When Amalise began to shake her head, Lessia lifted her chin.
Amalise, if anyone, deserved to find love again.
She loved fiercely, wholly, and she had so much more to give.
Groaning, Amalise let go of her hand to twist a lock of her hair but finally fixed her gaze on Lessia’s again. “I promise. Once I’ve seen you fall in love, I will try too.”
Lessia grinned at her. “What about Zaddock? He seemed quite spellbound by you.”
With a snort, Amalise turned around to join some of the children in the snowball fight that had broken out, but not before Lessia caught a glimpse of the pink creeping up her neck.
A smile overtook Lessia’s face as she followed her, a giggle escaping when a snowball hit an unsuspecting Amalise right in the chest.
Chapter
Forty-Eight
Wet from all the snow the children had managed to get in under her clothing, Lessia walked through the forest back to the castle.
Her ears buzzed from the delighted screams they’d all let out as they played and from Kalia and Amalise telling her of everything she’d missed the past week.
Two of the boys had begun working with Bren in her favored tavern, and so far, it had gone well, apart from a small mishap when a soldier had gotten a little too rowdy and one of them had punched him out cold.
Despite that going against the rules Lessia set for them—no fighting, especially with humans—she smiled to herself.
The boys’ success had prompted one of the girls to see if she could get work in one of the weaponry shops. While the owner had been hesitant at first, when she’d worked a day for free and he realized how skilled she was at molding the iron, she’d been offered three full days a week.
Lessia pushed away the sense of wistfulness that tracedacross her skin upon realizing many of them might leave the house soon.
It was a good thing for them to integrate into Ellow’s society.
Even if it might mean the house would be a bit emptier when she returned.
She rushed her steps when shadows danced over the rocky path before her.
It was still early afternoon, but the sun was already on its way down, and she wanted to be back at the castle before darkness fell.
When she rounded an especially sharp turn, the lights from the capital finally breaking through the tree line, the hair on the back of her neck rose.
A sense of being watched pricked her skin, and she whipped her head around, holding her breath as she listened to the forest.
Snow crunched to her left.
As silently as possible, she slipped behind a tree, unsheathing the two Fae daggers from her waistband.
Leaning her back against the tree, she planted her feet like Merrick had shown her, breathing deep to keep her rising pulse in check.
Snow crushed again, closer this time, and Lessia risked a peek around the trunk.
A cloaked figure approached her, the height indicating it was a male if it was a human. Pulling off her hood to ensure her eyes were visible, she reminded herself of everything Merrick had taught her.
Keep your center low so a swing to your face or chest doesn’t make you fall.
Take them by surprise if you can.
Don’t bother being gracious. Go for a kick between the legs or a hit to the stomach—anywhere where it’ll hurt the most.
Merrick’s voice echoed in her mind, and she quietly promised him that she’d make him proud—that the training sessions had taught her something valuable.
