today. Me and you. You need a friend, and Skies damn it, I’m going to be that friend. Even the people at the bottom don’t deserve to be alone.” There was an honest, earnest expression on his face as he spoke, and a smile she didn’t deserve.
He should hate me. He should want me to leave. He should be making my life miserable because of what Leria did.
But he doesn’t.
“Okay,” she said. She knew he could never know about how she really felt seeing him with the king.
For the first time in her life, she had wanted.
10
Mave
Word traveled fast. Mave had told Emerian okay, and he told Trevan and Dave. Trevan probably didn’t tell anyone, but Dave mentioned it to Alchan and Luykas when they were in their first morning meetings. Nevyn and Varon had heard, sending word to Kian, who was supposed to be spending the day with Senri. He ran to tell Gentrin at the armory and Willem in the dining hall. Luykas told Matesh, Zayden, and Brynec.
By the time midday was approaching and she had worked Emerian into exhaustion, they were all there, watching.
“Keep going, we’re not done,” she said as he went through each attack and defense movement, his face focused on doing it right. She had spent half the morning correcting his form. When he realized she wasn’t going to let that go, he had listened. “Ignore them. They’ve all done this for someone in their life. Training isn’t just sparring until you win. Training is making sure each move is muscle memory. Training is understanding the mind of an opponent. Training is tenacity and making sure your mind and body can go further than the enemy’s. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” he said with a grunt. “You said this would be hard.” He didn’t sound defeated. If anything, there was something a little cocky in the way he said it. It made her want to smile.
“I did,” she agreed, watching him go through one more. “You’re strong, but you lack stamina. Battles can rage for a day or more, where sleep is scarce, and attacks are constant. Your form isn’t terrible. You told me someone walked you through this before, and when I caught you doing stuff wrong, you corrected without complaint. That’s good. We don’t have time to argue.” He finished the last swing, supposed to be a death blow in his imaginary fight. Before he could get back to the first position, she raised a hand. “You’re done. Good work. Let’s see what everyone wants.”
He fell onto the grass, his arms out and the morok lying harmlessly beside him, panting. She chuckled and headed for the crowd, where they congregated around where she and Emerian had dropped their waterskins.
“You really needed to be that rough on him for his first day?” Nevyn asked, chuckling as she grabbed her skin, and Trevan picked Emerian up from the field. She picked up Emerian’s, too, to keep it from getting stepped on.
“Yes,” she whispered. “He’s not seriously injured. He’s tired. His body will learn as everyone’s does. And…I needed to know he’s serious.”
“I’m not faulting your logic, but it seems a little deeper than that,” Nevyn said softly, then lightened up again, grinning. “At least there will be one warrior who might figure out how you’ve gotten so good over the last couple of seasons. There’s hope for the rest of us.”
“You’re still on about that?” she asked, frowning. “Keep hoping.” She turned on her husbands, ignoring her curious king, and kissed each of them. When Emerian and Trevan were close, she tossed his waterskin in their direction. Trevan was fast enough to catch it and even opened it for Emerian. “You can head off, Emerian. Grab lunch, and we’ll meet here again for more. Nothing too strenuous.”
Finally, she looked at Alchan.
“You took on a nemari and didn’t even bother to ask me for advice,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I’m the only person in the camp who’s had one except Seanev.”
“Well…you slept with yours,” she pointed out. “I didn’t think your advice was going to be all that great. I understand that sword work is important, but…”
The laughter that erupted around them was friendly. Luykas even elbowed his brother in the ribs as Alchan fought a smile.
“If it helps, I didn’t ask Seanev, either.” She shrugged, smiling.
“In an odd way, yes, it does,” Alchan admitted. “You know, he leaves the day after tomorrow. I have a meeting with him after lunch if you care to step