Page 102 of Within the Veil

I throw my head back in laughter. After a few seconds, I collect myself, "Tell you what, before we start back up, why don't you and the rest of your battalion take center stage and show me what you can do?"

She claps gleefully and leads her class and a smirking Grayson to the center, where they all stand at attention and face him.

"Le croíthe lasrach agus sprideanna neamhchothrom, cosnaímid, cosaint agus streachailt dár gcuid ár mbuíochas,"Grayson shouts, his voice ringing with authority as he faces the children, his eyes ablaze.

They echo back the words that translate to 'with hearts aflame and spirits untamed, we defend, we protect, and we strive for excellence.'

"Ná fág aon bhuanóir!"Li'Ella shouts, and as Grayson frowns, Oberon chuckles, a low rumble of amusement reverberating through his chest.

I raise my eyebrow at him, "Leave no survivors?"

He shrugs, his voice devoid of any emotion that belies the twinkle of amusement in his eyes, "I may have given Li'Ella a few pointers."

"Scoundrel," I tease.

"Absolutely," he leans forward and presses his lips against my forehead.

"Alright, Junior De-fae-nders!" Grayson commands their attention once again, "We were discussing your advantages to being children in battle. You may not be in the direct line of fire, but if it does happen, what are the first steps to success?"

"Quiet magic that stops attacks, theory, and proper grounding," the kids chant. Grayson beamed.

I can't hold back my grin, I loved seeing him back in his element. Teaching theory, and fueling minds, even if it is to children. Though, in all actuality, these kids are probably better prepared than most at the academy, having grown up fully entrenched in pure magic and nature. Less whiny, too, considering there are no assholes that need to be punched in their mouths by a wild Jensi attack.

"That is wonderful! Does anyone want to demonstrate for the geriatric de-fae-nders?" I say jokingly, pointing at the soldiers behind me who chuckle.

Li'Ella's hand shoots up, surprise, surprise and she points to one of the other kids there.

"I want to challenge Caleb for calling me a suck-up. Grayson said I couldn't beat his as...astonishing disrespectful backside." She corrects herself in a hurry when Grayson levels her with a glare.

I shake my head at her quick save.

Who the hell is she learning all this shit from?I ask.

The Fae are ancient beings of renown, grace, and repute. So, of course, they all swear like savages behind closed doors. It's one of the things they have no problem picking up from the mortal world. Except they call it colorful sentence enhancers. They will never admit it, though.Remi says with a mental roll of her eyes.

The kids pick it up, but Grayson has been nipping it in the bud. Told them they could only use sentence enhancers once they were old enough to clean their wings without help or magic.Jensi adds with a laugh.

Good luck with that, I know grown-ass Fae who can't clean their wings without magic,Ryder scoffs.

Ooookay then. Guess that's the fae equivalent of wiping your ass.

Rolling her gorgeous moss-green eyes with a huff, she continues, "Not without a direct challenge, and he is there to supervise."

I nod at her and go down to one knee so I can look at all the children in their eyes, "King Grayson is absolutely correct. Outside of combat, a challenge is done publically for two reasons. Number one, it is a sign of honor and respect; even if you lose, you do so with honor because the better person won, and you take that lesson and prepare better for the next time. Number two, it shows that you respectyourselfenough to never stoop down to the level of a bully. They are the worst sort of people because they take advantage of the weak, but you are better than that. You challenge, and you walk away with your head held high."

"But how can one have honor if they need to be supervised?" A little boy asks, raising his hands.

Oberon speaks up, his dark voice enrapturing the kids instead of scaring the shit out of them. "That is an excellent question. By definition honor should guide your actions even when no one is watching. Honor lies in doing what is right not because you are told to, but becuause it is the very essence if who you are. However in life but especially in war, honor needs to be honed just fiercely as one trains." He gets down on one knee and presses his hand against the chest of the little boy over his heart.

"When you close your eyes, do you feel the way your heart moves? Do you think about how it beats faster when you are training, softly when you are not? How when it beats faster, it is due to a heightened emotion or activity? But when you are calm, you tend to think more resonably? Understand right from wrong better?"

The little boy nods and takes a deep breath, his shoulders dropping as he stares at Oberon, his gaze reverant.

"Good. Recognizing your heart beat is the first step to being a great warrior. The second step is control. You are in control of your body and your spirit. Control is your first weapon. Anything else, magicorsword is secondary. Everyday you are alive, you are a living, breathing weapon. Now consider how powerful you will be once your main weapon is honed to perfection."

Oberon stands, summoning his sword into his hand and steps back to slowly arc his sword through the air. "Use your heightened senses, tell me if you hear me heart beat change as I move,"he tells the children.

Everyone watches with bated breathe as he explodes into action, every movement, pivot and strike, brutal, calculated and precise. Yet, his face remains impassive, gaze unwavering and his heart rate never changes. Just as quickly as he begins, he stops, his weapon disapearing and he comes back to kneel in front of the children.

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