Page 36 of Of Storm and Emerald
She’d always loved his eyes; they were so unique and a beautiful contrast to his deep ebony skin. Even when he was vexed, his eyes always held warmth in their depths. That warmth washed over her now and calmed her racing mind.
“It’s only been two days, Auraelia. There’s still time to figure it out. Give yourself some grace, it’s still new to you.”
She smiled up at the man who had been in her life for as long as she could remember. “I know, you’re right. It’s just hard to remember that sometimes when so much is expected from me. I don’t want to let my mother, or our people, down.”
“You’ll be brilliant. At the veryleast, you’ll do everything that you can for your people.”
“That’s theleastthat I would do?” Auraelia chuckled.
“You and I both know that everything that youcando will never be enough for you. You will always find a way to do more. But only at the detriment to yourself, never to your people.”
When she smiled, Ser Aeron’s brows pulled together. “That’s not always a good thing, Auraelia.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ll work on it.”
Ser Aeron chuckled and shook his head. “No, you won’t. Go on now, get some water. It’s time for you to kick Piper’s ass.” He winked, and then she walked off to do just that.
Grabbing the decanter from Piper, she drained the last of it, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “You ready to get your ass handed to you?”
Piper scoffed and offered a mock bow. “You wish,Your Highness.”
“Game on, bitch.”
The two women shook hands. Even though they were bone tired, this was their favorite part of training. There were only a few rules, mainly for safety, but also because Auraelia was the Crown Princess, and she couldn’t very well walk around with a black eye or broken nose.
“To your marks, ladies,” Ser Aeron bellowed from where he was perched against the stone wall of the castle.
Auraelia and Piper took their places on the training pitch as Ser Aeron called out the rules. Even though they did this multiple times a week, and had been for years now, he still called them out as a reminder.
“Alright, ladies. There will be a slight shift to the rules today.”
They turned toward him with looks of uncertainty on their faces–looks that quickly morphed into concern when they saw the Cheshire smile on his face.
Daemon
Daemon and Aiden took a walk down to the stables after breakfast. Since they’d decided to leave the following day, they needed to make sure that everything was arranged with the stable master for their departure.
As they rounded the stairs that led to the stables, the sound of shouting stopped Daemon in his tracks. It sounded like they were explaining rules.Interesting.
“Rule one: Stay away from the face. Below the neck only. Rule two: Fist and feet only until round two. Rule three: this is where things are going to be different this time ladies…”
Ladies? What the hell.
Daemon quickened his pace, stopping when a training field came into view. Standing in the middle of the dirt pitch was a tall brunette with hair the color of midnight, and a honey blonde that he would recognize anywhere.
Auraelia.
“What’s going on?” Aiden asked when he caught up.
Daemon tilted his head in the direction of the field.
“What the fuck is going on over there?”
“I would presume training, Aiden. Itisa training pitch.”
“Is that…?”
“Looks like it.”
