Page 63 of The Rose in the Shadows

“Not even you can protect me from him, Clay.”

Chapter Nineteen

My trials for ascending to the Council would be threefold. First, I would take a written examination encompassing Descendent history and world geography. They would expect me to know details from the time when the Gods walked among us to the present day and be able to genealogically map each line of Descendants back to their original godly ancestor.

Once that was complete, I would face the physical examination. As a Council member, I would be well-guarded throughout my life, but I was still expected to be adept at defending myself in hand-to-hand combat should I ever need to enter a battlefield.

My last test would be a trial of my powers, custom-designed for me by the reigning Council members. No two trials were the same, each was specifically designed to challenge that person’s unique strengths and weaknesses. To pass, I’d have to rely on my magic. Failure often meant severe injury or death.

My life lately seemed to be in jeopardy more often than not, though.

With the Peace Ball successfully concluded and Athenia no longer hosting visiting dignitaries, there was more pressure than ever to prepare for my trials. The Dragon had made his opinion on my timeline abundantly clear.

After we had returned to the castle, Clay and I had gone our separate ways. And since then, I spent my days in hours of tutoring and power training sessions. The date for my first trial had yet to be set, but I constantly felt its impending weight. Which meant studying and practicing magic wasn’t enough. I needed to begin training physically.

Rankor had graciously volunteered to help me, though I suspected he was more than happy to take on the role. To prepare for actual fighting, I’d been required to spend time with him in the castle’s training area, working to build strength and endurance. He would force me to stretch my legs and arms into ungodly positions before dropping into dozens of squats and lunges. When my legs burned with such ferocity that I was sure I couldn’t push myself off the ground, he’d hand me a set of weighted stones and order me to lift from my arms.

He assured me he typically wouldn’t force a full-body approach, but the timing of my trials required that I build muscle mass as soon as possible. While that was likely true, I suspected he just enjoyed seeing me squirm. The workouts often left my muscles screaming by the end of the day, but slowly, I had gotten stronger. And Rankor had noticed.

So, I had woken to a note under my door indicating it was finally time for my first lesson in hand-to-hand combat. I dressed in the same versatile garments I wore on the mountain with Ryla and braided my hair into two tight plaits. As I entered the training space, with guards trailing behind me, Rankor strode over to me with an appraising eye.

“I was worried you’d show up in a gown,” he laughed, rubbing his hands together mischievously.

He wore loose trousers and left his chest bare. As he greeted me, he slung a towel over his shoulder. His overgrown hair was damp with sweat and already beginning to curl around his ears. As we began a warm-up to loosen our muscles before the lesson, the room filled. I had long since adjusted to being subjected to the prying eyes of the court, but at that moment, it wasn’t just me they were looking at.

They peered at Iris too.

I had never doubted that Kent and Rankor, two esteemed members of the Athenian military, would be skilled fighters, but Iris was surprisingly adept as she sparred with Kent. She flittered around quickly, easily evading each punch and kick until finally, with one sure-footed step onto his thigh, she climbed him entirely, swinging her leg over his head and twisting until he fell to the floor. Then, without hesitation, she rolled, placing herself neatly atop him and wrapping her five delicate fingers around his throat.

“I win!”

Kent huffed as if he wasn’t thrilled about the fight’s result, but eventually, he nodded and yielded. She bounced off him with glee and offered a hand down for help.

“It’s because she’s a fairy,” Rankor explained. “The air doesn’t ground her as much as it does the rest of us, so she can move quicker. You saw her speed, right?”

I nodded.

“On your trial, you’ll be barred from using your powers. Before the test, they’ll give you a transfusion of mortal blood, which will dull your magic. The effects are only temporary, but effective nonetheless. So you’ll need to learn to defend yourself without any magic.”

I shivered against the memory of my night at the Alchemist’s estate. Rankor might not know it, but I was intimately aware of the effects mortal blood could have on me, and that fact alone motivated me more than anything to take his lesson seriously.

If I was ever trapped without my powers again, I wanted to defend myself in the way I hadn’t that night.

Rankor instructed me to practice punching, and I nodded. Using Iris’ movements as a guide, I matched her stance and threw my weight into my right hand, determined to prove I could be good at this. Before I could make contact with his extended palm, though, he ducked out of the way with a disappointed frown.

“You throw shit like that, and you’re going to break a hand,” he criticized, grasping onto my wrist. “Here, like this.”

Carefully, he untucked my thumb from within my fist and guided me through holding my wrist steady and where to ground my weight. The movement came naturally after a few practice rounds, and my trainer gave me approving nods in no time.

For the next hour, Rankor issued commands. After teaching me how to jab, he moved on to various forms of punches and kicks. Eventually, he moved to more complex maneuvers, like the one Iris had used to beat Kent.

I took the information in greedily. My magic lessons had become dull and too easy. My history lessons were dry and outdated. Butthis?Learning how to use my body after too many close calls of men trying to take advantage of it made me feel… powerful. I poured months of frustration and anger into each new combination he taught me, and I learned it all quickly, desperate to become proficient.

“I must say,” he noted with raised brows. “You are surprisingly adept at this.”

“Thanks,” I grumbled, chest heaving with exertion.

While I might have some natural skill at combat, it was abundantly apparent that my cardiovascular health was still not up to snuff. Rankor noticed me clutching the cramp in my side and rolled his eyes before announcing that daily runs were in order.

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