Ayla took out her dagger. The Paladins raised their swords and moved lightning fast as if they were born to fight evil. There was no fear on their faces as they attacked the undead Orc. The undead Orc lifted his big fists and aimed for Hudde. The Paladin dodged them, but the Undead Orc was faster than the skeletons, and he swung his fists once more, hitting Hudde in the ribs and sending him into the wall behind him. “Are you alright?” Eude asked as he attacked the creature from behind. “My ribs feel as if they are on fire, and I am sure at least two of them are broken, but other than that, I am great,” Hudde said sarcastically. Eude snorted. “Always the jester.” A cursed axe appeared in the undead Orc’s hand, and he aimed for Hudde’s neck. Ayla could not just let Hudde die. She threw the dagger at the undead Orc at the same time as Hudde leaped to his side. Ayla’s dagger pierced the creature’s upper arm. Eude attempted to decapitate the Undead Orc, but the creature turned around,
Where have you been?” Rhobart asked Ayla. His eyes fell on her left arm. The sleeve of her white tunic had blood on it. And dust. “You are hurt? And why are your clothes dirty?” “I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to go on a walk. I must have scratched myself with something,” Ayla tried to lie. Rhobart folded his arms over his chest. “Why do I have the feeling you are not being honest?” Ayla licked her lips nervously. “Could we, perhaps, talk about this in our room?” she asked, not wanting to have an argument with Rhobart in front of Atlas and Zell. “Don’t mind us. We were on our way to see our griffins. It just happened that we stumbled upon a very frenzied Rhobart,” Atlas explained. “I was not in a frenzy,” Rhobart protested. “Maybe a bit worried for my woman, who was supposed to be sleeping next to me, but instead, went Inoss knows where.” “As I said, I was… just taking a walk,” Ayla huffed. Atlas looked over Ayla’s shoulder, squinting his eyes. “Is that the twins?” Ayla clo
“Oh, you thought I was going to let the twins off the hook when it was their responsibility, their duty, to make sure you don’t venture into some old tunnel? Did you ever stop to think that maybe traps were inside it?” Ayla bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “Of course not! What did you even expect to find there?” She shrugged. “So you went inside because of curiosity?” Rhobart’s voice was starting to get louder, catching the attention of some Fire Mages. “Rhobart,” Milton tried to intervene. “Stay out of this,” Rhobart snapped at Milton. He turned his attention back to Ayla. “You put not only yourself in danger, but Hudde and Eude as well. And not to talk about our child.” “I am not pregnant!” Ayla told him for the hundredth time. Rhobart seemed to ignore her as he kept talking. “If you are acting like this now, what will you do during the war when warriors are punished for their disobedience?” he snarled. Ayla strengthened her back. “We are not at war, and even if we we
She grabbed his face between her palms and kissed him. “I am sorry,” she said against his lips. His chest rumbled. “You have been kind to me when I haven’t. I will never doubt your character again, ever.” She kissed him again, wanting to show him how much she loved him. How much she needed him. It wasn’t just a physical need. She needed to feel his love for her. Cheeks red as tomatoes, blood roaring in her ears…. She had never taken the initiative before… She broke the kiss. “Take off your tunic,” she said hoarsely. He obeyed her. She ran her hands over his chest, over the tattooed runes on his skin—his oath to her—over his hard pectorals, then lower, over his abdomen, and lower… He sucked in a breath, and she slid down to the floor. She unfastened his trousers, her gaze on his face. His eyes were full of lust. “Whatever is to happen, whatever hardship we will face, I want you to know that I love you. That you make me so very happy. That everything I do, I do it for us. For
He applied the oil to her hair and carefully brushed it before braiding it in an intricate style. After adding a few beads and other hair jewelry, he took her back to the room. “Where did you learn how to take care of women’s hair?” Ayla asked while getting dressed. Rhobart rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled something, his cheeks turning— Her brows drew closer. He looked flustered. “Are you blushing?” He swore in Old Nordmarian before saying, “Droyn.” “What about him?” “He is the eldest of ten children. The only male. His parents worked hard to feed them, while Droyn remained home to take care of his younger sisters. He taught me how to do all types of braids, and I practiced on my hair and… his.” She could almost imagine a younger Rhobart braiding Droyn’s hair. “Droyn will make his wife very happy.” “Droyn could make any woman happy, but he is into men.” Ayla’s lips made an ‘o’ shape, her thoughts going to the sketchbook Eude gave her. “Let’s get you into bed,” said Rh
After a quick breakfast, dressed in new clothes—clothes used by knights during their training—and, together with Kerra and Godefray, Ayla stepped outside the Fire Clan for her first day of training with Godefray. While Godefray hadn’t been happy with Kerra trotting after him and Ayla, he gave in when Rhobart told him it was best if Kerra accompanied them, since Godefray wanted Ayla to train in the forest. The forest was silent as Godefray, Ayla, and Kerra followed the tracks of a rabbit. Ever since they entered the forest, Godefray kept teaching Ayla different things—how to recognize which tracks belonged to a carnivore and which ones to a herbivore, how to know how fresh they were, how to move quietly, the basic symbols carved in the trees and so on. Ayla was trying to memorize everything Godefray was telling her, and he seemed unhappy with her when she asked him to repeat himself. A small bow made from cedar and maple and a quiver was on her back, while, on her right hip, she had
While Godefray stood and went to make a target on one of the trees, Ayla washed, dried, and put away the kettle and the mugs. When she was done, she went to where Godefray was, her bow in her hands. “Before we start, you have to remember some basic rules. We are wearing long sleeves now, but if you ever have to use the bow while your arms are exposed, you would want to wear an arm guard. It will protect you from getting hurt by the string. For the fingers, you can use a tab or a glove.” He took out his bow and put an arrow in it. “You want to put three fingers under the arrow or you can put two under and one above. I prefer three fingers under, but you can use whichever method is easier for you. Try before we proceed with the shooting.” Ayla tried first with two fingers under and one above, but she didn’t like it. She felt more comfortable with three under. “For the beginning, we will stand close to the target. Your feet should be perpendicular to where you want to shoot. Also, wha
Something dark flashed in Godefray’s eyes. “All the things you said about that prophecy—I don’t believe a word! I hope that Rhobart will open his eyes in time and start preparing for war—war that will come once more from Myrthana. You and your family only brought death and destruction to Nordmar.” “Rhobart is my family.” Godefray folded his arms over his chest. “Just because you are his n’alxa doesn’t mean you are his family. I pray he won’t marry you and make you the Queen of Nordmar, because if that happens, I refuse to serve you.” He thought his words could hurt her? “Good. I don’t want to be your Queen either,” she said before turning her back on him and walking towards the Monastery. “Come, Kerra.” Ayla held her head high as she walked. She was not ashamed of who she was, and if Godefray insisted on not liking her, well, that was his problem. Of all of Rhobart’s Paladins, Godefray was the only one who refused to let her talk, lashing out at her each time he had the chance.