Page 28 of Vengeance Becomes Her

She rose early, the motivation coursing through her body made her restless. She couldn’t lay in bed any longer. She dressed in a linen sleeveless tunic, anticipating warmer temperatures based on the absence of the usual crisp morning air. She tied her hair back high and tight, she didn’t want any distractions.

She had time to burn, so she decided to get practice in. She’d snuck into the garden. The sky was still a deep navy and tiny drops of dew glittered upon the grass. She stopped adjacent to one of her favorite trees with its drooping leaves and thick trunk. She decided it would be her imaginary opponent. It was solid and imposing, a perfect target to aim at.

She was dripping sweat by the time Tristain interrupted her. A broad smile on his face as he made a semi-circle around her, watching as she threw punches. “Much better.” His voice was still gravelly with sleep.

Rhiannon’s first reaction had been excitement about his praise but then anxiety coiled through her. His avoidance yesterday still felt like rejection. Distracted, she threw her arm sharper than she intended, jerking her elbow uncomfortably. She stopped her drills and tried to rub out thethrobbing pain.

“Did you get yourerrandsdone?” Rhiannon asked. She tried to keep the skepticism out of her voice and failed. She didn’t want to accept the fact that there was a chance he didn’t want to be around her.

“Yes, I did.” Tristain flipped the sword he was carrying back and forth over the palm of his hand. The movement was the sole subject ofhis attention.

Her heart tugged in her chest. She couldn’t take this aloofness from him, she had to say something. “I’m sorry about the other day.” She took a deep breath, trying to summon the courage to continue on past her embarrassment. “I’ve been taking you for granted, but when I thought that you might think I was more trouble than I’m worth, I realized how much I need you.” The last six words trailed off in a mumble.

Tristain finally looked up from his sword he’d so attentively been examining. “Sorry, what was that last part? I couldn’t quite hear it.” There was a twinkle of mischief in his eye. He was enjoying watching her discomfort.

She suppressed a glare. “I said, I realized how much I need your help. That is if I still want to do this.” She gestured around awkwardly.

The right side of his lips tilted up in an off-kilter smile that made her heart skip a beat. “Hmm… I could have sworn you’d said, ‘I needyou’, but I guess I was wrong.” He surveyed her carefully, allowing her to writhe in anticipation before continuing. “Yes, you do need my help. And I’m happy to give it to you. But you need to stop treating me like the enemy. And stop keeping secrets. We’re on the same side.”

Rhiannon nodded as relief swam through her. She was finally able to relax her shoulders. “So, are we finally moving onto swords?” She swallowed hard, she could admit that she was a bit intimidated by the glimmering steel that he held in his hand. It brought back memories of the feel of Silas’ blade against her chest.

“I think it’s about time if you’re going to need to protect yourself.”

Her gaze flicked to his large sword.

“You won’t be using this though. This is mine.”

Tristain rose from the fountain’s edge and drew a second sword from his waist. This one was much slimmer.

“This is for you.”

He handed it to her, hilt first. As she grabbed it from him, she expected the weight of it to pull her forward, but it was surprisingly light and aerodynamic.

He observed her carefully, walking around her in a circle. “It seems like a good fit for your stature. Using a weapon instead of your fists will take some getting used to but I think you’ll be able to manage it.”

Rhiannon admired the sword’s intricate engravings. The handle was inlaid with gold and silver that swam together and a singular large black stone embedded at the top of the hilt. It donned on her then that this must have been the errand he needed to attend to, or at least one of them. It was beautiful and it must have cost a small fortune, she was sure of that. “Did you have this made for me?” She was in disbelief that he had been out buying her a gift when she’d spent the entire day in turmoil over whether he loathed her or not.

Tristain nodded, a shy smile spreading across his face as he looked anywhere but her eyes. “I wanted you to be properly armed if you insist on pursuing such a dangerous path. I hope it’s to your liking.” He cleared his throat. “And this is an obsidian.” He pointed to the large center stone. “It’s said to have protective properties.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. For once, he seemed unsure of himself.

“Thank you. I love it, I really do.” She admired the way the unmarred silver shone in the sun. “It’s beautiful, truly. I don’t know what to say.”

His head lifted at that. He seemed to be back to his usual confident self, her praise reassuring him. “May I?” He gestured toward her.

She nodded, her throat drying as he approached. He wrapped his arms around her, grazing her hips as he covered her hands on the hilt and lifted it to the proper position.

“This is how you want to hold your sword. It will take practice to keep it up this high, but we’ll be working on that this week. You need to be strong to wield a sword. It might seem light now, but after a few minutes of moving it through the air, it becomes surprisingly heavy.”

The breath left her when his mouth came within inches of her jaw. He was pressed against the back of her, helping her hold the sword steady. It felt like the entire world had stopped around her and it was just the two of them here, holding this sword, preparing her for the danger she would inevitably face. She turned her head just the slightest fraction until their lips were less than an inch apart. She slowly moved her eyes from his lips, up that perfect nose, to those warm brown eyes that seemed to be boundless. Staring up at him, she could have sworn that this was a man with a good soul. A man who cared about her well-being and could be trusted with herbroken spirit.

Their eyes never parted as all of this and more ran through her mind. But then he shifted back, slowly removing his arms from around her, his hands leaving the hilt with enough grace that she wouldn’t be put off balance without his support. He cleared his throat and wiped his hands on his trousers.

“We should get started with today’s lesson, we have alot to cover.”

Focus overtook his features, wiping away the vulnerability that had been theremoments before.

She did her best to clear her mind of the way his large body had felt wrapped around her and steadied her. She refocused as they took up their places to begin the day’s lesson.

While they didn’t spend much time moving, after about an hour, they were both drenched in sweat. They agreed to a short break while they caught their breath and rehydrated.

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