Читать книгу Scars of Iron - Ivy G. Shadrick - Страница 11

The day I adopted Axameum was the most horrible day in my entire existence. I do not plan on fading any time soon, for I genuinely believe that I am immortal.

I believe that I will exist until the earth is in decline and all men have been snuffed out. And accepting a child to be my heir meant I was admitting that I am just as vulnerable to fading as the rest of humanity. I do not see an end to my life on earth anywhere in the near future, but I do have Axameum just in case things go terribly wrong.

-A.A public entry

[DELETED]

Sweat dripped down my back. And the sword in my non-dominant hand was becoming heavier with each swing, my legs slowing with each repetition. The air felt too thin, and there was not nearly enough of it to satisfy my panting

“Give me more!” Elaric howled at me, as I repeated the attack sequence. “You need to focus,” he screamed when I faltered. “I will not accept mediocrity.” He stood directly behind me now.

I flinched at the proximity.

“I’m doing my best! I just need a bit of time, I’ve never trained with this hand before.”

“No, you aren’t doing your best. I’ve seen your best, and this is not it. We don’t have time.”

“I hate you! I hate your training, and I hate your methods of teaching me!” I shouted, standing on the tips of my toes, trying my hardest to appear larger. “I want to go home.”

He folded his arms and his face relaxed into the calm fury that I’ve only seen when he was about to lose control. “Why?” he asked, his voice becoming infuriatingly patient. “How could you possibly hate me? I’m just lovely.”

I furrowed my eyebrows and turned on my heel to storm out. But he grabbed the neck of my sweat-soaked shirt and yanked me back. And he just stood there staring at me, and I hated it.

“Use that anger, that hatred, and focus it into your fighting.”

With that, I clenched my fist, my short nails digging into the palm of my hand. Gathering strength in my arm I thrust my fist forward and punched him in the nose. His eyes began to water and blood trickled down his face, dripping from his jaw to his shirt. He was completely unfazed, and I went to kick his stomach, but he caught my foot before it could connect.

“That is what I meant. Use that anger, but don't become too confident. Arrogance is just as deadly as your weakness, and your enemies can and will use it against you.”

“I don’t want to be like you, I don’t want to use my anger to hurt people. I only want a better life for myself and the rest of the world.” My voice trembled and my eyes stung with tears.

“I too believe that you shouldn’t use your anger to hurt people. Only to focus your mind and become better,” his face became gentle, and his eyes softened.

“Did you just agree with me?” I asked. “Well, that’s a first,” I said, placing my hands on my hips.

“I did not—”

“Yes you did,” I said, nodding my head at him, “and you can’t take it back now.”

“I wasn’t agreeing— I wasn’t— ” He tried to argue.

“Yes, you were! You agreed with me.”

“I did no such thing.”

“Yes, you did,” I said. “Now I’m in a much better mood, thanks to you agreeing with me. Let’s get on with the training.” I strutted over to the sparring mat and grabbed a sword from the weapons rack. “What are you waiting for, an invitation?”

A small grin appeared on his lips as he closed his eyes and shook his head. He really did seem to be warming up to me.

“Don’t get too cocky over there,” he taunted as he drew a long, glinting blade and began the fight.

It was a terrifying and beautiful series of practiced steps. We had memorized each other's flaws and openings and recurring missteps. We sharpened each other, an equal match.

Blades crashing and our bodies moving in synchronized movements, we attacked and defended, fighting for the offensive position.

Elaric shoved me to the ground, a jolt shooting up through my body. He held his sword to my chest, not yet piercing my skin. And I rolled quickly to the side, reaching for my sword lying next to me.

Within seconds the fight had begun again.

We continued this way for what seemed like hours, my muscles ached and the cuts covering my body stung. Our pace slowed with our mutual exhaustion, but the duel continued. And my pain fueled me.

The doors of the arena opened with a bang and we halted our fight to see Vassa storming into the training room, eyes fixed on Elaric.

“I need to talk to her,” Vassa said. Turning her eyes in my direction and pointing a skeletal finger at me.

“I don’t think I want you gossiping with Lithiah right now, she needs to continue with her training. Which you so rudely disrupted.” Elaric waved his blade carelessly in Vassa's direction. She didn’t cringe away or seem even vaguely bothered by the sword so close to her face.

“I would not consider what I have to say to her gossip,” Vassa retorted, raising her eyebrows and pursing her lips.

“She's in the middle of a training session,” he said.

“Shouldn’t she decide what she does?” I said pointedly at Elaric.

“Very well,” he sighed, “Lithiah?” he looked at me.

“You have five minutes,” I nodded to the woman.

“Ten,” Vassa said as she grabbed my hand and dragged me out into the bright corridor.

“Hello princess,” Gaviryn purred.

“I am no princess.” I smiled sweetly up at him.

“Oh, how I’ve missed your lovely face,” he whined. “Are you not happy to see me?” he said, placing a hand over his heart and pouting his bottom lip as if I had deeply offended him.

“Tell her why you're here, Gaviryn,” Vassa ordered. “Or I will.”

“Fine, fine,” he raised his hands in surrender and turned to me. “I came to see your beautiful face again. Why else?” He batted his eyelashes at me.

“Gaviryn,” Vassa spat.

“Okay, fine. I’ll stop,” he winked and shot a smirk at me.

“Enough with the games Gaviryn, Elaric will be suspicious if I keep her too long.” Vassa planted her hands on her hips.

“What do you want?” I asked with the excitement of a corpse.

Gaviryn’s face suddenly became grave, his jade eyes losing their mischievous glint immediately. “I came to tell you not to trust Elaric,” he said as if it were the most imperative warning in the fate of the world. “He only wants power and will do anything to get it. The prince originally sent him out in search of an assassin, but he's changed.”

“Does it look like I care?”

“I’m not saying that you need to stop him, I’m only here to warn you that you are only a pawn in a much larger game.”

“Again,” I raised my eyebrows at him, “does it look like I care?”

“He is using you, you’re disposable to him,” Vassa placed a firm hand on my shoulder and looked me directly in the eyes.

“I don’t care,” I said, shrugging her hand away.

“Well, you should,” Gaviryn snapped. “You should care about this if you believe in a better world.”

“And could you please tell me why I should trust you?” My eyes jumped from Vassa to Gaviryn and back again.

“Because we're fighting for a world that we know you're also fighting for,” he said.

“You’re both working for Elaric! Why would you want to betray him?”

“We're not working for Elaric,” Vassa’s voice was almost a whisper. “We work solely for the crown prince”

My breath caught and my thoughts descended into chaos as I tried to make sense of what she had said.

“You've just proved my point that I shouldn’t trust you. You've been lying to Elaric the entire time.”

“We have the same goals in mind, Lithiah.” Gaviryn nodded to Vassa then to me. “We want a better world and we want the Queen dead. She is a disease poisoning all of humanity.”

“I don’t care that you want her dead. I still can’t trust you.” I turned to Vassa, “Aegiah overheard you and Elaric,” I said, “You told him that I will have to die.”

“No, I didn't.”

“Do not lie to me.”

“I didn't say that you have to die, I said ‘Lithiah has to die’.”

“I am Lithiah.”

“No you aren’t,” she paused, “you’re Aria Anekhire, you have always been Aria and you are destined to be Aria.”

“I am not Aria!” My voice broke as I screamed at her, “Aria doesn’t exist anymore, she was a child, and I'm not that scared little girl.”

I turned on my heel, storming back into the training room. Neither of them followed me.

Elaric ignored my obvious seething and continued with our combat session. He didn't question me on what Vassa had wanted to talk to me about. Though I was sure he heard some of my screamings through the door.

“You will go unnoticed, you will be invisible. And you will never let anyone see beneath the mask,” Aegiah said for the fifth time already.

It had been several days since Vassa and Gaviryn visited me. And I was exhausted from the rigorous training.

“Yes I know, and I can take as long as I need to gain the trust of the crown prince and acquaintances of him.”

“And?”

“And, I will use Gaviryn to get close to price Axameum.” My eyes drooped as I said it, but she ignored my exhaustion and continued on.

“Good,” She took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair.

“What are you going to do about Elaric?” I asked. “He’ll eventually learn that we betrayed him.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ve got it covered.”

“I still haven’t chosen who I want to take the throne when both are dead,” I said. “I don’t know who to choose, Aegiah,” my voice shattered as I said it.

“You will know when the time comes, I have no doubt that you will succeed in making the right decision.”

“What if I don’t know who to give the throne to?”

“Then, if it ever comes to that, I will help you. And if we can’t make a decision at the moment, then we can rule together, while you take your time to decide.”

Her words comforted me. But I had never thought about two people who would rule together, maybe we could rule together. Permanently.

“Thank you, Aegiah.”

“Yes, of course, my friend,” her eyes softened. “Just remember that you can trust me, and I will always be there for you. Even if you are alone and afraid, I will always be there for you.”

“Thank you for trusting me, Aegiah. For trusting me with what you believe in. And for wanting the best for the rest of humankind. I haven’t had a true friend in a very long time.”

I debated telling her about my meeting with Vassa and Gaviryn earlier. But if I wasn’t going to work with them, then keeping this from her would do no harm. Right?

And they worked for Axameum, the prince I was supposed to kill, the prince who was possibly worse than the Queen. I couldn't possibly trust them after what they were doing to Elaric. And they couldn’t possibly be working for the greater good or for the betterment of all humanity.

“I should go,” I stood from my seat. “I don’t want to keep Elaric waiting, we both know how irritable he can be.”

She let out a breathy laugh and stood too, “You will make the right choice,” Aegiah said as she hugged me, holding me tight.

“Thank you.”

I smiled as I left. And the grin didn't disappear from my face until I reached the empty training room.