Page 75 of Within the Veil

I tracked him to the training area, where he was sparring ruthlessly with one of the Fae soldiers, Talon. I pause to watch the way King moves with a swiftness and dexterity that is extraordinary, and I frown. He was good before, but this amount of skill...

"I see you are seeing the fruits of my labor in person," Oberon walks up next to me with a sly grin on his face, interrupting my thoughts.

My eyebrows shoot up as I look at his cocky expression, his arms crossed over his massive chest. The other soldiers give him a wide birth, as usual, but with a little less fear pouring out of their pores as usual. He is acclimating well to the village, despite his air of 'I will kill you in your sleep and eat your heart.' The soldiers, despite knowing of my heritage, feared my presence less, although that may be because they'd seen me cry and lose my shit when Hudson was in stasis. Hard to fear an Arallu demon when he is more likely to drown you in his tears. However, it is not something I will ever be ashamed of.

"Fruits of your labor?" I ask.

"Hmm, King approached me shortly after the battle and asked me to train him. Apparently, the whispers of my brutality were enough for him to seek me out," Oberon says a bit ferally.

"And he has survived?" I joke if only to hide the shock flooding my body. Oberon doesn't even train our own soldiers; his methods are brutal, cruel, and uncompromising. While I relish brutality, the others agreed that Oberon would be a last-ditch effort, at least to make sure wehadsoldiers.

"Barely," he says wryly. "Truth be told, I thought it would be a waste of my valuable and important time. However, I soon realized that he wasn't simply Hudson's Sentinel, but his feelings towards her filled him with darkness and hunger for battle that threatened to rival even the most bloodthirsty of my Whisperers. Then I remembered something about sentinels from my studies, 'A Sentinel shall rival the strength and abilities of the one they are entrusted to protect.' I wanted to test that particular theory."

I turn to face him completely and skip over the sentinel lesson, I am already familiar with the text, even though, admittedly, I had forgotten all about it. "His feelings towards her?"

Oberon nods with a quirk of his eyebrow, "One would have to be blind not to see the depth of that man's feelings, even without his declaration. There are not many, even with the title of Sentinel, that would be thrust into an unknown world with unknown entities and push themselves to learn everything they can and run a royal council as adeptly as he has."

I mull over his words. Jensi and Luca had the knowledge and experience but King? Oberon is right. King has pushed himself beyond the expectations that anyone would have of someone new to our world and never complained or showed anything other than dedication. We were all so wrapped up in our own grief and duties to realize it, King has been the glue that has kept this entire village running smoothly and never once buckled under the pressure. I felt an uncomfortable burn of shame for not seeing it all sooner, but I'm seeing it now, and now is all I can control.

Oberon chuckles darkly and continues, "Regardless. I love a challenge. His connection to all of us has given him plenty of our abilities, especially after Hudson sent out that pulse of power when her body transitioned during her Coma. It made him even stronger. After the Keepers..." he trails off, and I nod. King went from a being made for Hudson's protection to full Fae.

"So, how long have you been training?" I ask.

"From the night Hudson fell into her coma and every night since," he says with a serious tone. "I promised to meet his dedication, and he has risen to meet and exceed my expectations without complaint or excuses. I admire fire and passion, but even more so, I admire the fact that he has yet to die, despite my efforts to bring him to the brink," he chuckles at my smirk. I would have loved to see that.

"I have seen many Fae break after the first day. Fortunately, King's healing abilities have kept him strong of body, but his love and resolve have kept him strong of mind. I have trained thousands, Hunter. And although he still has much to learn to meet my standards, one thing I can never teach is passion. He has that in spades. He is a good man, Hunter," Oberon finishes. My lip twitches, Oberon doesn't say that lightly and I admire that. For someone who can get on my every damn nerve, Oberon is a man who does not give praise without it being warranted.

"Okay then, this will make my talk with him even easier," I chuckle and grab a sword from the weapons wall.

Oberon sighs and grabs his own sword off his back, "If you are going to interrupt my training then at least lets make it painful." He grins.

* * *

King

I sense Hunter and Oberon long before they enter the training area, but as they come closer, I signal for Talon to cease our sparring. His eyebrows raise in question, and I point behind him.

He chuckles, "Good luck, Sentinel. I believe you are going to need it." He bows to Hunter and Oberon and saunters off. Cocky, confident, yet still woefully inept at keeping his emotions under check. None of the soldiers were aware of my private training sessions with Oberon, I always made sure to keep my growing skill within a believable increase of skill. At least after the Keepers bestowed their gift, I have been able to open myself more. But with Oberon, I'm able to fully push myself and it is exactly what I need right now. The tension riding me is at an all-time high, not only because of finally speaking the depths of my feelings to Hudson and my friends but because I hate the idea of not being one of the most powerful lines of defense for her or those children. I need to be at my best, and I'll be damned if I didn't take every chance I had to be just that.

Although, with Hunter here, I had a feeling this was going to be more than just a training session, a bloody heart-to-heart as well. Since Talon was the only one here, when I feel a shield go up around the area, I know that I'm right.

I bite back a sigh and harden my shoulders as I pull off my shirt, staying dressed in my leather combat pants but leaving my chest bare as is required, and prepare for the intense pain that precedes each training session.

Oberon waves his hands, and I grit my teeth as all of the injuries, marks, bruises, and wounds that I have acquired since we started training weeks ago reappear, and blood streams down my arms, neck, back, and face.

"Thank you, Master, Oberon, for through each loss of blood, we gain resilience. Through each bone-breaking blow, we gather strength. Each agonizing moment crafts a warrior, tempered in the fires of adversity, so that we may rise, unbroken, in the face of our foes. Your cruelty is our salvation, your harshness, our shield. Thus, we endure, we conquer, and we prevail," I say, steadily and bereft of emotion, for any show of emotion will result in being pushed to the point of wanting death to silence the screams of torture I can only let loose in my head.

Hunter curses as he looks at my body, the long slices down my arms and chest, the gashes in my stomach, my organs being held in by magic alone. He hasn't seen my back yet, where my spine is clearly visible after I made the very stupid mistake of giving Oberon an opening to attack in a move that I should have seen coming. But it is a mistake I never made again. But I would take each gash, each strike, with the knowledge that Hudson will be protected with everything that I am. She deserves nothing less. It is partially the reason I was angry enough to out myself tonight because maybe if she saw me as someone stronger, she could have leaned on me more. The other part of me is pissed because she is the image I hold onto when the pain is unbearable, but her act of cruelty will make it hard to drown out the pain I am about to face tonight. Still, it will be worth it.

Oberon cuts him a look before turning back to me, " You're welcome, warrior. Through each drop of bloodshed, we forge a bond with survival, not just with living but with conquering. Today's pain is tomorrow's strength. Embrace it, for it is the very thing that shapes you into the formidable force you are destined to become."

He gives me a nod of respect which I mimic before he tosses me two swords. I barely have time to take my stance, before he explodes into action, moving with a fluidity that would make anyone dizzy. His body is a form of artistry, as if war is his canvas and his sword is his paintbrush. After the initial awe that floods me when I see him move, having gotten used to this speed and precision, even more so after the past two days, I fall back into my single-minded focus -- survival.

My eyes follow his body as he unleashes a torrent of death that seems to be his only level of skill. I quiet my mind, letting the thoughts dissipate like mist in the wind and bring my focus, taking in his every move as we dance, parry, and deal blows. I feel the air shift as Hunter joins the fray to my left, and I find myself twisting and gritting my teeth as the injury in my spine weeps freely, sending waves of agony lacing through my body.

"Were you ever going to tell us that you love our mate?" Hunter asks, his blade carving an arc of silver in the air.

I parry each blow, my blade an extension of my desire to not get chopped into pieces, and respond, keeping my tone even, emotionless, "No. It was not my place to do so."

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