Page 3 of Enchanted Shadows (The Enchanted Kingdom #6)

T hree days.

The women were all sore now. There were a few instances of snapping at one another, but for the most part, they were powering through. The good news was that on the second day after making those who were late run extra, they had all been on time today.

My favorite part of the day wasn’t the morning run where there was just too much grumbling, but rather the end of the day, when we came together as a team and those who were Enchanted practiced with their powers.

We also talked about the non-Enchanted strengths and weaknesses and had them practicing as well.

I had been right about Sam. She wasn’t Enchanted, but she was intelligent as hell. Almost an Enchantment in and of itself. She was a force to be reckoned with, if only she would believe it.

I watched as Fern dunked one hand into the bucket and funneled the water into a tight beam, shooting it toward a target.

This water Enchantment stuff was fun, but also limited.

Fern was an incredible asset to the team, but only if she was near water.

When I had asked her that first day, she said she could only wield as much as she had access to.

So if we wanted her to be at full power, she’d need to be standing in a large volume of it.

She also explained that in Brakken they willed the water to return back to its original source once they were done with it. As to not empty large sources of water.

Not a single team in Wylan had a water wielder on hand, so I was more than intrigued by what Fern brought to the table. I was already thinking up ways to keep water on her person.

Right on time, a mere three days in, leadership seemed to be establishing itself, as it always did.

Jessina and Vivian seemed to be vying for the head spot.

Usually, one of the leaders of the training team became a lieutenant.

And more often than not, the lieutenant was Enchanted, even if non-Enchanted people could now train with the rest of us.

They were just better able to keep the other Enchanted in line.

I watched Jessina dodge the rubber weighted barrels Wren was sending at her and was mildly impressed. She could lead them. Hell, Jorah had led us all long before she was Enchanted, and it had ended up more than fine.

I did a quick count. We were down one. Tate. Had she just gone to the bathroom or something? I hadn’t lost a woman yet. It was a bit hard to when they were so damn chatty all the time. Which in this case was not sexist, just factual.

“Hold up,” I barked, stilling all of them in various stages of training. As soon as I had their attention, I asked, “Where’s Tate?”

“She left,” Vivian provided.

“For the day? Thought she’d skip?” I took one step toward the barracks. I would pull her out here myself if I had to. We were done when I said we were.

“No,” Molly offered. “Not for the day.”

I turned back, and my eyes naturally landed on my sister. I knew I could get her to tell me anything. “Would someone just tell me?”

Wren gave me a smile dipped in mockery. “She quit.”

“She quit?” I had been a little surprised no one quit on day two. But look at us, we’d made it to day three. But if someone was going to quit, I thought they’d skip out on the morning physical training. Not the end of the day.

“I believe the last time you barked at her to pick it up did her in,” Wren added.

There were a few phrases that I was beginning to use on repeat, but dammit if they didn’t need to hear them. Move. Hustle. Let’s go.

“I do believe she was more interested in your sword skills anyway, brother.”

I let her slip up and call me her brother only because I had to ask, “My sword skills?”

My sister sent me a real smile this time. “Your personal sword, General.”

My wha— oh. I ran a hand down my face as the women broke into giggles. “Wren.”

“What? You asked for an explanation. Which I gave. She was interested in you, General Raikes. And it was clear that after three days of yelling at us, you were not the cuddly bear she thought you were. Her fantasy had shattered.”

She’d used the bear reference on purpose. The form my magic took on. “Does anyone else want to leave since we have established that I am not here to flirt with? This is not an Assemblage.”

I paused, letting the weight of the words settle in.

“I am not here to find a wife,” I reiterated.

“No, but you are here to teach.”

My eyes snapped in the direction of the voice. Zara. Zara who was always poised, always on the quiet side, chose now of all times to pipe up? “Do you have something you’d like to say?”

“You’re not teaching us. Not yet. Running us into the ground? Yes. Pissing us off? Also yes. When do we learn how to defend ourselves? When will you stop trying to get us to quit and actually teach us something valuable?”

Damn. Judging by the heavy silence which settled on in, it seemed that Zara wasn’t alone in that feeling. They didn’t like me all that much as their trainer, but that was just fine with me. They could bond over their mutual hate of me.

I pointed to the weighted rubber barrels near Wren.

“I’ll make you a deal. If half of you can squat and lift one of those, no Enchantments, tomorrow we will start self-defense.

” I crossed my arms. “The first week is for getting your bodies moving, building your reflexes, and building the team. The whole lot of you are scrawny. You each need about fifteen pounds of muscle. It’s in the plan, just not for the first week. ”

“Maybe it should be,” Zara fired right back.

She did have a point, but what was her deal?

She moved for the barrel. “We are a team of all women, training despite knowing the doubts and comments we will get. Self-defense is absolutely necessary.” And while glaring at me, she bent down and lifted, legs straining against the pull.

“She’s going to make him even more unbearable,” Magnolia whispered.

“Is that even possible?” Harlow said back.

Wren added, “Can confirm. Yes, yes, it is.”

“I can hear you, you know,” I barked.

With a final push, Zara flipped the barrel end over end. The look she sent me could only be categorized as cocky.

I smiled at her. “One down. Nine to go.”

Over the next few minutes, the women circled around and all took turns. It came down to Jessina. Nine failed. Nine passed. Jessina would make it or break it for the team.

“Come on, Jessina. You’ve got this,” Wren cheered.

Zara spoke up again. “Drive with your legs, weight in your heels.”

“Just chuck the damn thing,” Sam said.

Though it took three tries, she finally got it. The women all jumped together fists in the air in victory.

They all turned to me, laughing. And after the last few days of getting into the routine and grind, they needed this. Even if I became their common enemy. “I’m a man of my word. Tomorrow we will start self-defense. You are dismissed for the night.”

As they all headed for the barracks, Zara hung back, watching. She always seemed to be watching.

“What?” I snapped. “You got what you wanted.”

“Did you just use my anger toward you and create a test that would help us become stronger both physically and as a team when you suggested this little challenge? Ultimately proving your point that we are weak?”

“If I did, would that mean that I was, in fact, teaching and not just barking orders?”

She shook her head and squinted at me. “I just cannot decide if you were smart enough to pull that off on the fly or just lucky.” She moved to head for the barracks.

I sidestepped to stop her. “Look. I have been hard on all of you. I get it. But I know how hard the rest of Wylan will be on you. I want this team to succeed. And believe it or not, you might not like every decision I make as your General, but I do often times have a reason for doing things the way I do them. This isn’t my first training class by a long shot.

It isn’t fair to make the ten of you that tipped those barrels tonight carry the weight of the others. We all need to be improving. Together.”

She considered what I said. “Is it true that you trained the queen?”

“I did.”

“Were you this...” she gestured with her hand toward me in a circle, “growly? ”

I bit down my laugh. “Yes.”

It looked like the start of a smile was trying to show, but she shut it down. “I guess I don’t have to approve of your methods, General Raikes, though I really do feel as if you started us out by trying to get us to quit.”

She wasn’t too far from the mark. “I’ve been trying to get you all to see from the start how hard this will be, how grueling.

” I cocked my head. “I was put in charge of heading this up. The first team of all women. None of my training classes has failed yet, and I don’t just want to train you, I want you to be able to stand on your own next to my other classes, one of which is arguably the best team in Wylan.

So if I have to growl, if I have to yell a little, so be it. ”

She inhaled deeply. “Just teach them how to throw a proper punch, okay?”

“ Them? What about you?”

That smile finally emerged as she began walking for the barracks and said over her shoulder. “Oh, I already know how.”

I stood there shaking my head wondering why she had pushed so hard for it if it wasn’t even something she personally needed. Had she been looking out for the team?

Three days in and we were already down one. I knew there would be more in the days to come, but despite the attitude she’d thrown at me, I hoped Zara stayed. Hoped that both of us trusted this process and saw it through to the end. The tension hard work demanded was settling in.