She heard the regret and could only guess at the source. From her point of view, there were many possibilities—regret he had neglected his Andinna nature for so long and tried to be Elvasi instead, regret for his judgment of them, regret he might have led to other Andinna being hurt.
“Tell me something…” She eyed him—the pretty face, long, pointed ears like a pure Elvasi, lean body and shorter than most male Andinna, dark skin, so unlike any Andinna she had met, his blood-red horns, wings, and tail. “Was that even an option? Were there any Andinna willing to take you into their groups or communities?”
“I never tried to find out.”
“I don’t think you would have found a place with them,” she told him honestly. “You’re too Elvasi for any Andinna slave to want around. In the pits, mutts rarely survived a year. A few times, I saw them last the decade, but they were all like you, part Elvasi, hated the moment they walked into the pits. Were your decisions in the pits poor ones? Probably. But I think they might have been the only real option you had. That’s why I don’t judge you for them.”
“That…thanks,” he said lamely, nodding his acceptance. She was impressed by his ability to listen.
“I killed a lot of our people because I needed to survive,” Mave reminded him. “And while that probably wasn’t the smartest decision at the time…it was the only option I could see. I understand.”
“Between you and Luykas, I finally have people who understand,” he whispered, looking at the spear in her hand. “Do you think you could teach me more about weapons today? Just…information. I want to know more. We spar a lot, and I’m not saying it’s bad, but…”
Mave lifted the spear back to eye level, considering his suggestion. Sparring could wait. He was right; he needed more of a real education, something she needed to facilitate as his warrior.
“That’s fine. There’s a lot we could go over, and if I don’t know the answer to any of your questions, I know Andinna who will be able to answer.” She waved him to follow her back to the shack full of training weapons. Together, they went over every weapon in the shack as Mave explained to him different fighting techniques she had seen over the years, both Andinna and Elvasi.
“Archers are a problem for us,” she said as her fingers trailed over a bow. “I was never very good with it, but I tried my hand at it once. Bows were banned in the Colosseum, thanks to me.”
“Really?” He didn’t believe her, and she didn’t fault him.
“I tried to kill Shadra,” she explained with a small smile. “I was young and inexperienced. If I had spent another decade practicing, maybe I would have hit her, and we wouldn’t be here today.”
“Or we would be dealing with Emperor Lothen,” he countered. “Who was objectively worse. I know you had history with him, but every slave knew he was a monster, thanks to his mother.”
“Good point,” she conceded, acknowledging he brought up a valid point. “Our people might have died out years ago if he’d had power while he was still young. Now, back to the weapons. A bow in the hands of the right Andinna is deadly.”
“Is it possible to fire from the air?” he asked, frowning. “I’ve never seen anyone do it.”
“I have, but it’s not common. The arrows can fall out of the quiver if the Andinna isn’t careful. That’s something we can ask Varon about. He has the best eye in the valley, if not of every Andinna alive. It’s unnatural. He doesn’t miss.”
“Yeah, that priest is crazy,” Emerian agreed, chuckling. Mave liked the sound. “His husband is downright insane.”
“Nevyn is Nevyn.” Mave sighed. “He was considered the best of the Andinna before me. He’s probably still more proficient with most of these weapons. He’s a master like that.”
“But? I hear a but.”
“He can’t beat me when I’m using the morok. He can’t beat me with any of these weapons.” With a shrug, she walked out, letting him follow. “Let’s go look in on training. I know Trevan is training some of the more inexperienced Andinna to fight against the Elvasi. Let’s stop in.”
“Okay. I mean, I sparred with him for over a year, so I think—”
Mave turned back to him, and a simple look silenced whatever he was about to say. She raised an eyebrow slowly, waiting for him to continue. The