Page 79 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
‘You seem mighty familiar with a certain —’
But Adrienne only laughed quietly. ‘Nice try. But it’s clearly you we need to discuss. Last I heard, your Warsword was a shadow wraith.’
The words cleaved through Drue, cold and precise.
Adrienne’s face softened. ‘I don’t say it with malice…’
‘I know,’ Drue breathed, suppressing the urge to glance at Talemir.
‘Well?’ Adrienne pressed. ‘Does it matter?’
The question made Drue’s stomach harden. If her friend had asked her that weeks ago, as the two of them tracked a party of wraiths across the plains, the need for vengeance ruling her every thought, her every move, as it had for months, Drue would have laughed. Of course it mattered.
But Talemir was different. Sheknew him, didn’t she? He was not some monster who wrought his shadows upon the midrealms like poisoned whips lashing the innocent…
‘I don’t know,’ she said.
Adrienne raised a brow. ‘I think you do.’
Drue clicked her tongue in frustration. ‘Since when do you know everything about everything?’
‘Since always. Now will you shut up? Some of us are trying to sleep.’
Drue kicked off her boots and lay down, shaking her head in disbelief at her friend, who grinned at her. But even when she settled onto her bedroll and closed her eyes, blankets warm around her, sleep did not come easily.
Early the next morning,Drue and Adrienne pushed several tables together in the tavern and spread out their maps and notes on the raiders’ headquarters. Between Adrienne’s leadership, Drue’s ranger knowledge of Naarva and the Warswords’ battle experience, they left no stone unturned when it came to finalising their attack on the stronghold. Drue had to admit, she’d never seen such a refined strategy.
As discussed the night before, Adrienne called all the fighting men and women of their forces to the town square for a training session with Talemir and Wilder. With Terrence perched on her shoulder, Drue watched from the outskirts as the two warriors shucked off their jackets and their shirts to spar before the crowd. Both men were leagues above those she’d known in Naarva, both in terms of their ridiculously muscular builds and even the way they held their blades – as though the weapons were an extension of them.
‘Apparently they breed them differently at Thezmarr…’ Adrienne commented from beside her.
Clearly great minds thought alike.
‘We’re going to run through three basic drills with you,’ Talemir told the crowd gathered before them, his rich voice projecting to the far reaches. ‘We’ll start with defence, then move on to angles of attack and then deception. My apprentice and I will demonstrate.’
Drue laughed at the glare Wilder shot his former master. But that soon vanished as both men took up their stances.
‘Did you ever think us lowly Naarvians would receive personal training from Warswords?’ Adrienne asked quietly, her arms folded over her chest, her eyes fixed on the fighting forms before them.
‘Definitely not,’ Drue replied, equally mesmerised as Talemir assumed what she recognised to be a defensive stance.
Talemir twirled his sword, drawing the weapon up and to the outside by his temple, the point aimed at Wilder’s throat. ‘You see here, how I have created distance between myself and my opponent?’ he called to the onlookers.
Wilder gave him a roguish grin and took a step towards him, brandishing his blade.
‘As the opponent advances, I need to structure my cover. I need to place my weapon between my vital organs and my enemy’s sword. Like so.’ Talemir brought his blade down in a single, swift motion, the steel singing as it collided with Wilder’s, blocking it from his path. ‘There’s also enough space to absorb the incoming blow and to counterattack. Always think about distance and cover when defending yourself. Create space between yourself and your opponent, and avoid exposing your delicate parts —’ He blocked Wilder again, sidestepping and parting his feet into a lunge position, his sword poised between them once more. ‘From a stance like this,’ he continued. ‘I can protect myself well, while also creating a direct threat to my opponent. From here, I can deliver a straight thrust, or turn to cut diagonally…’ He demonstrated with slow, deliberate movements that were easy to follow.
‘Why don’t you show them in real time?’ Wilder said, looking bored.
Talemir smirked. ‘Are you so eager to lose to me in public?’
‘You’re not as young as you once were,master.’
‘I’m still a champion of Thezmarr. Are you sure you want to be embarrassed?’
Drue tensed as Wilder didn’t reply with words, but launched into a flurry of strikes and lunges. Talemir met every blow with a confident block, a smile playing on his lips as his protégé advanced, slashing and slicing, a blur of silver steel.
‘You still leave that left side open, apprentice,’ he teased, tapping Wilder’s ribs with the flat of his blade.
