Page 42 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)

Aella

T he early afternoon sun beat down on me as I moved through my warm-up drills.

Summer in Therress was always brutal, but we’d reached the worst heat now, which was unforgiving.

I’d changed my pants and tunic during my lunch break.

The new set now soaked up the sweat pouring from me as I lunged and parried against an invisible target.

Was it still a warm-up if you were already baking?

I paused momentarily to pull out a handkerchief and wipe my face. Across the practice ring, I spotted Camden working with a pair of new trainees, helping them practice their knife-throwing skills. He caught my gaze and gave me an almost imperceptible nod.

Since a month ago, when Darrow ended my relationship with Cam, we hadn’t spoken after I collected my things.

We didn’t even exchange greetings. I didn’t mind losing the sex nearly as much as a friend.

Until we’d been forced apart, I hadn’t realized how much I’d enjoyed spending time and discussing things with him.

Maybe that was the real reason we’d lasted for years.

I forced my gaze away, wondering who else might be a spy around Tradain. Camden couldn’t be the only one, but none of the others stood out so far. I hadn’t even narrowed down anyone else in Tradain with loose ties to Veronna. If there were any, they kept those details quiet.

I’d only seen Darrow once since the night he made me betray my people with the attack on Petosty.

We’d met a week ago when he’d had me take him and his inner circle to Jolloure again.

This time, his dark elf cousin, Bogdan, sat with me while the others did whatever they did on the island.

He didn’t say much while I picked flowers for my sister, but at least he didn’t look at me like he was plotting my demise. That was refreshing.

After I brought everyone back to Veronna, Darrow stayed with me until I had enough power to return home. He’d tried to get close, but I’d vowed never to speak to him again if he touched me. Thankfully, my husband had the sense to back off and leave me alone.

I forced myself to resume my warm-up drills as others nearby began sparring.

Every day I came out here, I felt stronger and more confident that I could defend myself even without my magic.

That was good since I was still struggling with my light-wielding skills after nearly two months of focused effort.

My only improvement so far was splitting stones in half instead of pulverizing them, but the concentrated beam continued to go beyond my target.

“Looks like you need a sparring partner,” a sardonic voice came from behind me.

I swung around, gripping my sword tightly at the sight of my cousin.

Ulmar stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wooden fence surrounding the practice field.

His dark red hair appeared freshly cut short, but he’d left a few days’ worth of stubble on his face.

Combined with his piercing blue eyes, fitted navy tunic, and black pants, he appeared absolutely menacing.

He might not have bulky muscles, but he was still tall and strong.

He usually didn’t come to Tradain unless we assembled for battle, but Lord Morgunn bided his time right now and hadn’t retaliated for what happened at Petosty yet.

He’d focused his efforts on cleaning up the aftermath of the destroyed village and consoling his people.

I had a feeling he planned something big against Veronna, but needed time to organize and wanted to catch them off guard.

Dread filled me at what that might mean.

“No, thank you,” I said, lifting my chin. “My partner is coming now.”

I gestured toward Sariyah, who headed our way. She took the afternoon off work to train a few times a week, and we practiced together. Today, my friend ran a little late. I’d extended my warm-up while waiting for her.

Sariyah, wearing a deep red tunic and beige pants, grabbed one of the practice swords from a nearby rack and marched toward us.

She couldn’t stand Ulmar. The flat look she gave him made that clear, though he already knew.

With her father being the commander of the Therressian army and King Worden’s nephew, Ulmar had to watch his level of sneering and snide comments.

“Oh, look. It’s the almost princess,” he said mockingly.

Or maybe he didn’t care today.

She lifted her brows at him. “Jealous?”

“Considering your mother was a low-born mongrel, hardly,” he replied.

It was a cruel taunt, considering her mom died when she was sixteen from a strange malady that swept the land that year, sickening most fae and some not surviving the ailment.

Her grandmother didn’t overcome it, either.

Both had Andalagarian blood, which many of the fae considered lesser.

I grabbed Sariyah’s arm before she did something she’d regret.

She had excellent sword skills, but her magic couldn’t compete with Ulmar’s.

Aside from his ability to detect lies, he could also inflict pain on his enemies.

It was exceptionally debilitating for those who weren’t intimately acquainted with the levels of agony he could produce.

“Can you sink any lower?” I asked him, moving to stand before my friend.

My cousin gave me a derisive look. “It depends. Will you let me test your skills, or is your friend going to fight your battles for you?”

I suspected my uncle had sent him here, and I’d have to duel with him whether I liked it or not. He just couldn’t be straightforward and say as much. Ulmar loved creating drama.

“Get a sword,” I said, refusing to show a hint of fear. “But we do this with the traditional practice rules.”

In other words, we couldn’t use any magic for the first two minutes.

That forced opponents to test their physical skills first. After that, we could attack with anything in our arsenal—blades or magic—as long as we didn’t maim or kill.

I’d only fought Ulmar twice, both times years ago, but I’d never won. He was cunning and ruthless.

As my cousin grabbed a practice sword—made of sturdy wood with a blunted tip—I moved into my fighting stance. Today, he would not get the best of me. I’d make him hurt the way he’d done to me often in the past, usually outside the practice ring.

He returned to face me. “Very well, traditional rules it is, Aella. Let’s see if you can stay on your feet this time, hmm?”

Ulmar wasted no time swinging his sword at me, but he broadcasted the move so much that I easily ducked as it sailed over my head, missing me by inches.

I thrust forward, stabbing him in his exposed stomach.

It didn’t penetrate his tunic, but the breath whooshed from him due to the force, and he stumbled back.

Getting hit with a blunt tip still hurt.

My cousin growled at me. In the next moment, he lunged forward and began a series of strikes that left me on the defensive.

He had incredible speed that could rival the best swordsman.

I kept my eyes trained on his blade, blocking and ducking each attack.

This was how he got me to the ground the last time we fought, but I’d spent these previous weeks practicing for this very strategy.

I’d had two people attack me at once, so I’d have to accelerate my reactions.

Ulmar killed time by not giving me another opening. He didn’t have great stamina but had enough endurance to buy time until he could use magic. I estimated that I had fifteen seconds before that happened.

When he spun to build force for a particularly devastating strike, I ducked and rolled past his legs, kicking him in the knee as I went.

With him already unbalanced as he rotated, he went down hard.

I leaped to my feet as he began to rise and slammed my sword into the side of his head, ringing his ears.

“Who is on the ground now?” I asked, looking down at him.

He sneered. “Not for long, little cousin.”

I noted a crowd had gathered on the other side of the fence, watching us.

Sariyah’s father stood over there with a stoic, analytical expression.

He was about as serious as a person could get, but in private, he doted on his daughter.

After losing his wife, his only child meant everything to him.

I envied their close relationship. The way they chatted amiably at dinner when I visited reminded me of how things were before my parents died.

As Ulmar struggled to his feet, Sariyah called out, “Time! ”

I didn’t hesitate to gather my wind magic and send my cousin flying down the ring thirty feet away, crashing into the fence.

He let out a pained grunt as his back struck one of the support posts enhanced with magic so it wouldn’t give under any pressure.

The farther I stayed away from him, the better.

That was my strategy. For once, I wouldn’t let him get the best of me, and I would win.

Per the rules, I waited for Ulmar to return to his feet. He did it slowly, but the moment he was up, he stretched his hand toward me. Pain burst in my head. I winced and backed up because every foot of space I put between us reduced the intensity. Unfortunately, he quickly moved in step with me.

I’d endured this agony many times before, so I pushed through it and sent a curve of wind that hit him from the side and sent him sliding across the dirt.

The pain vanished momentarily as he rolled onto his hands and knees and pushed off the ground to stand.

I sent another forceful gale at him until he slammed into another fence post, head flying back as he struck it.

Sariyah flashed me two fingers, indicating we had two minutes left. It wasn’t long, but it was also an eternity. A lot could happen during that time. I jolted as pain sparked inside my head again, directly behind my eyes. My vision blurred as it worsened.

“Ahhh!” I screamed.

Ulmar had hit a cluster of nerves that felt like a thousand tiny needles had stabbed me.

I pressed my palms onto my face, willing myself to work past the agony.

It went on and on in ever-intensifying waves.

My knees shook, but I refused to fall to the ground the way my cousin wanted.

He’d sworn to take me down. I couldn’t give him that satisfaction because he would not win this time. I was tired of losing in so many ways.

His solid footsteps came close. I braced my feet and removed my hands, attempting to see, but my vision didn’t clear.

A fist struck the side of my head, and more pain exploded in my cheekbone.

I tilted to the right but caught myself from falling.

Lifting my arms, I managed to block the next blow and blindly kicked outward. My boot struck his leg.

As he stumbled back, the pain let up enough for my vision to clear a little.

Now that I could spot his location, I decided to put a new secret weapon into action.

I drew in the air around me and spun my hand in small circles.

Wind swirled around Ulmar like a whirlpool, lifting him and turning him.

As long as he wasn’t on the ground, I didn’t have to stop.

It would make him so dizzy that he wouldn’t be able to see anything to target me again. Let’s see how he liked it.

I’d developed the idea a couple of weeks ago while alone in the pit and practiced with stones when I grew tired of failing at my light magic. I hadn’t planned to reveal it today, but he’d left me no choice.

The wind picked up the dirt underneath, along with a few stray rocks and twigs from last night’s storm that had blown into the ring.

Ulmar’s body continued to spin fast through the whirling vortex.

Breaking through the torrent of noise, I heard him grunting and crying out as the debris struck his exposed skin.

His shirt lifted, and after a few moments, it tore from his body to join the other spiraling items.

I kept my eyes on him to maintain the speed of my wind magic, but I heard the shocked and impressed murmurs around me.

No one had done anything like this before.

Wind in Zadrya usually flew straight or at a slight curve, but it never spun like this.

I’d stolen the idea from a natural whirlpool near mine and Sariyah’s favorite spot by the Salmar River.

It had seemed like something that could work with air as well.

It didn’t tire me to keep the spin going since I hadn’t used my magic all day, so I found I could even move around my wind swirl to get a good look at the vortex from all sides.

Something like it could prove useful on a larger scale in the future.

It was fortunate that this wasn’t a natural phenomenon, though, because it could easily destroy whole villages.

Commander Norvin, Sariyah’s father, gestured at me. “It’s over. You won, Aella.”

I stopped spinning my hand and flicked out my fingers, letting Ulmar crash to the ground. He huddled there in a ball and began heaving his lunch onto the hardpacked ground. My cousin was covered in dirt, bloody cuts, and red marks.

After the horrible things he’d done to me over the years, I didn’t feel the least remorse. He’d fully recover within a few hours from the minor injuries, whereas I constantly had to hide my scars from others so no one outside my family would know what he and my uncle had done to me.

“Excellent display of power, Aella,” Commander Norvin said, coming over to pat me on the back. “If a situation is ever dire enough, I may call you forward to launch such magic on a larger scale.”

I lifted a brow. “How do you know I could make it bigger?”

“The fact you’re not out of breath tells me you’ve expended very little energy to perform that maneuver.” He chuckled and leaned closer to me. “It was nice to see your cousin put in his place for once, with how he abuses my soldiers with his powers.”

“You couldn’t have possibly enjoyed it more than me,” I whispered back. Despite my win, I didn’t dare gloat too loudly. Ulmar was unforgiving, and if he found an opportunity, he would exact revenge for today.

Sariyah ran up and hugged me. “That was amazing. I’m so glad you finally beat his ass, Aella.”

My cousin finished retching and lifted his head to glare at me with a promise of vengeance in his bloodshot gaze. I gave my best friend a wan smile. “Thank you.”

I’d have to watch my every step for a while. The trouble with Ulmar was that he could also be very patient and wait weeks or months to strike when I least expected it. I wondered if I shouldn’t have taken a beating instead of what might come later.