The whole deal with the Guardians sealing Calandria, I get were supposedly more powerful than normal Wilders, but how can they seal off an entire world? Not only that, but wouldn't you think they'd have it more heavily guarded? From what I understand Dragons Vail is unpopulated except during the dragons mating season. Yet Dragons Vail holds the place which is probably the most important spot in the Wilders history. Why aren't there tribes all over it, protecting Osarwin? When I saw Osarwin the statues were amazing, they were stone giants making me feel like a spot on a cloth, but if we're this close to Osarwin, why doesn't anything in these woods look amazing?"
"It's been a long time since the Guardians sealed Calandria, things could've changed by then," Sabina said.
"I suppose."
Sabina turned, still shivering, and followed Addrick and Demitra. Ry hung back, watching his friend stare after them. She shook her head, brushing a clump of soaking hair out of her face. Her head tilted back, allowing the rain to fall over her face.
"Do you think we're in danger?"
Kira shook her head. "No, I don't think Myra would send us here if there were dangers. But I don't think Osarwin is what Addrick and Demitra think it is."