Page 15 of Ironhold, Trial Two

Lady Elara gestures to the statue of the goddess. “They say that Deira could command animals so completely that they would tear their own throats out if she wished it. That she could summon to her side, not just creatures she had formed a bond with, but anything she could feel. That she could borrow aspects of their abilities, even their forms.”

“What do you mean, their forms?”

“Take another look at your arm,” Lady Elara suggests.

I look at the wounds her nails have inflicted on me, only… the shape of them is wrong. They are more like claw marks.

“You will need to learn all of this,” she says. “You will need to learn the side of the goddess that can soothe a ravenous tiger, but also the side that can track it and hunt it down.”

“What if I don't want that side?” I ask.

Lady Elara shrugs. “Then you will never reach your full potential, and you will die.”

Chapter Eight

I train with Lady Elara to the point of exhaustion before heading back to Ironhold. Rowan is waiting for me, looking worried for me.

“Is everything all right, Lyra?” he asks. “When I heard that some noble had summoned you, I was worried that…”

He tails off, but I know what he means. Rowan was the slave of the noblewoman Tyra before she sent him to fight in the Colosseum. She kept him as her personal servant, and probably more, although Rowan does not talk about it. He, more than anyone, knows what nobles expect from those who serve them.

“It was Lady Elara,” I say. “The same noble from the games. She has been kind to me.”

“You can't always trust the kindness of nobles,” Rowan insists. “They are interested in using people to get what they want and… what happened to your arm, Lyra?”

“It’s nothing,” I say. “A scratch from the beast pens.”

I can't tell him the truth because I know that would involve revealing Lady Elara’s secrets, and they are not mine to tell. Rowan knows that I am a beast whisperer, but it seems to me that Lady Elara’s survival depends on her secrecy. I cannot tell even Rowan that she is the same as me.

Rowan looks as though he doesn’t entirely believe me, but he lets it go. He puts an arm around me instead. “As long as you're sure you're all right?”

“I'm fine,” I assure him.

I’m so close to him now, so wrapped up in his strength and his scent. I can feel my heart beating faster. I move to start to kiss him, but he’s the one who pulls back.

“You don’t want me?” I ask.

“I… it’s not like that, Lyra.”

“Then what is it like?” I ask, not understanding.

He keeps me at arm's length. "It's… we should head to one of the practice rooms. I'll spar with you.”

I wince at the prospect, and at him holding back like that, but I know Rowan is doing the right thing, trying to help me prepare and make up for whatever I've missed. In the build up to the new season at the Colosseum, every day of training is vital.

I go with Rowan to a practice room, where we work on close fighting, using wooden knives. It's hard work and soon we're both sweating. I'm all too aware of every time a practice knife touches one of us, because I know that in real life that would be a wound, would mean blood on the sand.

Practicing this close, we are practically grappling with one another, each of us trying to stop the other from doing anything with their weapon. Soon we are panting for breath, our sweat mingling as we wrestle for advantage. Of course, Rowan's greater size means that he is able to overpower me, bringing me to the ground.

I surprise him by kissing him, sudden and sharp. When he is so close, it's impossible not to.

“I'm not sure that's a tactic that's going to do much for you in a fight,” Rowan says as he pulls away. He still looks uncomfortable.

“No?” I looked down pointedly to where my wooden knife is now pressed against his heart. “It seems to have won this exchange comfortably.”

“True,” Rowan says, pulling me to my feet easily. “But we should practice more. That trick will work on me, but I guess you don’t want to have to try it on whoever you’re put up against next?”

I shake my head. Kissing him is one thing, but with anyone else, I will need to earn my victory. I still feel that there’ssomething he’s not saying about why he’s holding back. And I don’twanthim to hold back.

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