Page 107 of The Throne's Undoing

Ellie stepped back and placed a hand on her hip as she blew a piece of hair out of her face. "You know, Graeson once told me that you could handle yourself in a fight. I'm starting to believe that either he's not as good as he thinks he is at fighting, or he was a little too preoccupied when fighting you."

Kallie groaned and wiped the sweat dripping down her forehead with the back of her hand. "I'm out of practice, all right? The most physical activity I've done here or even in Frenzia was walking around the castle's grounds."

"Well, that's obvious," Ellie said with a snort.

Kallie blew her hair out of her face and flipped the wooden sword in her hand, inspecting it. "Did Graeson return to Pontia?"

"Huh?" Ellie asked, blinking. "No, why?"

"Oh, no reason," Kallie said with a shrug. "I just haven't seen him around. That's all."

Ellie stepped closer, spinning her wooden sword at her side. She cocked her head, a coy smirk curling the corner of her lips. "Are you concerned about Graeson, Kallie?"

"What?" Kallie's head shot up, wide-eyed. "No. Of course not. Why would I be?" she said, her words coming out faster than intended. Heat rose to her cheeks.

Ellie hummed, amusement crinkling her eyes as she tried to hold back her smile. She spun around, drawing a line in the sand with the tip of her wooden sword. "It's all right if you're concerned about him. I mean, the mandidburn down a temple for you."

Kallie lowered her gaze. "He didn't do that for me."

"No?" Ellie asked, turning around. "Then why did he do it?"

"He--He--" Kallie swallowed, her words twisting in her mouth. Finally, she shrugged. "I do not know his motives."

"I'm not even sure ifheknows his motives. But he's been around. He's just been...preoccupied."

"I see," Kallie retorted, pursing her lips as she tried to swallow the rising disappointment within her. The truth was, she had no reason to be disappointed. She had no claim to Graeson. They were not even friends, really. Still, her stomach twisted.

"Hold up your sword," Ellie commanded, shifting into a fighting stance.

Shaking her thoughts away, Kallie obeyed Ellie's command despite her muscles groaning and focused on not getting side swept again.

An hour or so later, Kallie returned to the infirmary on shaking legs. After the healer checked her over, Opal informed Kallie that she was to be moved to her own room.

There were still guards stationed outside her room, one of whom followed Kallie everywhere she went, but she still appreciated the privacy the new room afforded her. For once, there were no prying eyes as she lay her head down at night.

She hadn't realized just how much she had missed a sense of privacy until she had it again. She reveled in the feeling, for there was finally an escape from the whispers that once slithered their way into the infirmary as strangers passed.

The next few days were more or less the same. After a short walk with Medenia, Ellie would come to drag Kallie out to the training grounds.

Her muscles screamed and bruises covered her body, but the work felt good.

It felt...normal.

Kallie clung to those moments when sweat beaded at the back of her neck and down her back, when her arms were on fire and her calves burned.

Because with the wooden sword in her hand, she felt somethingmore than the emptiness that had until now pervaded her mind and body. And feelingsomething, even if she could not identify that precise thing yet, was better than nothing at all.

Even when Ellie won fight after fight, Kallie was thankful for the distraction and the chance to escape her ever-racing mind.

Until, that is, the consequences of her actions smacked Kallie in the face.

"You're going easy on her."

Kallie froze at the sound of Dani's voice and missed blocking Ellie's swing. The wooden sword hit her right in the ribcage, causing Kallie to bend over with a loudoomph.

"I wish I could say I enjoyed that, but it's honestly just pitiful watching you struggle."

Keeled over, Kallie squinted up at Dani as she pressed a hand to her stomach. Dani stood a few yards away, twisting a small blade within her fingers.

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