Fear of Fire and Shadow (The Fade #1) - Samantha Young Page 0,63

cut out, and the longer they sat talking, the angrier and more hurt I grew. I felt as if a small creature was gnawing on my ribs.

I was jealous.

Hatefully, painfully jealous, and there was nothing I could do about it.

If only there was some way to end my attraction to him. I mulled over this for a moment. There was Haydyn. Once Raj administered the cure and she was well and back to full strength, perhaps she could manipulate my feelings for Wolfe. Make me feel indifferent to him.

I chewed on the idea for a bit before dismissing it. No. Haydyn needed all her strength for the peace evocation.

Well, that was that, then. I just had to avoid Wolfe at all costs.

I stood, smiling brightly, falsely, down at them. “Thank you for tea, Your Grace, but I promised Lieutenant Chaeron I would meet with him.”

“Oh, of course.” Winter smiled at me.

“Good day, Your Grace. Captain.” I managed to meet his eyes before hurrying past.

“Lady Rogan, wait,” Wolfe clipped out.

I spun and raised an eyebrow at his demanding tone. “Yes?”

“Where are you going?”

“I just told you,” I snapped.

Winter raised an eyebrow, and Wolfe glowered. And then as I looked at them pressed together on the settee, I realized I was not only jealous, I was angry. Just two nights before, Wolfe had been kissing me. Now he was romancing his old lover under my nose. I had been right to brush off his attentions as a mistake. It had been nothing but a weak moment during a trying time. Wolfe was nothing but another Jarek.

“I don’t remember any such plans,” Wolfe drawled.

“I want Lieutenant Chaeron to train me. With a sword. Considering what happened. You yourself said it wasn’t a bad idea.”

He frowned. “It’s not. But I’ll train you.”

The thought of him putting his arms around me frightened me. Not because I was afraid of him. Only of how he made me feel.

Weak.

“No, thank you.” Without another word, I spun around and left them to stew in the wake of my rude departure.

Chapter 19

Training with Chaeron the day before had really taken my mind off the Wolfe situation. I was still not amused that Chaeron hadn’t taken my word for it that Wolfe was allowing me to be trained to use a sword and had gone off to ask permission from the man himself. But when he returned, a little sheepish, I decided that learning to fight back was more important than being peevish.

Chaeron proved to be a patient and adept trainer, and I really felt as if I had learned something from him. I now knew how to hold the hilt of a sword properly, which was more important than I gave credence to. He taught me how to use an opponent’s weight and height against them, considering most men were going to be taller and stronger than I was. He could still back me into a corner, but not so quickly as before.

“Lieutenant.” I waved to him as I crossed the courtyard. He and a few other soldiers were already busy at practice. “May I join you today?”

“You’ve come back for more punishment, Miss Rogan?” Chaeron teased.

I raised my eyebrows in mock hauteur. “I’m nothing if not resilient, Lieutenant.”

We smiled at one another before he set about procuring me a sword. We went over a few basics again and he had a few of the men, of different heights and weights, come at me, calling out instructions on how best to deal with their attack.

“See how Smythe keeps attacking low—despite my best efforts to break him of the habit—he’s trying to sneak past your defenses. But now that you know the pattern of his thrust and parry, you can use it against him, sweep up, strike at him as his sword comes at you …”

We had only been training for a half hour when Wolfe appeared in the courtyard. The men hurried to appear vigilant, even though there was nothing to be vigilant about.

“Lieutenant.” Wolfe nodded at Chaeron. “Why don’t you and the men take a break?”

I frowned as Chaeron nodded and gestured for the men to follow him out of the courtyard, dispersing them in seconds. “You just got rid of my sparring partners.”

Wolfe remained expressionless. “Follow me.”

What on haven did he want? Still furious at him, I considered telling him to stick his sword where the sun didn’t shine.

But curiosity won out.

I followed quickly as he led me out of the courtyard and down the stone servants’