Page 38 of Of Storm and Emerald
Both women looked over to Ser Aeron to nod in confirmation, but the moment Auraelia saw him standing there, the flush on her face from exertion, deepened. Daemon smirked, and her eyes widened as she hastily turned away to refocus on the task at hand.
“If you distract my students, I’ll put you in the ring with me. I don’t care if you’re a prince, I’ll beat your ass.”
Daemon cleared his throat, “Understood.”
With the commander’s threat hanging overhead, both women drew their daggers. Piper’s was a simple blade of steel with a loop on the hilt that she slipped her finger through and began to swing it between different grip styles.
Auraelia’s on the other hand, was like nothing he’d seen before. The gold hilt caught the sun's rays, but the stone in the pommel seemed to glow from within as soon as it was in her hand. The blade itself was long and slender, and when he saw its unnatural gleam, realization struck like a bolt of lightning.
She held an emerald dagger.
Daemon watched them dance around each other on the pitch. Their footwork was impeccable, both dodging and parrying one another with ease.
Piper had been the first to draw blood, slicing Auraelia on her forearm after spinning out of her strike. But Auraelia retaliated shortly after when she dropped into a crouch to avoid an attack, slicing Piper across the meat of her outer thigh as she went. Then, using the momentum from her drop, she swung her leg around, swiping Piper’s legs out from under her–causing her to fall flat on her back.
As they both got to their feet, Daemon noticed that Auraelia had put her dagger away. It seemed Ser Aeron noticed as well as his whole body stiffened and he started to pull away from the wall. Daemon watched as he opened his mouth to shout–presumably to tell Auraelia to draw her weapon–but before Ser Aeron had the chance to say anything, Daemon felt a shift in the air around them, and a cocky grin spread across his face.
There’s my star.
A look of bewilderment crossed Ser Aeron’s face as he took in the shift in Daemon’s demeanor. When they turned their attention back to the women, Auraelia had encased herself in a sphere of wind. Her hair floated around her as she manipulated the air to block every blow that Piper attempted.
Daemon could see the frustration growing on Piper’s face. She was getting tired, and obviously didn’t like the fact that she didn’t have a way to retaliate.
Next to him, Ser Aeron shouted, “You have one minute to finish this, or you’re mucking stables.”
What is it with this man and mucking stables?
Daemon watched Auraelia, eager to see what she would try to do. They had worked on her magic in between rounds of sex the night before, but she was still new to her abilities, and he could see it taking a toll on her strength already.
The next thing he knew, she broke apart her sphere and pushed the air at Piper. She was, quite literally, trying to blow her competition away.
“Thirty seconds, ladies!” Ser Aeron barked.
Daemon could see the sweat running down Auraelia’s face from exertion. Saw her jaw tighten from clenching her teeth.Come on, princess, you can do it.
As if she could hear his thoughts, Auraelia threw her arms forward, attempting to channel her magic through her hands. Pulling the air from the sphere, she used what remained of her strength to push it onto Piper. The force wasn’t strong enough to hurt her, but it was enough to knock Piper out of the circle and land her square on her ass.
Daemon knew that she was powerful but seeing her concentrate her magic through her hands was something that took most people months–and sometimes years–to master. He was in awe, especially since she was still figuring out how to suppress it when it came to her emotions.
“Winner, her Royal Highness, Princess Auraelia,” Ser Aeron exclaimed, a proud smile plastered across his face.
“Oh, come on!” Piper complained from where she sat.
Daemon saw Auraelia stagger on her feet and shadow walked to her before she could stumble.
“Oh shit, neat party trick there,princey,” Piper remarked, clearly impressed but not surprised.
Daemon ignored the comment for a moment and focused on Auraelia. She had clearly over-exerted herself. Her eyes were closed, and her face was bleached of all color, but her breathing was steady. Running his fingers across her brow, he brushed away some of the hair that had escaped from their braids.
Her eyes fluttered open, and slowly began to focus on him. “Daemon?”
Her voice was barely audible, but the sound made his heart swell all the same.
“Hello, Princess,” he whispered, “do you think you can sit on your own?”
When she nodded, he helped her sit up, keeping his hand on her lower back. If anyone had asked him why, he would have said it was to steady her, but in reality, it was more than that. There was a strange compulsion to be near her, to make sure that she was safe.
Ser Aeron came over with a full decanter of water, and Auraelia took it gratefully. While she drank, the commander kneeled beside her and held his hand over the gash that Piper inflicted during their training.
