I don’t want to hear those thoughts, no matter how right they may be. They make me feel like a fool—especially when I remember what we shared the night before.
Nothing. We shared nothing. Some friction, some sensation—nothing more. Nothing that matters, clearly. Nothing that makesmematter to him as anything more than a chess piece he can move across the board as he pleases. I know there’s more to the fae soldiers being in the country than their visit to my parents’, something to do with wherever Leon’s unit disappeared off to, but he’s not likely to tell me anything about that either.
He is, however, quick to approach me when we stop for food. I’m making sure my pony has a nice bit of grass to graze on when I hear his voice behind me.
“We should train again,” he says—a statement rather than a question. Is that because he can guess what my response will be?
“I think we covered the important stuff,” I say, not looking up from my horse.
“You’re so sure you can conjure your magic at will?” he asks.
I step away from the pony so as not to startle it, moving closer to a tree. Then I lift my hands and let myselffeel.
Anger and betrayal are close to the surface, so I latch onto both, and the power comes quickly. My blood heats, the warmth pooling in my chest with a golden glow, and I concentrate on running the power down my arms and into my palms. Two beams, bright as the sun, leap from my hands, merging into one powerful stream of light that burns a neat hole through the tree—without touching anything else.
I look over at Leon, not bothering to hide my satisfaction.
“I practiced this morning in the barn. You’ll see it’s far more controlled than when I destroyed the trees before.”
Of course, I owe that to Leon’s help. But I’m not in the mood to shower him with gratitude.
“That’s good,” he says, and sounds sincere. “But there’s still more to learn. You want to be able to defend yourself, right? That means learning how to use your magic effectively in combat.”
He’s right, Idowant to learn that, but not from Leon. I don’t want to be around him right now.
“I don’t need your sensic power to train me anymore, right?” I say lightly. “I can practice with someone else. Maybe Alastor?—”
“That was pretty impressive, Your Highness.” I turn to see Stratton grinning at me.
I raise an eyebrow at his familiar tone. “You think?”
“It’s always a privilege to see a solari in action, but…” he trails off, like he wishes to be polite. His mischievous smile, however, tells me otherwise.
I cross my arms. “But?”
“But it wasn’t exactly like a real battle, was it? The tree didn’t put up much of a fight.”
His blue eyes sparkle at me, but I feel nothing except curiosity. He has a point, and Iamlooking for lessons from someone other than Leon.
“And where do you propose I find a better opponent?” I say.
“I volunteer myself—just to show you some moves,” he says. “I’ve been told I’m an excellent teacher.”
“Stratton,” Leon says. That note of warning is back in his voice again, and the muscles in Leon’s jaw clench tightly. He doesn’t like the other fae’s suggestion.
Even better, but I school my features.
“Sounds good to me,” I say, walking over. “Where do we start?”
Stratton gestures toward a clearing a little way from the group.
“Don’t worry, captain,” he calls to Leon. “I won’t break her.”
I feel a small flare of pleasure at the stormy look Leon gives him in return.
Once we’re in the clearing, Stratton hands me a knife.
“All our swords are probably too heavy for you, so we’ll start with hand-to-hand stuff,” he says.
