Page 3 of Enchanted Shadows
Though I knew there was a part of Jorah that had put me in charge of training this group of women just because she wanted me to find the love of my life, I also knew she was right. It was time. I guessed I could be thoroughly annoyed and also do a damn fine job of it. I felt a bit like a prick for frustrating not only my queen, but also a pregnant lady.
I let out a sigh of defeat.
“It won’t be easy,” Krew said to me. “Not because your training class is all women, but more so because of the public perceptionand eyes on them. Not to mention those stuck in the old ways which will not be in favor of this.”
I slapped him on the shoulder. “When has that ever stopped us from doing what’s right?”
“Never.” Determination was clear on Miles’s tone. “And I’m to be your go between, General Raikes. I’ll fully take over Team One and Team Two. We will be on wall duty and on standby the next ninety days for whatever you need us for.”
My chin went backward. “And you were going to tell me this when?”
“I was hoping for after I bested you, you know, proved my worth, with you writhing on the ground beneath my boot.” He shrugged.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to Krew. “The barracks have been emptied?” Normally they wouldn’t be totally emptied for a new training class, but they would be for this one. The first training class of all women that Wylan had ever seen.
Over the years we had dealt with a handful of the loyalists to Theon Valanova who fought against our improvements. A team consisting of not just one woman, but of entirely women? Yeah. Their very existence would be an affront to that bunch. I suspected it was going to bring the loyalists out of the woodwork.
The other teams were moving to the Savaryn base to give this training class space to train, also keeping everyone who didn’t need to be in Kavan Keep out. A greater presence in Savaryn for this wasn’t a bad thing. The women would probably appreciate a testosterone-free space to train in too. Particularly since pranks were common among the teams.
“Wren moves in tonight,” Krew said with a nod.
How was my little sister old enough to be a part of this? But knowing her, rambunctious as she was, I was not surprised at all she had jumped at this chance. Our mother and father had probably just wanted her out of the house for the rest of the summer.
I still visited my family, though admittedly not as often as I should. I wasn’t the same Owen who had left for training. I’d done a lot these past years to grab ahold of this newfound peace, and not all of it I was proud of. Sometimes being around my parents and sisters reminded me of how much I had changed. How fast I’d grown up. Theon was gone, so I didn’t hold many regrets, but that didn’t erase the dark things I’d had to endure along the way.
“Do you want to stay in one of the cabins or do you want to stay at your room at the castle?” Krew asked me.
I thought about it for a moment. For all the other training groups I’d led, I’d kept my room at the castle. But this was different. “I’ll do a little of both. I’ll take a cabin to start with. Might need my room at the castle for sanity purposes.”
His eyes on mine told me he understood entirely. We both would make sure this group of women was able to train without interference of any kind. In jest or otherwise. “I have a file on each of the women. Shower up, come have a whiskey, and look over them with me.”
I dipped my chin in a nod. “Okay.”
“If you are done pouting, that is,” he said with a sly grin. “Because Jorah also made you a fresh batch of cookies as a peace offering.”
I began striding for the castle. “Why didn’t you lead with that? I would’ve stopped pouting hours ago.”
“I’m coming too,” Miles butted in. “As proxy to him being general, I also need to go over these files.”
I looked him over, thinking he didn’t look half as innocent as he sounded. “You just want some of my cookies.”
“That too,” he admitted.
I shoved him toward a nearby tree, but unfortunately, he spun around it.
“Is there anything special you need or want for this first week?” Krew asked me.
Miles choked on a laugh as he fell back into step with us. “Puke buckets. He trained me. All we did the first week was run.”
I hoped the women came ready in the morning. Because Miles was exactly right. The first thing up on the agenda? Learning to run.
CHAPTER 2
Three of them were late. So this was starting off great. It was five minutes past the time we were supposed to start the first training session, and I was already annoyed. Which boded well for the next ninety days.
“Owen.”
I turned to find Vivian sashaying her way over to me, her blonde hair around her shoulders. We had been in school together before I began training. When I saw her file in the stack Krew and I had gone over, I had been a little surprised. Most of these women were younger. In their twenties like my sister. But a few, like Vivian, Harlow, and Molly, were older.
