Page 36 of Path of the Dark
12
Blind
ELIAS ADVANCED ON Santino, pressing his advantage hard. The ‘clack’ of wooden swords echoed off the surrounding stone, filling the training yard. His narrow face gleaming with sweat, Santino drew back, hemmed in now by the wall behind him.
Again and again, the soldier tried to counterattack, tried to get under his guard. But Elias was relentless, focused.
Days of frustration, of endless negotiations, and impulses he wouldn’t let himself act on, released. Fighting was an outlet. Under normal circumstances, Elias was a highly skilled swordsman. In his current state of mind, he was lethal.
Eventually, Santino dropped to his knees, his wooden sword slipping from his fingers onto the dirt as Elias’s blade pressed against his throat. “I yield,” he croaked.
Elias acknowledged his opponent with a curt nod before turning on his heel and striding out of the training yard. Applause followed him. Rithmar soldiers had gathered around the perimeter to watch them train. Elias had just given them a spectacle.
Dripping with sweat, Elias entered the armory and hung up his sword. He was toweling off his face with a drying cloth, when Santino entered behind him.
“Well fought, Your Highness,” Santino greeted him, his voice still raspy from exhaustion.
Elias cast his second a rueful look over his shoulder, tossing him a dry cloth. “Apologies if I went a bit hard on you.”
Santino caught the cloth and smiled. “I’m used to it. Keeps me on my toes.”
Silence passed as both men dried off. They were dressed lightly in leather breeches and sleeveless tunics. Outside, Elias heard muffled shouts as the captain of the King’s Guard began practice with his men. The captain had let Elias use the space first thing this morning.
Elias and Santino had fought for nearly an hour, and Elias’s body ached in the aftermath, yet the physical exertion hadn’t burned away all the frustration as he’d hoped. He could still feel the tension coiled within him, like a trap ready to spring.
“Your Highness.” Elias turned to see that his second still stood behind him, his narrow face strained. Elias knew what he was going to say—for the same subject had been on his mind for days now. “The girl,” Santino murmured, casting a look over his shoulder to ensure they were alone. “When will you do it?”
“Soon.”
Santino frowned. “I heard you took supper with her and the king and queen?”
“Aye, but it wasn’t the right moment to strike,” Elias replied.
That was a lie—it had been the perfect moment to strike, and they both knew it.
Santino folded his arms across his chest, his lean face tightening. “You should have killed her.”
Elias went still. “Are you telling me what to do, Santino?”
Silence fell between the two men as they stared at each other. “There will never be a ‘right’ moment, Your Highness,” Santino said finally. “You just need to get this done.”
“And I will,” Elias growled back, his anger rising. “When the time comes.”
“But the time is upon you now.”
“I will strike when I’m ready.”
“The peace talks will end soon,” Santino countered. “Soon you’ll be out of chances. You should—”
“Enough.” Elias barked, cutting his second off. “We’re done here.”
Brushing past Santino, he strode out of the armory without a backward glance.
The wall of shadow hurtled toward Ryana.
She moved to deflect it, gathering her own Dark, but she wasn’t fast enough. The shadows howled across the flat roof of the building and barreled into her.
Ryana flew backward and hit hard stone, skidding across it. Only the balustrade that lined the rooftop prevented her from toppling over the edge.
