Page 39 of Lady of Starfire (Lady of Darkness #5)

Eliza

“L eft side!” Eliza yelled at Callan as he blocked Ilyas’s saber just in time. “Clean up your footwork,” she added.

She couldn’t deny that Callan was doing well though.

He’d been training for months, and despite the break while she was recovering, he’d obviously kept practicing.

She may have just chided him for his footwork, but it was nearly perfect.

Too bad she demanded actual perfection from those she trained.

Her time was valuable. If she was going to take the time to train someone, she would accept nothing less.

Not only that, if he was going to follow through on this plan to go to the slums of Baylorin, he needed every second of extra training he could get.

Callan and Ilyas, one of Stellan’s personal guards and lovers, had both lost their shirts with the sun beating down on them.

Callan had been given a pair of lightweight, looser-fitting pants that the Shifters wore in this arid climate, and she had forced him to train for the better part of the last two days.

They hadn’t quite worked out how he was going to get back to Windonelle.

The time not spent training was spent strategizing.

Admittedly, she was better suited to planning battles.

Strategy and scheming were more Cyrus and Sorin’s areas of expertise with Rayner providing movements of those being plotted against. Stellan and Arianna had been ruling the Shifters for centuries though.

Their father had been one of the first to receive Shifter gifts when stripped from the Sorceress, but they hadn’t maintained their seat of power by blood right alone.

They were cunning and ruthless when needed.

It was why all the Fae Royalty made sure to stay on good terms with the siblings.

It was also why they had been sequestered away to the south when all the Wards had gone up.

The Witches didn’t want to interact with others in general, so they didn’t particularly care that they had been sent to the eastern part of the continent.

They were more upset about not having the freedom to leave, and that males had dictated their fate.

The Night Children were driven by instinct and hunger, but the Shifters, in a way, were more dangerous than the other two bloodlines.

Eliza was getting ready to do her own sparring with Sawyer when Arianna stood from where she had been sitting with Ashtine on the veranda overlooking the sandy training pit.

Ashtine nodded to the Beta before Arianna shifted into a red-tailed hawk and took to the sky.

Sawyer gave the princess a questioning look from where he stood.

“There are visitors at the gates,” Ashtine replied.

Her usual lilt was stronger. These last few days of rest and safety had done her well.

Her skin was still paler than usual, and she spent the better part of her days sleeping; but she had insisted Sawyer escort her outside for fresh air today.

When Sawyer had still seemed hesitant, she’d told him she needed to feel the wind—both for her and the babe with wind gifts in her belly.

“Do you think we should take her inside?” Sawyer murmured to Eliza, turning so Ashtine would not be able to read his lips. Not that it mattered. The winds carried his words to her anyway.

“That will not be necessary,” Ashtine replied, coming up behind them.

“You should not be on your feet,” Sawyer chastised.

“Those here will not harm me or you,” Ashtine said.

A small vortex of wind formed at her fingertips, tiny ice crystals dancing around it.

She closed her eyes as a look of relief crossed her features.

She was carrying so much power. Her power was mighty in itself, but twins of two of the strongest Fae in the realm?

Eliza had seen her siphoning off that power numerous times since being here.

Having it restrained by shirastone had been the only form of torture Alaric had really needed for the Wind Princess. It would have slowly driven her mad.

Sariah appeared after a moment, making her way to Ilyas, who had shifted to his wolf form and was watching them all from the edge of the training area.

He got to his feet at her approach, shifting back when she neared and dipping his head so she could speak into his ear.

The two were the personal guards and lovers of the Alpha, and while Sariah was pleasant enough, Ilyas was openly distrustful of all of them.

Eliza propped the flat of her blade on her shoulder while her hand went to her hip as she watched the two shifters. “Who is here?” she asked Ashtine.

“Azrael and Razik.”

“What?” Her head whipped to the princess, and her stomach tensed. “Why are they here?”

“I suppose we will learn shortly,” the princess answered, the small vortex of wind and ice still spinning in her palm.

“Can we spar, please?” Eliza grumbled to Sawyer, moving into a defensive position.

Sawyer’s brow arched. “Now? Surely they will be here any moment.”

No sooner did he finish speaking than they came into view. Eliza huffed out an annoyed breath, but then she paused.

“Why is Maliq with them?”

The giant black wolf was the spirit animal of Celeste, goddess of the moon. He had also been bonded to Talwyn. Eliza wasn’t sure if the wolf still was or not, but she had not expected to see him at Azrael’s side. The Earth Prince had his own spirit animal already bonded to him.

“He was sent by Scarlett,” Ashtine answered, her magic disappearing as they approached. Azrael went straight to her, brown eyes looking the princess over from head to toe.

“You appear a little better,” he said, folding his arms over his chest.

Ashtine smiled faintly. Maliq had moved to her, nudging her hand with his nose. She slid her fingers into his thick fur, scratching behind an ear. “I am feeling well,” she answered. Then her head tilted. “You have much to share.”

Azrael gave a sharp nod, but it was Razik who spoke next.

“You can get his report after I take my leave,” he said. “I don’t need to be here for it.”

“Then why are you here?” Eliza asked in irritation.

His gaze slid past her. Hardly a glance. “I need to refill my reserves.” He was already walking away from them.

“Right now?” she demanded.

He didn’t stop. Didn’t acknowledge her. Simply kept walking.

“He has been in a mood since we left. Not much different from his usual temperament, but a mood nonetheless,” Azrael supplied.

Great. Broody dragon attitude was not what Eliza wanted to deal with right now.

Flames flared, taking her sword to a pocket realm. “I will find you all after I take care of this,” she gritted out.

She had half a mind to make him wait. To not follow him and let him brood alone while she got a report from Azrael, but she knew Stellan could be back any moment.

When the Alpha returned, she wanted to speak with him immediately and without interruption.

It appeared her best option was to get Razik out of here as quickly as possible, even if it did feed into this mindset he seemed to have that she was at his beck and call.

Forcing herself not to stomp as she followed him, Eliza made her way into the palace. He had already disappeared inside, but she caught a glimpse of him rounding a corner. Heading to the guest suites then. Her room, she assumed.

Her irritation climbed higher with every step she took, and by the time she made it to her rooms—her door wide open—the leash on her temper was taut.

Taking a deep breath to try to dispel some of the simmering fury, she stepped into her room.

She hadn’t even turned back from closing the door when Razik was crowding her against it and reaching for her arm.

“What are you doing?” she snapped. She tried to yank her arm back, but he held firm, pulling a dagger from his side.

“I told you,” he growled, sounding as irritated as she felt. “I need to refill my magic reserves.”

“How did you drain them so quickly?” she asked, still trying to wrench her arm away from him.

“Does it matter?” he countered, tossing that question from a few nights ago back at her yet again. “Hold still so I don’t cut too deep.”

Eliza cursed him up and down, but she stilled.

There was something off about him. Not his mood.

He was usually pissy and surly, but now he was almost frantic, his sapphire eyes wild.

Even though he was clearly in some kind of heightened agitated state, he was still as gentle and quick as possible when he sliced the dagger across the Source Mark on her forearm.

He made quick work of his own palm, placing it over the Mark.

His fingers dug into her skin. He gripped her so tight she almost winced as she felt her magic flow into him.

His dragon fire called to it, and her flames went without hesitation.

He was rigid, his jaw tight, as he wordlessly drew from her.

Without conscious thought, her other hand drifted up, landing on the side of his torso.

Her fingers curled slightly into his tunic, and she realized his skin was cooler.

Not cold by any means, but not the blazing inferno he usually was.

She could usually feel heat emanating off of him through his clothing.

“Don’t,” he snarled, shifting slightly so her hand fell away from him. His fingers dug in more, his hold on her arm becoming bruising, and there was a vicious yank on her power. She couldn’t hide her wince this time, but he still wouldn’t look at her, so he didn’t see it.

But apparently he felt it.

His grip instantly loosened, and he tipped his head back, exhaling sharply through his nose as if trying to get control of himself.

“Tell me why your power is so low,” Eliza said quietly.

“It’s not low. It’s nonexistent,” he gritted out. “The Earth Prince Traveled me here.”

“What happened?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does,” she scoffed.

“You’re wrong.”