Page 60 of Restored

The door of the training grounds knocks open as Archie arrives. “What’s going on here? Fighting dirty, are you, Layla?” I hear the grin in Archie’s voice as I drop to the ground next to Cam.

“Shut up, Archie. We were working on honing my senses. In my defense, it was his idea to have me close my eyes!”

I awkwardly touch Cam’s shoulder as I try to comfort him. “Would you like me to try and use my power to take away the pain?”

“No, please no, I’m okay.” Cam winces as he pushes himself up.

Mia snickers. “You alright, Cammy?”

“I’m fine. I think that’s enough for one day.”

“Are you sure? Let me just use my pow—” I try, and he cuts me off.

“I’m sure. I don’t need your hands or power anywhere near my crotch.”

“Okay, sorry again,” I call back to Cam as Mia pulls me away.

“Don’t worry, one time, I hit Ledger in the balls so hard he was limping for a week. An accident, of course,” she whispers, and I snort.

“Thanks for not letting me give up.” I rub at a bruising spot on my arm.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Remember this moment at our next training.” She squeezes my arm and waves leaving through the door.

I linger in the courtyard after Mia’s gone, watching as Ledger says goodbye to the children. He sneaks silvers into each of their bags as they depart. I marvel at his softness and the playful nature with which he addresses each of them. I find myself envious, wanting to experience that side of him for myself.

They all look at him like he’s hung the moon, and I watch with rapt attention. For the first time, I get a glimpse of how much he loves his people and see the traits of a future king in him.

When they have all gone, he turns to me. I try to ignore the way my stomach flutters.

“I could use some help cleaning up if you feel so inclined.”

“Put me to work.”

He motions for me to go first, and I walk in front of him, suddenly self-conscious.

We bend down, picking up wooden swords and staffs off the grass. I’m hyper-aware of his presence, and as we work next to each other, I’m careful not to brush him.

“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.” He empties my hands and leans the equipment against the wall. “You have fight in you. You just need somewhere to direct it. Preferably not at me.” Grinning he bends back down, loading up his arms.

“That may be true.” I respond following his lead. “And you seem to really have a way with the kids,” A soft smile graces my lips. “The ever-serious prince has a soft spot for children. Who would have guessed?”

“They’ve grown on me. We’ve been working together for a few years now. They have helped me as much, if not more than I have helped them.”

“It’s wonderful—what you do for them. I wish I would have had someone like you when I discovered my power.” I finish stacking the wooden swords.

“That’s why I started doing it. Children who are born with power need help channeling it. Honing their skills, releasing pent-up energy. It can be scary, explosive and overwhelming.” Our fingers brush as we bend down to grab the same training weapon.

“How old were you when your powers came in?” I ask, snatching my hand back.

“I was five when my nature ability started to surface, nine when my siphoning powers took effect. The latterbeing harder to control. Every time I would touch someone, I would siphon their powers. I was scared to touch anyone for years.”

“That’s horrible.” I pick up a staff and scrape at the chipping wood.

“I read every book I could find that had information on siphoning. My mother had passed by then and my father was sick, so Archie, Mia, and my sister would let me practice on them. I can imagine it wasn’t very enjoyable, but they never complained.” As he talks, I try to picture the little boy he was. “I was so fearful of my siphoning power that I didn’t allow myself to kiss anyone until I was almost eighteen.”

“That must have been very upsetting for all of the girls that met you before then.” I laugh. He grins over at me, and I relish it when his dimple pops.

“Thank you for your help. If you ever want to join a session, I’m sure the kids would love to say they got to work with an all-elusive healer,” he offers, and I nod. My heart squeezes as I picture what a life here could look like.

---