lips when Larvaste swung the axe at Alek, who threw himself out of the arc and countered the strike. They connected with a loud clang, but Ignatius barely noticed.
His whole being was focused on how close Catherine willingly stood. The armor hugged her curves, and the brilliant red of her hair contrasted sharply with the grey mail as it lay in a plait over her shoulder. Those striking green eyes were wide as she watched the Prince battle, and that plump bottom lip quivered when she sucked a breath in at another loud clash.
His arm was close enough to innocuously brush past her breast. When that thought penetrated his desire ridden brain, he snapped out of it and stepped to the side, putting an appropriate amount of space between them.
She didn't appear to have noticed his momentary lapse in judgment and a surreptitious glance revealed no one else had either. Breathing a sigh of relief, he refocused on the men sparring.
I held the pillar tight, my head snapping back and forth as the men and centaurs fought. With my hands occupied it helped to keep my energy from reacting inappropriately as Alek took a blow to the chest that threw him a good distance, almost alongside Sabyn. Everyone paused to see if the armor had stood up to it and when they saw it was good, set back in to the fight.
I'd seen Alek fight against the other guys, and even the General Guard Lieutenants, but watching him fight Larvaste terrified and exhilarated me.
The blows of steel against steel were almost deafening, and a large crowd gathered to watch. When Larvaste swung his axe at Alek again, Alek retaliated by swinging his own and caught the head of the centaur's weapon. Before Larvaste could ride on and wrench it from his grasp, Alek twisted and brought the flat of his sword down hard on Larvaste's grip. The huge axe clanged when it hit the ground and all watching applauded. I jumped when Rumal yelled from beside me.
'Come on, Larvaste, what was that? Are you getting soft?'
The centaur laughed, and Rumal, Daron, and Gredel, all in their new armor, joined Alek and Sabyn. Ignatius was called to have his armor fitted, and the girls joined me at the pillar as we watched the battle rage on. The new armor looked to be getting a thorough testing, as each of the Griffon Guard was knocked down again and again.
The griffons and Sito were among the crowd watching now. Loud cheers rang out as the various supporters rallied for their pick. The earlier sense of fear had left, and now I just watched in awe. Well, awe and admiration. The muscular forms of the men and centaurs were one heck of a display.
'Is anyone else turned on by this?' Kassie asked in a dreamy voice as she watched. There was a pause as I bit my lip, trying not to laugh but foolishly shot a look at Sian and Loi. The three of us doubled up laughing, while Kassie gave us a sly wink and resumed ogling.
By the time they'd tired themselves out, it was almost time for dinner. Making the most of a training opportunity, Elena (who'd shown up during the battle) had all those who'd participated stand in a circle, with one of us girls at each quarter.
'An excellent way to expand your healing skills,' Elena announced brightly.
I shoved the sense of doubt to the back of my mind while focusing. Alek had firm orders to keep his energy in check so we could learn to do it without him, if necessary. The hum of energy filled my mind as I focused on swelling it out over the group. Not being close to the other girls was a little tricky at first, until I thrust an arm out on either side and felt the link. Now came the hard part. With the energy humming, I kept my mind on the soft red light I used for healing and attempted to push it through the group. Nothing happened at first, and I started to sweat from exertion.
Elena called out, 'Girls, you need to look for their energy. Not like yours, but their life force. You need to link to that.'
I closed my eyes and let the energy resonate. I began to sense what Elena meant. Light, like a flickering candle, appeared where each of the men stood. It only took a gentle coaxing for my energy to latch onto theirs.