“Arghhhhh!” I scream, every muscle in my body screeching from pain.
“Don’t waste your energy screaming, Eira,” he says calmly, as if he doesn’t have a lake’s worth of water barrelling down on me. “You’re supposed to be conserving it.Think. Think creatively, if you can’t beat me with brute force, what else can you do?”
Sweat burns my eyes, but out of the corner, I see Master Tavyn standing to the side, unprotected, too busy focusing on the water spiral he’s pressing down on me.
I’m about to use the very last of my magic to hurl a water lasso towards his legs to pull him off balance when I hear a voice in the background.
“Whatthe fuckis going on out here?”
I glance up to see Rylan storming toward us, his eyes blazing with fury.
“That is enough!” he shouts and I see it before I feel it—the wall of water dissolving into fine mist as Rylan swipes his hand, overpowering Master Tavyn with a single move.
Show off.
My body sags in relief, but the second the pressure is gone, Rylan is there, standing between me and Tavyn like some kind of bodyguard.
For a moment, my heart fills with joy. I haven’t seen him since he left my bedroom almost a week ago. He, and some of the other Keepers, all left for the Southern border to see where and how they could shore up the defences and see how the rebellion leader could’ve infiltrated the barracks to the point of destroying the armoury. What little sleep I normally get dwindled almost to nothing as I’ve sat up worried about him.
The joy, however, lasts about the length of a racing heartbeat. Rylan looks about as mad as I’ve ever seen him. And I’ve seen him mad…a lot.
"What in Morath’s hell are you doing?" Rylan snaps, his voice so harsh that it makes me wince. "You can’t push her like that!"
Master Tavyn doesn’t even flinch. He stands there, arms crossed, completely calm. "Of course I can. That’s why I’m here. And she told me to push her. As did you, if I recall."
"Push! Notkill!" Rylan fires back, and I feel the anger roll off him in stormy waves. He’s furious.
I rise to my feet. But still weak, I stumble forward, my legs buckling under me. He races forward to catch me, but I wave him away, using my sword to keep myself upright. My body is aching, but I’m still standing. Kind of.
“Shit! We need to get you to Falon.Now.”
"I’m fine," I pant, trying to catch my breath. "Rylan, look at me, I’m fine."
He stares at me, eyes wide with disbelief, as he grits his teeth, hands fisted at his side as I almost topple to the side again. "You’re not fine! You were about to collapse!"
"Yes, but I didn’t." I offer a weak grin, trying to lighten the mood. "See? Still standing. It’s just training, Rylan. You told me to do just this."
"No, not this. I never meant this." His frustration boils over, and he turns back to Master Tavyn, who is watching with mild disinterest. "Get out of here. You’re done for now. We’ll be talking about her training later once I’ve taken her to the healers."
Master Tavyn shrugs, completely unfazed by the tension. "As you wish. But she was handling it just fine. Better than fine, better than most of the disciples I’ve trained. And I trained you, don’t forget.” He shrugs. “And she was the one telling me to keep pushing her. She’s stronger than you’re giving her credit for. But hey, if you want to hold her back, Your Highness..." He shuffles off the training grounds, his hands clasped behind his back, muttering under his breath about overprotective men and dramatic damsels in distress, making my cheeks burn with embarrassment.
"Youwhat?" Rylan turns back to me, looking like he’s ready to explode, but before he can launch into another tirade, I step in close, resting a hand on his chest.
"Rylan, stop," I say, my voice firm despite the exhaustion weighing down my limbs. "I did, I asked him to push me. Practically begged. This is what I wanted."
"You wanted to nearly drown?" His eyes flicker with anger and concern as he looks me over again. "You were about to get seriously hurt."
"I wasn’t. Master Tavyn wouldn’t have let that happen. He’snot Kaelen. He was teaching me what to do in that situation," I point out. "Also, what if I get hurt? I’m going to get hurt as Aquilith, that’s just a given.” His jaw tightens and his eyes flood with fear. “So, that’s just part of the training, Rylan. I’m not going to reach my true potential if I don’t push myself to the edge."
His jaw tightens, and I can see the argument forming behind his eyes. "This isn’t about growth. This is about you overextending yourself."
"I know my limits!" I shoot back. "You have to let me do this!"
"Let you get hurt?" he counters, stepping closer. "What kind of mentor would I be if I allowed that to happen?" He leans in, his hand cupping my face. “What kind of…lover?"
I lay my hand over his. "One who knows to put my training above his personal feelings. You were my mentorfirst, Rylan,beforeyou were my lover, remember?" The words come out sharper than I intend, but I don’t regret them. I can’t be held back, not by him, not by anyone.
“Oh, I remember. And you didn’t listen to me then either!” He pulls his hand away and steps back. “But things… have changed now. And…”
