“I know, but the prince also said he’d back paid me, so that’s really for a month of my time here.”
She nodded, and from the way her face scrunched up and the calculating light in her eyes, I knew she was running through the numbers. “So we already nearly have enough. In one more month we definitely will, but your magic—” She frowned. “It would truly be best if you learned to control your affinities from your new tutor before we left. The more magically inclined both of us are, the better off we’ll be, so what if we stay here for your three months of training, then we escape?”
My stomach fell. “So I stay and complete the Trial’s tests?”
“Either that or we escape just before them.” She frowned, tapping her chin. “Although, it might be better if you complete the tests. You’re going to be watched heavily between now and then, but after the Trial finishes . . .” She let her words hang.
My lips parted in understanding. “I won’t be watched as closely.”
“Exactly, and you’ll hopefully have mastered your affinities enough by then to know how to effectively use them.”
“That plan will work as long as the king doesn’t immediately marry me off the second the Trial’s done.”
She shrugged. “Even if he did, there’s no reason we can’t still escape and leave your new husband behind, especially if your new husband is the crown prince.” She sneered.
“Do you think we should go to the Lochen or Nolus continent? A part of me thinks we should flee to the Lochen. Drachu did say I was welcome on their shores.” I quickly explained who Drachu was and the encounter I’d had with him. “I don’t think we’d be turned away from the Lochen, but the Nolus—” I shrugged. “It would be a gamble with them.”
“The safest bet is probably the best bet.” Cailis squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out when the time comes. We have three months to prepare. For now, just concentrate on mastering your affinities as much as possible. The more powerful you are when we need to flee, the better off we’ll be.”
CHAPTER 5
The faint sound of the chime timer I’d set the previous night roused me from sleep. I opened my eyes, staring bleary-eyed at the clock ticking on the wall before remembering why I’d set the timer. I lifted the covers and hurried to turn it off as a beat of excitement ran through me.
Once my teeth were clean and I was dressed, I crept to the door.
In the hall, Sandus looked freshly bathed with his beard recently trimmed. “Why, good morning, love. You’re right on time. Eager to start learning?”
“Very much so.”
“In that case, let’s get to it. Should we go to the training room?”
I made a face. I had no idea what the other females’ schedules were, but the last thing I needed was more watchful eyes and snickering comments while I floundered with yet another new skill.
“I was actually hoping to train in my chambers, perhaps in the courtyard? It’s big enough to move freely and it’s also warm because of the orem, not to mention the air is fresh, and the juniper blossoms smell divine, and—”
Grinning, Sandus held up a hand. “No need to convince me further. You had me at warm.”
I laughed. “Just keep quiet while we go through the bedroom. Cailis is still sleeping.”
I hadn’t known what to expect under Sandus’s tutelage, but not using weapons and working on maintaining my balance while standing on one leg in various positions hadn’t been it.
“You do have a natural advantage,” Sandus said as he circled me.
I’d been holding my current position for over five minutes with one bare foot on the ground while my other leg was bent at the knee with my free foot tucked behind my standing leg at the thigh.
“Oh? What’s that?” I panted lightly. In the last two minutes, Sandus had made me lift weights over my head, one weight in each hand as I held my arms aloft. My shoulder muscles were screaming.
“A life of laboring in the fields has made you strong and fit.”
“Despite my recent weight gain?” I retorted. Sweat slid between my breasts. That had happened plenty of times when I’d been tending the fields, but now my breasts had grown large enough that they nearly touched.
“Your weight gain was needed, and considering you made this happen in the past month,”—he held his arms wide, nodding toward the thriving plants and trees in the courtyard—“You weren’t exactly sitting on your arse. No, Lady Seary, you’re toned and strong, and now that you’re a healthy weight, your body is truly ready to start training in earnest.”
I swayed a bit until righting my balance again. Screaming, seriously, my muscles were screaming in agony despite Sandus’s claim that I was in shape. “I thought I was . . . to learn weapons . . . not whatever this is,” I said in between breaths.
He smiled ruefully. “Weapons come later. Balance, strength, and technique come first.” He circled me, tapping areas of my body to correct my form. “Straighten here. Tighten here.” He did another two circles around me, nodding in approval every time I made adjustments.
“Good. Very good. You’re already further along than I’d expected you to be. Your strength is good, your balance is excellent, and you seem to have a natural inclination for technique. Every time I’ve corrected one of your positions, you were able to make the subtle changes with my guidance. Most fae aren’t able to do that without months to full seasons of mind-body training first.” He scratched his chin. “Have you ever trained before?”
I shook my head. “The only training I’ve ever done is to tend fields.”
Sandus clucked his tongue, then stood in front of me. “Whatever the case, I think you’re ready for the basic warmups each warrior does before sparring. I thought it would be weeks until we got into this, but I’m rather impressed by what I’m seeing and think you can do it.”
He finally let me relax my position, and I nearly fell to the ground in relief.
“None of that,” he said with a smile. “Now, watch and learn.”
He demonstrated first, going through a series of movements that involved dipping, swaying, bending, and straightening. His entire body moved with effortless grace, even when he stood only on his hands or bent so low that his chest brushed the cobblestones. It looked like a dance unto itself, filled with positions that, at times, seemed to defy gravity.
“Follow me through each movement,” he said when he finished. “I’ll show the routine to you first, and we’ll go through it until you have it memorized. Then I’ll have you do it with me watching you, and I’ll adjust you as needed.”
For the next hour, we dipped and flowed through a series of connecting steps. I mimicked each and every bend of his knees, twist of his arms, and arch of his back. By the third time through, I caught on enough not to need his guidance, even though I couldn’t fully execute the more advanced moves yet.
He stood back. Arms crossed, he watched me carefully, stepping in when needed to instruct how I should alter my position.