field, I still wanted to do a couple of laps before trying to draw out my magic. My hope was that I could show Ryland I was perfectly capable of becoming an Arvaytan Guardian and wasn’t some helpless fae princess.
Before I could make it halfway around the track, Ryland appeared at my side. “Pull your shoulders back, so you’re standing tall, and breathe through your mouth instead of your nose.” He was running next to me as if he’d been there the entire time.
Instead of responding, I followed his instructions, and surprisingly found my chest feeling lighter at the small adjustments. Maybe Ryland was more of a morning person and training with him wouldn’t be so bad.
“Now, head into the building. It’s time to show you what happens when you don’t wait for your trainer to begin.”
Or maybe he was still a jerk.
With a sigh, I did as he said, because at the end of the day, I knew my parents wouldn’t have let him be assigned to the group of people responsible for getting me up to speed if he wasn’t among the best. Just because I didn’t like him, didn’t mean I wouldn’t listen to him.
Well, most of the time.
“When will Jordan and Oliver be here? Or will I be learning from each of you at different times?” I asked, hoping we could find some sort of common ground and not grate on each other’s nerves the entire time.
“Jordan will be here when she feels like and Oliver should be around shortly. I dumped a bucket of cold water on him before I left the house, so I know he’s awake.” He didn’t even crack a smile, which gave me less hope he had any sense of humor.
It was disappointing, mostly because I still found myself attracted to him; even the tick in his square jaw caught my attention. Though, it was likely only because of the Meraki bond. I just needed to do my best to ignore it until we had a chance to talk about our predicament like adults, which didn’t seem like it would be anytime soon.
For the next hour, I worked my ass off trying to access my magic until I couldn’t stand anymore and asked for a break, which was denied.
“You can rest as soon as you’re able to show me your magic,” Ryland retorted after my complaints.
“I’m doing everything exactly how you demanded. Maybe you just have no idea what you’re doing, and I need a different trainer.”
“Listen, Princess, I know exactly what I’m doing, and I’m trying my best to believe the Fates weren’t wrong about all this, which is the only reason I’m still standing here. So, get it together and show me you’re more than a pampered heir to a throne that no longer exists.”
My teeth ground together at how badly I wanted to take his words and shove them so far down his throat he was crapping them out for a month. Instead, I took his challenge and decided to show him the only way I knew how to connect with my magic.
Walking away from him, I headed for the drinking fountain at the wall.
“Don’t walk away when we’re in the middle of training. Giving up isn’t an option,” he yelled, but I ignored him as I took a long pull of cold liquid.
Thankfully, my assumption was right that the water would be drawn directly from the falls, because I could feel the effects as soon as I drank it. The same as when I had taken a shower the night before and when I touched the fountain in order to port to the training field.
Something was broken within me, but I wouldn’t let it beat me. I’d take whatever broken pieces I could and use them to build something great, because that was what strong women did, and I refused to be weak.
When I had inhaled as much water as I could without fear of throwing it up, I turned back to Ryland. His normally tanned face was beet red while his hands fisted at his sides.
Grinning, I thoroughly enjoyed pushing his buttons and I was going to see just how far he’d let me before he retaliated. Recalling the books that I’d read the night before, I drew on the power I’d gathered from drinking the water and called it toward my hand. As I felt the magic build, I tucked my hands behind my back and waited to see if Ryland would do anything about