by Liz Schulte
Olivia shook her head, but Holden nodded.
“There’s a group of half-elves and others of mixed heritage rising up against his father. Revolution seems to be in the air these days,” Holden explained to her.
“My father has many rules and policies that are outdated and unfair. However, the rebels are not the answer. They’ve already demonstrated themselves to be cruel and oppressive. They would rule by terror and bloodshed—it’s not the way of the fae.”
“Perhaps it was not the way of the fae,” Holden said, his face expressionless.
Cheney frowned. “It will never be the way of my people so long as I take breath.”
“Do you share your father’s prejudice against humans?” Holden asked him.
Cheney closed his eyes for a moment. “Not at all. I like humans very much.” His eyes flickered to me. “I do not blame their human halves for their actions. There are full elves of questionable character, just as there are humans of exceptional character.”
“So you are asking us to side with your father because he is the lesser of two evils?” Olivia asked gently.
“No. I trust I can depend on your discretion in this matter?” They both nodded. “You have not overestimated my father’s prejudice against anyone who is not an elf. Selene, as you know, is a half-elf. She is also my wife. I plan to make the announcement in his court, and he will strip me of my title.” He took my hand. “If it would end at that, I could walk away, but he has placed a bounty on her and refused to withdraw it. I intend to make a stand against him. I ask you to support me.”
Olivia leaned back and Holden did not move. All of this couldn’t have been too shocking to Olivia, as I had told her some of it while I was recapping my month. Holden’s face was as unfathomable as ever.
“No,” Holden said.
“We’ll do it,” Olivia blurted out.
“Liv, it’s not our fight,” Holden said, but his voice had softened considerably.
“It wasn’t long ago that we were exactly where they are.”
“This isn’t our problem.”
Olivia sighed. “Our world is changing. The guardians are being rebuilt from the ground up, and many other races are following our example. Someday, in the not so distant future, I’d like a council of all the races to take over leadership of the Abyss.”
Holden took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Exactly. You have too much going on already. We cannot make someone else’s problem ours.” He raised his eyebrows. “We could also make their situation worse.”
“You mean Hell?” He nodded and she sighed. “I hate it when you’re right.” She looked at me. “I’m sorry. I’ll help you however I can, but if I become actively involved, forces greater than what you’re already dealing with will take an interest.”
My heart sank, but Cheney nodded. “I understand. That’s an honorable idea, but you’ll meet resistance. The races like their autonomy. However, perhaps uniting as one will end the petty wars and injustices.” He pressed his lips together, then finally nodded. “And when the time comes, I’ll stand with you whether or not you stand with me. It would be the best for my people.”
“I’ll ask around and see what I can find out about this rebel group,” Holden said, shaking his head at Olivia which only made her smile grow.
“Let us know how we can help.”
“Thank you,” Cheney said, sliding out of the booth.
I awkwardly hugged Olivia across the table. “Thank you.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you soon, Selene.” She hugged me back. “If you ever want to talk, please call me.”
Holden gave me a slight smile as Cheney helped me out of the booth, and we wove our way out of the club. They may not have joined the cause, but we had two allies.
“That went well,” I said once we were outside.
“Much better than expected.” Cheney put an arm over my shoulders and squeezed. “What were the two of you talking about for so long?”
“She gave me advice.”
Cheney weighed his words. “I’m sure the advice she gave you is well meaning, but guardians guide humans, not elves. Keep in mind her advice may be a bit one-sided.”
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you? She didn’t try to influence me one way or another. In fact, she said if it were her, she’d have probably chosen the elf side. Perhaps guardians could offer elves guidance if elves weren’t too proud to take it.”
Cheney looked properly shamed. “That wasn’t fair of me. What advice did she give you?”
“She suggested I embrace both sides.”
Cheney and I walked quietly, holding hands. “You’ve always struggled against yourself. If you could find a way to make peace, I think you would be better off, too. She gives good advice.”
I knew he was right. She had. The problem was, how was I supposed to do that?
Morning came too soon. Cheney was already gone from bed and the first traces of light glared through the window into my eyes. How much did Cheney sleep? Did he sleep at all? A bowl of oatmeal waited on the table next to a folded piece of paper with an arrow drawn on it that pointed to the door. I picked up the bowl and opened the front door. A stream of daggers few at me. Startled, I dropped the oatmeal and barely managed to slow the daggers enough to shut the door on them before they crashed into me.
“Cease fire, damn it,” I yelled before I opened the door a crack to make sure it was safe. My ruined breakfast lay splattered across the ground. This was no way to start a morning. “Cheney!” I said with my hands on my hips and rage building inside of me.
Both Sebastian and Cheney stepped into my sight, smiling and making me want to strangle them. “Vigilance!” Sebastian called out.
I replied with an unladylike gesture and waited for them to come closer before I let them have it. “If I’m attacked in the morning before I can even have breakfast, the person doing it had better kill me. Is that clear?” I said through clenched teeth.
“These attacks are for your practice. You will need to be prepared for them at anytime. You did wonderfully. You weren’t even hit,” Cheney said, reaching for me.
“Don’t touch me,” I snapped and his hand stayed. “You threw daggers at me. They could have killed me if I didn’t stop them. What the hell were you thinking?”
“You blocked that knife out of nowhere yesterday. You function better under an actual threat. We needed to up the stakes. You could’ve been hit with every one of them and not died. We aimed,” Sebastian said.
“Not okay, Sebastian. I can’t believe you agreed to this,” I said accusingly at Cheney. He reached toward me again, but I held off his hand once more.
Cheney shot Sebastian a look and nodded. Sebastian reached out and my anger flared again. His hand didn’t reach me either. “Curious,” Sebastian mumbled.
“Ugh!” I threw up my hands. Obviously they weren’t getting the point.
“How are you doing that?” Cheney asked me.
I couldn’t think of what he was talking about through the anger. A larger surge was coming, and if I didn’t get it under control soon, we’d be homeless. Pushing through the guys, I stormed toward the cliff needing distance. Calm down. Just calm down and breathe. This is no time to have a meltdown.
I sat on the edge, dangling my feet over as the waves crashed below. The sound of the ocean calmed me. The wind tousled my hair and helped me breathe. The hard, uneven ground beneath me steadied me against my doubts while the bright morning sun burned out lingering traces of fear. I was okay. Nothing bad had happened. When I was absolutely positive I wasn’t going to do anything I would regret, I opened my eyes. Cheney sat next to me, staring out at the sea.
“You were never in any danger.”
“Hmmm.”
Cheney looked over. “You can trust me.”
“Yeah, to make a sneak attack.”
“I’ve only ever protected you. This was practice.” He looked back at the ocean. “How did you stop me from touching you?”
&n
bsp; My eyebrows pulled together. “You stopped. It had nothing to do with me.”
“No, I hit a wall. Sebastian did, too.”
I didn’t purposefully do anything. My anger felt like it was rolling over me, and I didn’t want to be touched, but I hadn’t done anything special to stop him. “I don’t know.”
“Do you want to try it again?”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “No, I rather like you touching me.”
Cheney’s arm rested across my shoulders. “This would be a tremendous defense. If you could block people and objects from touching you, you wouldn’t have to worry about how many knives were thrown.”
And if I could focus on myself solely and keep things from reaching me, I wouldn’t have to spread myself as thin as I had to in order to focus on multiple targets. I was intrigued in spite of myself. “I’ll try.”
He brushed a kiss over my lips. “We’re burning daylight.”
“No more surprise attacks, though. I need to feel safe somewhere.” I let him help me up. “I feel safe with you. Don’t change that.”
“I wouldn’t change it for the world.” His arm tightened around my shoulder. “You need to work with Sebastian. I’ll be gone most of the day.”
I walked past Sebastian into the house to scrounge up something to eat, still irritated with him. When I finally went back outside, he glanced up from the piece of paper in his hands.
“Are you done pouting?”
“That remains to be seen. Are you done attacking me?”
“I haven’t even begun,” he said bemused.
“You know what I mean.”
“Cheney said no more surprise attacks. Though I think it is unwise, I will comply.”
“Then I’m done pouting.”
“Good, we don’t have time for it.” He gave me a patronizing look. “Are you ready?”
“Sebastian, remind me again we were friends,” I grumbled as he threw knives at me one at a time. The more he flung, the harder it became to stop them. When I began to shake with effort, he paused and collected the weapons from the air. I wiped the sweat from my eyes.
“Again,” he said, not letting me recover.
This time I tried for deflection. The knives zoomed past me with such a speed I wasn’t sure if I was still deflecting or if he was missing.
“Not bad,” he said. “But in an actual battle the person throwing wouldn’t be trying to miss you. You’ll have to do better. Again.”
My head pulsed. I didn’t want to do this anymore, but he didn’t give me a choice. The emotion of the past month drifted to the top, building under my skin. When it felt like I might lose control or burst, I wrapped it around me. Sebastian threw a knife that would’ve sailed slightly to the left. I held my breath and shoved my arm directly in its path. Everything happened at once. Sebastian’s hand stalled and the dagger halted midair, then fell to the ground a foot in front of me. A small smile twitched on Sebastian’s face as he resumed his assault—but now actually trying to hit me.
I felt great. My head didn’t throb, I wasn’t being injured, and nothing could touch me like this.
“Wonderful.” Sebastian said after a few minutes. “Now for offense.”
When I released my shield, my knees buckled and my legs wobbled. “Break,” I managed to say before I collapsed on the ground. It hadn’t felt like it, but I must’ve exerted a lot of energy holding the shield. I lay on the ground, staring up at the sky, trying not to let my eyes close. “You know, before this the only fighting I ever did was verbal.”
“You need to build your stamina.”
“I can run five miles and do yoga all day. This is different. It drains me.”
“Mental stamina. Yoga should help. You need to find a stronger, more stable place to focus from. That way you can defend while you attack.”
“That’s easy for you to say when you aren’t the one doing it.”
“You’re going to have to be stronger than this. Cheney can’t worry about you and about everything before him. Dig deep.” He sat next to me. “Have you decided about your friends?”
“Do we really need them?”
“I say yes.”
“But we don’t have any power. We cast some spells and have a few gifts but nothing that will rock anyone’s world. Hell, if I can’t defend myself, how are they supposed to defend themselves?”
“Your coven has no real power because you’ve only been tinkering with witchcraft. There’s great power to be had with human magic.”
“Wouldn’t it paint a big target on their backs?” Sebastian didn’t answer, so obviously that was a yes. “Look, I’ll ask them and let them decide. If they choose to help, then at least I know they’re aware of the danger.”
“Fair enough. What about Edith?”
“My grandmother?”
“Yes, she’s a powerful witch who could teach your coven a lot about magic and probably protect them if you’re worried about their safety.”
“Gram stays out of it.”
“Edith has a right to be there. She’s your human family.”
“Are you trying to piss me off?”
“No, I’m trying to make you see you cannot half do this. You cannot be one foot in the door, one foot out. If you want to stand with Cheney, you have to be all in or no one will believe your commitment. It’s either this or cut all human ties.”
“Why are you telling me this and not Cheney?”
“Because he’ll never make you choose. He’ll defend you as your loyalty is questioned—just as he has defended you against his father. Cheney is blind to the reality of the situation. Now get up. We have work to do.” He pulled two swords out of the air, tossing me one. “Just like we did before, only do better.”
Sebastian and I went through the normal practice routine, allowing me to get used to having an actual sword. The weight of it felt familiar in my hand, adding an element of comfort. Something deep within me awoke at the feeling of the sword in my grasp. I briefly fought against it, but Olivia’s advice seasoned my thoughts and I stopped fighting. Suddenly my mind was clear, and Sebastian didn’t look so fast. The sword not only felt comfortable in my hand, it felt right. Anticipating Sebastian’s moves as if I’d been fighting with him for years, I easily dodged his attacks, slapping him with the flat of my sword as I twirled past.
Sebastian picked up his pace and intensity, but I had no problems keeping up with him. My body knew what to do if I kept my mind out of it. I kept laughing as we sparred. I was actually having fun. I enjoyed sword fighting—who knew? I could beat Sebastian if I wanted to; I was a better swordsman. This thought made me laugh again. Sebastian stopped fighting, looking at me hard.
“You’ve remembered, haven’t you?”
“Remembered what?” I hadn’t actually had a memory. They couldn’t be missed as they mostly started with me falling over. This was different.
“You’ve remembered how to use a sword. You could’ve told me rather than wasting time.”
I shrugged. “There wasn’t an actual memory. I recognized the feeling of the sword in my hand and rather than fighting it, I let go.”
“You’ve always been an excellent swordsman.”
“I like it. Let’s go again,” I said, twirling the sword in my hands.
“One more time, then we need to move on.” Sebastian came at me, not even trying to hold back. The sound of the swords crashing into each other echoed over the cliff. He was still faster than me, but I was more natural with the weapon and anticipated his moves with more accuracy. Every time I hit him, a giggle escaped, and I absolutely loved winning. Sebastian’s face became more and more serious—he apparently loved winning too.
“Sebastian, you’re losing,” Cheney’s amused voice rang out.
Sebastian made a final lunge, which I easily avoided. Standing up straight, his sword faded and he nodded at me.
Cheney’s laughter chimed through the air, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere. “Well, you certainly have impro
ved, princess. I take it you’ve had a memory.”
“No, just some good advice.”
His head tilted slightly. “You’ve let your elf half come out to play?”
I smiled at him. “Want to have a go?”
“Sure, you’ve never beaten me,” he said with a cocky smile as his own sword appeared in his hand.
Cheney and I squared off. The energy was already different in this match than it was with Sebastian. Our swords met with such force, it nearly tore the weapon from my hand. This was a very different fight indeed. Cheney twirled his weapon with such grace and precision. I knew I was outmatched. He slammed into me again, and it was all I could do to get out of his way. I couldn’t beat his speed, strength, or even skill. We circled each other as I tried to think of where his weakness would be.
“Giving up already?”
I smiled. “Just revising strategy.”
“You’re stalling, princess. Make your move.”
I went on the offensive. Cheney blocked my attack easily, but I continued to attack with a ferociousness I didn’t know I possessed. Making no ground, an idea struck.
“Ow. Ow. Ow.” I picked up my foot and a bit my lip.
“What is it? What happened?” Concern covered Cheney’s face. He moved closer and helped steady me as I hopped around. I leaned against him heavily and pressed the blade to his throat.
“I win.” I put my foot back down and smiled triumphantly.
“Cheater.” He laughed.
“By cheater you mean winner, right?”
Cheney blocked my arm and swept my legs out from under me faster than I could blink, and I landed on my back. “But when you thought you won, you let your guard down.” Before I could catch my breath, he pressed my hands into the ground. “Always make sure you’ve won before you quit playing.” The air between us thickened and crackled, my body responding to his as if it was reaching toward him.
“If I lost, what prize will you be taking?” I craned my head to nibble on his ear.
Cheney’s gold eyes flared. “Sebastian, go away.”
“You’re horrible.”
Cheney’s mouth pressed to mine and our tongues waged their own duel. He pulled back slightly. “Where exactly would you like to be touched, princess?” His hand slid between my legs, caressing my sensitive flesh though the clothing.