Page 21 of Journey to the Elderoak (Daughter of the Earth #2)

A bead of sweat trailed down Ava’s face as she ran through the course.

She had made it past the balance beam and platforms and was working on the last couple obstacles.

Casimir coached her from the sidelines, urging her to focus and utilize her legs as she pulled herself up a fifteen-foot wall using a rope.

A week had passed since the incident with the blindfold and Casimir acted like nothing happened. He hardly even looked at her, even when they sat across from each other at dinner. She was sure he had almost kissed her. And she had wanted him to.

Putting it out of her mind, she tried focusing on the task at hand, but she was even more exhausted lately.

The nightmares had increased, and between the lack of sleep and her morning training sessions, she was beginning to suffer the consequences.

And, to be honest, she was in a wretched mood this morning.

Not just cranky. She was angry. Furious.

Hands gripping the rope, she pulled herself higher and pushed with her legs .

“Don’t get distracted,” Casimir said.

“I’m not,” she bit back, gritting her teeth as she gave another tug.

Finding a place for her right foot, she stepped higher but lost her grip on the rope and tumbled to the ground. She cursed as she rubbed her hands on her pants, wiping off the sweat.

“Yes, you are,” he said as he stood before her and crossed his arms. “Try again.”

She’d barely slept last night and could feel herself teetering on the edge of a breakdown. Tired and sore, she didn’t have it in her to do anything else.

“No. I’m done for today,” she said, remaining on the ground.

“You’re not done unless I say you are.”

“I have nothing left,” she argued.

“Get up. Try again.”

She stood and turned toward him. “No.”

“Now, princess.”

She shook her head and walked away, leaving the obstacle course, but Casimir appeared in front of her.

“Get out of my way.”

“That’s not how this works. I’m your general, and I’m telling you to get back on that course.”

Her heart surged as the storm of anger churned in her chest. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying but failing to remain calm.

“And I’m telling you no, ” she seethed, opening her eyes again to stare him down.

“We don’t have time for games, Ava. We’re relying on you.”

“You don’t think I know that? That I think about it every waking moment? I’m trying. ”

“I’ll tell you what,” he said as he uncrossed his arms. “If you can get past me, I’ll let you go early today. ”

“What?” She backed away.

He reached his hand out and made a ‘come here’ motion with his fingers. “Get past me. Take me down. Something.”

“This is ridiculous. I’ll go back and do the course.”

“No. You’re angry and you’ll get distracted again. Fight me. Show me what you learned on that ship.”

“You’re a hundred times stronger than me. I’ll never be able to get past you.”

“Try. Or are you a coward?”

Her heart picked up speed. “Don’t call me a coward.”

“Or what… princess ? Why don’t you do something about it?”

He was provoking her, goading her into fighting him. Purposely.

Furious, she stomped forward, prepared to shove him out of her way but he dodged her attempt and she lost her balance, falling to the grass.

Her hands shook as she rose and tried to leave, but he stepped in front of her again. “That was pathetic.”

Rearing her arm back, her fist shot through the air as she tried to punch him, but he caught her wrist. She tried to yank from his grip, but his hand tightened and he turned, pulling her back to him with her arm twisted behind her.

“That hurts, you brute,” she said, struggling. “Let me go.”

“Pax had you in this hold. Get out of it.”

She tried kicking him, but he avoided her feet. Her anger was boiling over now, a violent mess of emotions. Anger mixed with grief of the past and fear of what was still to come.

“Take your anger out on me. Come on. If you refuse to talk about it, then hurt me. Do something.”

She let out a snarl and tried to head butt him, but he wrapped his arms around her and twisted, throwing her to the ground. He pinned her wrists above her head and straddled her .

“Not good enough,” he growled, eyes boring into hers. “Fight me.”

Shaking with wrath, she glared at him, attempting to yank her arms away and kicking in frustration. “Let. Me. Go.”

He was silent while she struggled a few seconds longer before her energy dissipated. Tired, she relaxed, the fight leaving her as quickly as it had come.

Casimir’s eyes filled with concern. “You’ve disappeared these last few weeks,” he whispered. “Come back to me, princess.”

A lump formed in her throat as she fought to keep her tears at bay. But she couldn’t get the words out. Couldn’t say what she was feeling out loud. Everyone was dead. Her mother. Her grandfather. Eleanor. Zeph and the sailors. And she knew there would be more.

She couldn’t bear it. Needed to get back to her room so she could bathe and take a nap. Needed a distraction. So, she would get past the general and escape what he was trying to do. She wasn’t ready.

Casimir sat back and stood, allowing her out of the hold. He started to walk away, preparing to block her again, but before he made it out of her reach, she lunged and wrapped her arms around his leg and pulled as hard as she could, sending him crashing to the ground on his back.

“Shit,” he panted, the air knocked out of him.

She rose and stood over him. “Asshole,” she said before walking away, leaving him stunned on the ground.

She made it to the tree line and caught Quinn watching. “Nice,” she said to Ava and grinned. Ava attempted to smile back as she passed, heading back to her suite.

The group was having dinner at Kai and Jorrar’s home tonight, and Ava was relieved to escape the castle for the evening. Now in a lighter mood after a long nap, she hoped a change in scenery would be a distraction from the fears about this war.

Cirilla finished tightening a forest green corset over her brown dress, and Ava touched the dazzling necklace of green gemstones around her neck, a gift from the Queens of Saxumdale.

“You look very pretty, Your Highness.”

Ava smiled. “Thank you.”

It had been a while since Ava had been in anything besides her training gear of pants and tunics, and tonight she felt beautiful.

She opened her door, finding Casimir standing with his back to her, leaning against the mantle above the fireplace. He was wearing a tan tunic with brown pants and looked utterly handsome as he turned to face her.

His eyes flared as he took her in. Clearing his throat, he said, “Let’s go.”

They walked in silence, Ava unsure what to say. They hadn’t spoken since she had knocked him to the ground and she wasn’t sure if he was angry about it, his face giving nothing away.

“So…how’s your back?” she asked.

“My back?”

“Earlier. You know, when I tripped you and won.”

Face stoic, he continued to walk down the hall and out of the castle. “You didn’t win.”

“What? You said if I got past you, I could leave. And I did.”

The corner of his mouth curled up. “I let you.”

“You did not! You are so frustrating. Sometimes I think you enjoy irritating me.”

He looked down at her and his smile grew. “Maybe.”

She couldn’t help but laugh as they arrived at the stables, meeting Thorne, Quinn and Raine. Assaulted with the smell of hay and horses, she took in the large structure. Vines crept along the roof, bright orange flowers releasing their floral perfume.

“Good evening, you two,” called Thorne, his scarlet hair bright in the setting sun as he saddled a beautiful black horse.

“Hi.” Ava fidgeted. “So…we’re riding?” She looked at Casimir beside her. “You didn’t tell me we were riding.”

“You didn’t ask.”

“They live on the outskirts of the city,” said her brother. “It will be too tiresome and take too much time to journey on foot.”

“Oh,” she squeaked as she regarded the massive creatures.

“What’s wrong, princess? Never ridden a horse before?” Casimir asked.

“I had a bad experience once.”

“These horses are easy. Don’t worry about it,” Quinn said, leaning forward to whisper into Ava’s ear, “Your boobs look great in that dress, by the way.”

“Umm…thanks?”

Casimir choked on a cough.

Quinn walked over to her own horse, a gorgeous chestnut mare. “I can’t get Cas’ expression out of my head since I saw you yank him onto his back this morning.”

Raine and Thorne turned to them, adjusting their own horses’ saddles. “You threw Casimir on his back?” Thorne asked, eyes wide in surprise.

Ava grinned. “Kind of.”

“I let her,” Casimir mumbled.

She pursed her lips and scanned the group, counting four horses. “Umm…we don’t have enough horses.”

Quinn's eyes were full of mischief, having already mounted her ride. “You get to ride with Cas.”

“No thanks. I’ll ride with one of you guys. ”

“Casimir’s horse is the only one large enough to handle two riders. You’ll be fine,” said Thorne as he swung his leg over and settled into his saddle.

Grumbling, she walked over to Casimir, standing before a tall jet-black horse with white speckled socks.

She put her hands on her hips. “Are you going to put on the saddle?”

“A saddle won’t fit both of us. We’re riding bareback.”

“What? No. Absolutely not.” She backed away, dried hay crunching beneath her boots. “I’ll fall off and get trampled.”

He laughed. “You really are scared, aren’t you?”

She looked at him and then his horse. “I can’t even get up there.”

“Well, come closer and I’ll help you.”

She stepped forward. “Now what?”

Without warning, Casimir grabbed her by the waist and lifted, setting her on the horse side saddle while he held her steady.

“What are you doing?” She gasped. “I’m going to fall!”

“Calm down,” he said, amused at her discomfort. “Swing your right leg over. I won’t let you fall.”

“I don’t have anything to hold on to,” she exclaimed.

Raine called to her from atop his own horse, “Grab the mane, dainty human!”

“I’ll hurt him!”

“You won’t hurt him,” said Casimir. “Swing your leg over.”