Centurion Levka, who’d led them all to their rooms, hadn’t been bad. But she hadn’t really had a chance to speak to him, so she wasn’t sure about that aspect. She wanted intelligence in any stud of hers. She’d hate to have stupid children. Physically at least, he was the type she liked. And he did have the blond hair and blue eyes that were both so rare among her people.
Blue eyes brought the emperor’s face to mind. He certainly wasn’t what she’d expected. Younger, he had a definite presence. While she’d found talking with him interesting, she wasn’t quite sure of him yet. He had her loyalty and nothing would change that. But she was still trying to figure him out as a person.
On the one hand, he spoke to her without any sign of fear, unease, disdain and other reactions she was getting used to from some people. She knew Amazzi were an uncommon sight, but she was honestly beginning to feel like some kind of rare beast with the way people reacted to her. Galen hadn’t really treated her different than he had the other girls.
He seemed interested in her opinions. He’d asked for her thoughts both times they’d met so far, and had seemed to think about her responses. In that respect, Galen was very much the kind of man she was looking for. His body was definitely of interest to her. He moved with the muscular grace of someone who had trained hard, who knew how to defend themselves. She liked that.
But on the other side of it, some of the emperor’s decisions still bothered her. Attacking the girls had been bordering on cruel. Some had truly thought they were going to die, and that kind of terror didn’t dissipate easily. And then he hadn’t even bothered to apologize personally. That stuck in her craw, and she found herself torn on her opinion of him because of it.
Evony sighed. If he were anyone else, she could safely ignore him, but he was the Adnuhom. She owed him her loyalty, but she’d like to have respect for him as a person as well. And she was the first Amazzi he’d met. She was representing not just herself, not just her clan, but her whole people. She wanted him to think well of her, to respect her and all Amazzi.
Still, there was nothing she could do about that now. She would have to watch the emperor and herself. With the way the competition was going, she was likely to have plenty of time. At least until she got eliminated.
She put those thoughts away for the moment and focused instead on the men she’d met and the handful she’d actually spoken to that night. Primus Rekem of Regem had smiled when he’d introduced himself, and politely asked about her journey. He was too old to make her list of potential studs but he’d at least met her gaze. Then again, he was a Primus, and those others of the first families were generally friendly with each other. Or so she’d heard from her mother who was the only one of their clan to have ever met another of the first families.
Medicus Tebah had also been very polite, though she thought he’d been genuinely interested in Silvinsula. He’d certainly started asking her about the plants found there prior to being pulled away. He was perhaps older than she would typically like, but he was definitely intelligent and for a medicus, wasn’t too bad physically. She’d put him on her maybe list.
The young man from Cam had been more of what she was looking for. He was well-built, moved carefully, and his black eyes were quite lovely. Though he seemed quiet, he hadn’t reacted poorly to her. Of course, he’d barely said two words to her, but that was something she could change when the opportunity presented itself. She put a mental pin in his name in case their paths crossed again.
Some of the soldiers had been interesting, though very few of them had approached her. And those that had all had women with them that she guessed were their wives. Evony wasn’t about to interfere with anyone else’s chosen lifemate, now or ever.
Evony propped her elbows up on her legs and dropped her chin into her hands. Really, she just wanted to compete with honour until she was eliminated and find a suitable man to get her with child. She didn’t think that was so much to ask. She’d like to find a proper lifemate, but so far, those chances didn’t look good. But she had time. She hadn’t been at the palace long, and she certainly hadn’t met all the people here yet.
And that wasn’t not even counting the city. Between the two there had to be some man that fit all her criteria. Not that she had many. One, a man of intelligence, or at least, not of stupidity. Two, someone who was physically well, if not a warrior themselves. Three, someone she could connect with, if only for a short while. If she were considering them as a lifemate, she had a few others to add in, but those three for a stud she didn’t think were outrageous.
But here she was, going through the few men she’d spoken to and trying to compile a proper list. She could at least keep names to recommend to the next of her clanswomen to go out looking for a stud. Evony could well imagine some of her people being overwhelmed by these places. It was nothing like her home.
Here, it was thick stone, everything under control and kept in its proper place. Home was green light, birdsong, and the chaos of nature all around. Home was listening to the thunk of arrows hitting targets as people practiced their archery, or standing at the cliffs to watch the waves crash against the rocky walls below her feet. Home was running surprise drills with her sisters, helping her brother with his knifework, and listening to the stories of her aunts.
She missed the freedom, the feeling of belonging. Here she was the outsider. There... There she belonged. With a much heavier sigh, Evony slid off her bed and padded over to her packs. If she wasn’t going to get anything else productive done tonight, then she’d do better to get some sleep.
Chapter 6: Practice
Evony tied off her short chiton, one that the maids obviously thought was nightclothes to leave it among her things, making sure it was secure before she strapped on her weapons, wrist guards, quiver, and grabbed her bow. Only then did she make her way outside. The eastern sky was awash in gold and orange, the blinding sphere of the sun only a quarter over the horizon. The cool of the night was just now retreating, making Evony smile. Dawn was her favourite time of day.
Evony had so far enjoyed the reduction of noise being down to fifteen girls had caused. While she certainly didn’t mind chatter, there seemed to be too much of it in her mind. Then again, she’d never been big on crowds.
Evony saw almost no one as she crossed the palace complex in the early morning light, revelling in the rare opportunity to be alone. It often seemed she was only by herself when in her room. She hummed quietly and hurried her steps as she passed the barracks. It was the only place outside of the servants’ areas that showed activity.
She looked over the uniformed men she could see moving about for a moment then turned her attention back towards her destination. She was glad to see that the archery range was still empty, though the centre and right fields at the front were both in use. The former with men doing some strengthening exercises, the latter with soldiers doing basic sword drills. At least that’s what they looked like to Evony.
Tossing her unstrung bow to her left hand, she vaulted over the fence using her right. She eyed the targets, each a large circle of woven reeds painted with various types of targets. There was the coloured rings that she understood was the standard on the mainland, the scattered small circles of black, and the type she was most used to, the outline of a person. It was in front of one of those she stopped.
Evony grabbed a string out of one of the pouches on the belts that held her daggers and carefully slid it over both ends. Once it was set she opened up the drawstring of the quiver that hung over her hip and pulled out her first arrow. She used it to practice drawing a few dozen times, to warm up her muscles and get her ready. It had been long enough since her last chance to practice that she wasn’t taking any chances.
She wiggled her feet as she settled into a proper stance facing the target. Only when she felt like she was properly aligned and ready, did she knock her arrow and actually aim at the
target. Typically, she’d have aimed at the eyes, but thought it was best to start more slowly. She concentrated instead on the small circle used to represent the heart.
Inhaling, Evony waited a second to make certain everything was just right then exhaled. As the last bit of air left her lungs, she released her arrow. It thudded solidly into the circle she’d been aiming at, though even from this distance, Evony could tell it was a bit too much to the right. She hissed a little. That’s what she got for neglecting her training for over a week. She could practically hear her sisters laughing at her. And it wasn’t like fitting the odd hora of training into her schedule was hard.
Evony sighed, doing her best to shove all of her irritation out with it. That would get in the way of her shooting. Once she had herself relatively calm, she pulled out another arrow and nocked it. This time she did aim at one of the eyes, and when she released it, she could already tell it flew truer than her first had.
Her fifth arrow was the last she sent in for precision work, aimed exactly halfway between the two eyes that she’d already marked. She shifted slightly in her stance, ensuring that she was still in the right position before she reached for her quiver. In rapid succession she sent the next fifteen arrows flying towards the target.
When her quiver was empty, all fifteen arrows were clustered near where the nose of the person would be if the target had been real. A low whistle drew Evony’s attention to the fence behind and to her left. Four soldiers were clustered there, two sitting on the fence, the other two leaning up against it. One of them flinched as she turned to look at him. The others all shifted backwards.
She raised her eyebrows. “I don’t bite,” she called, a hand on her hip. “As long as you’re not threatening me and mine, that is.”
They started whispering amongst themselves and Evony shrugged. She turned back to the target and headed towards it, studying her arrows as she walked. Overall she didn’t seem to have slipped too badly. She thought the first arrow might have been more due to nerves and the less humid air she found here on the mainland. She obviously hadn’t adjusted as well as she thought she had to it yet.
Evony carefully pulled her arrows out and returned them to her quiver, walking back for another go. She noted that her audience seemed to have grown by two, and all six of them had moved to the closer portion of fence, still watching her. One of the newcomers whispered something only to be hit by one of the original four. She wondered if any of them were archers, but it was hard to tell when they were out of armour.
She absently touched the leather of her wrist guards before she stopped in the spot she’d been in previously. She studied the target for a moment and then took a few more steps back. She ought to be stretching herself more. The last thing she wanted to do was be out of practice when she returned home so that her sisters weren’t even challenged in beating her. She’d never live something like that down, not if they had their way.
It wasn’t until she returned from retrieving her arrows the second time that the soldiers watching her approached. Or rather, two of them shoved the third forward, and he stumbled a few steps in her direction. She watched, amused, as he squared his shoulders and came closer. Studying him, Evony thought her audience was younger than she’d thought previously, more likely relatively new recruits from their lack of any kind of facial hair. Well, not entirely true. One looked to be trying and failing to grow a mustache, but she was pretending he wasn’t for his sake.
“Good m-morning, brightness,” the boy said, voice only wavering slightly. His dark eyes were wide in his face. He didn’t look more than a few years older than her brother and she had to repress the urge to chuckle.
“Good morning. I hope I’m not in the way of your morning practice.”
“Oh no, brightness. This is our free morning. We thought we’d watch the training, but they’re only doing basics today and then...”
She could fill in the blanks and smiled. “My name’s Evony. We don’t use titles on Silvinsula often, so I’m not much for being called brightness.”
The boy stared at her for a heartbeat then offered a hint of a smile back. The sound of many feet approaching interrupted her reply. Evony looked up as several men filed into the field, headed up by two men in the elaborate cuirasses of officers. She frowned at the far man. Something about him was familiar...
“What is happening here?” barked the nearer man, his blue cloak practically gleaming in the light of the new sun.
The recruit beside Evony flinched then turned to salute the man. “We were watching training practices, sir. When brightness arrived, we decided to observe hers as well.”
The officer’s gaze went past the boy to Evony. “Who gave you permission to be here?”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “No one. I wasn’t told the training fields were forbidden. Am I not allowed to make use of the targets?”
“What use could—”
The other man stepped up beside the officer and smiled at Evony before looking at his compatriot. “Surely there’s no harm in letting her practice. I wouldn’t mind seeing how the Amazzi style differs from our own, wouldn’t you?”
Now Evony recognized the man, but realized she still didn’t know his name. The first officer glowered for a moment prior to nodding. “One round should show us what we need to see.”
“Well then, Evony, daughter of Zarina,” the legate said, turning to wink at her, “will you give us a demonstration?”
She offered him a half bow with her fist over her heart. “With pleasure.”
While her original audience resumed their positions by the fence, including the boy who’d been brave enough to speak to her, Evony studied the target. She was being judged not only as herself, but as a representative of her people. She needed to ensure she performed in a way that brought honour to both.
Evony stepped back until she was a few paces in from her limit. Whispers sprung up among the soldiers, obviously archers by their bows and quivers, waiting for their turn to practice. She ignored them. If they wanted to see a true Amazzi, she’d show them the skill her people prized.
She used the pressure to narrow her focus, so that everything outside of her body, weapons, and target practically disappeared. She inhaled deeply, letting the air move through her like a calming balm. She nocked her first arrow to the string before she carefully exhaled. Her arrow escaped her bow at the same moment the last of the air she’d brought in left.
Evony didn’t wait to see where it hit, going for a rapid-fire release of as many arrows as she could get in as quickly as she could. The target was less in front of her eyes and more in her mind as she fired shot after shot. She only stopped when her hand came up empty from her quiver, the string of her bow still vibrating. Every one of her arrows was clustered neatly around the small circle of her target’s heart, not even the tiniest sliver of the black circle visible for all the arrows that overflowed it.
For a second, the only sounds were the light breeze through the surrounding trees and the shouts coming from the two adjacent fields. Then the legate grinned. “I see the tales of Amazzi skill with the bow aren’t simply tales.”
She bowed her acceptance of the honour he did her people, deciding she liked the man. “Thank you,” was all she said.
“Th-that was... You said she was Amazzi, Legate Balint?”
The older man grinned at his fellow officer, his smile holding a razor edge. “This is Princeps Evony of Aureline, one of the fifteen remaining bridal candidates for Galen and a true Amazzi.”
The first officer visibly swallowed then turned to Evony and offered her a deep bow with an arm raised. “Thank you for displaying your skills. We would be honoured if you would continue to practice here.”
Evony smiled, thinking better of the man for being able to see his mistake. “I would be honoured to return.” She gave him a quick fist over heart salute. “T
hank you for allowing me the space to practice.”
He bowed his head, and Evony took it as time to leave. She was obviously in the way of the archers’ usual practice. It didn’t take her long to collect her arrows, under the collective gaze of the men, most of who were obviously staring at her. She ignored it. From what she’d seen, being a female warrior was enough to cause stares. She could only imagine what actually demonstrating her skill had caused them to think.
She offered a final salute to the two officers before she headed off towards the women’s bath. While she hadn’t quite worked up the sweat she’d been intending, she still needed a wash. Especially since she had no idea what the rest of the day had in store for her.
* * *
Evony loped down the hall on her way back from the baths. Her muscles still warm from her morning practice and the water, she found the cool air rushing past her lovely. A patch of black against the pale stone seen out of the corner of her eye had her slowing, gaze going to the source.
Flanked by two guards, she recognized the form of the Adnuhom, even from a distance. He was the only one with hair so long and that colour somewhere between blond and brown. A woman was frantically bowing from a kneeling position, her hands rapidly gathering the scattered bits of what looked like material back into her arms.
She couldn’t see Galen’s expression from where she was, but she couldn’t imagine it was anything other than his usual stone imitation. Which probably accounted for some of the woman’s obvious nervousness. Still, she was awfully close, and if she were an enemy...
Evony shifted nearer, a hand already hovering over her quiver, the other tightening around her bow. She could probably lay out the woman before she could attack the Adnuhom. If she showed any sign of threat, which so far, she hadn’t seen. Still, being prepared could be the difference between victory and defeat.
The Emperor's Arrow Page 6