Page 81 of Scourged

A trick of her imagination, nothing more. Brought on by an actual night’s sleep, one that followed too many restless, cold, terrified ones.

Once her hands had stopped shaking, and she felt as normal as she ever did now, she turned to Trefor. She forced a smile when she met his worried sea-green gaze. “I’m sorry. I’m fine, I promise. Let’s keep going.”

He gave her a wary, tight nod, pale hair shifting in the breeze. They continued down the path, and she inhaled deep breaths of his sea salt and citrus scent, like the groves of the trees that grew along the northern coast.

His wariness fell away, giving way to an excited energy, as they pushed past a line of hedges and into the training clearing hidden deep within the confines of the forest game park. That energy spilled into her, and she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face.

She’d made it out. She would be strong again.

Trefor darted from her side, already pulling out equipment and arranging it around the clearing. Mariah didn’t quite know why she’d asked Trefor to be the one to train with her thatmorning. Perhaps it was because he’d been recently injured, struck by an arrow meant for Mariah herself, and had just retrained himself.

Or perhaps, of all her Armature, she knew him the least, but something in her needed his vibrant, excited energy, right at this moment.

She’d only failed to listen to her gut once. And it had resulted in her leaving her dagger on her nightstand and strolling into captivity, unarmed and defenseless. She had no intention of ignoring those instincts again.

Her fingers toyed idly with the hilt of her dragon-winged dagger, strapped once again to its familiar place on her thigh. She’d run from some things since returning home but swore to never let that blade leave her side again.

“You sure you don’t want to talk about what happened on the trail?” Trefor was still watching her with concerned curiosity. “How are you feeling?”

She couldn’t blame him for his worry; they’d only returned two nights ago, after all. And before that, it had been three days of hard riding through the harshest of Onita’s northern terrain. It would make sense if she weren’t feeling up to training yet.

While her body certainly protested, her soul cringed at that idea. Idle rest meant stagnation, and if she let herself sit, she feared her wounds would fester.

So, she’d opted for movement.

“It was nothing. And I’m tired,” she admitted, “but ready to train.”

Trefor’s smile faltered. “You know, you don’t have to. You should get some rest?—”

“Please, Trefor,” she pleaded. “I don’t want to rest. Not now. I want to train.” She hoped he read her desperation, her burning desire to no longer feel as she did. To regain everything that was stripped from her, to come back stronger than before.

After a few heartbeats, he nodded. “Okay. Then let’s train.”

Mariah’s bootsclicked down the marble hallway, feeling lighter than she had in months.

Her muscles ached. Every inch of her was sore. She had shed the tunic she’d worn down to the game park, now dressed only in a thin-strapped camisole and cooling underclothes. Her skin was coated in a thin sheen of sweat, but she reveled in it: this feeling of being alive, and in control, and a bit more like herself than she had that morning.

“I need to grab some lunch,” Trefor said, running a hand through his hair. They paused at the landing of a descending staircase, one that would lead down into the palace kitchens. “Do you want to join me?”

Mariah considered it for a moment. She was hungry, but the thought of being around so many, of being the focus of every set of eyes in those tunnels …

She swallowed.

“I’m okay. I’m sure Mikael made something before he left this morning.” She turned, facing Trefor fully, and let a real smile spread across her face.

“Thank you for this morning. I needed it. More than you’ll ever know.”

Trefor smiled back. “Of course. Same time tomorrow?”

She lifted her chin. “Earlier.”

With a crooked grin, he pulled her into a lopsided hug, pressing a quick kiss into her hair.

“We’re so happy to have you back,” he whispered. “You have no idea.”

She fought back tears as she stepped away from him, tugging lightly on their bond, the one that shimmered like a golden citrus sea. “You have no idea how happy I am to be back.”

He squeezed her one more time before releasing her and jogging toward the stairs, descending into the lower palace levels. She watched him until he vanished from sight, smile lingering across her lips as she turned back down the hall.

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