Page 53 of The Freedom You Seek

I examined Dion’s dagger he’d given to me. The blade’s silvery and shining metal was thin but sturdy. Thecrossguard was decorated in delicate engravings that looked like undulating whirls.

I was amazed at the beauty and intricacy of the weapon he possessed and wondered if I could keep it, but he argued that the blade was too long for me and, therefore, lacked proper balance. Was that a thing?

“Just tell me how to stab someone.” I jokingly slashed through the air, keeping a safe distance from Dion.

“Stop, Jama. This isn’t a toy, but a tool that has killed people before. You’ll never gain any kind of control over what you’re doing if you don’t even know the basics,” he barked at me, and I almost dropped the dagger.

Pouting, I sighed and corrected my hold as he’d shown me before.

“No. No, that won’t work. You need a shorter dagger. This one puts too much strain on your wrist and arm.”

I wanted to protest. After all, I wasn’t aiming for mastery but for simple self-defense, and I’d already proven that any weapon would do in a pinch. My words, though, got stuck in my throat when I observed what Dion was doing.

His forehead wrinkled in concentration, and black smoky matter appeared between his hands, slowly forming itself into the shape of a dagger. The smoke gradually solidified into a midnight-black material so dark it seemed to absorb the light.

It took a few minutes before Dion broke his concentration, and I was surprised to see some strain on his face.

“Take this. You can keep it for now. This dagger has the advantage that it won’t cut me, and you also can’t hurt yourself with it. However, I want you to act as if it couldso you won’t get all sloppy around it. It’s a weapon, after all. Follow those rules, or I’ll take the dagger away. And for the love of all the gods, Jama, don’t lose it.” Dion glared at me as he exchanged the midnight dagger with his own.

I stared at the sleek blade in my hand, and it vibrated slightly from within as if it were…purring? I ignored Dion’s arrogant comments and smiled. “Beautiful. If I were able to do something like that, I would start selling them.”

“You wouldn’t. I locked a drop of my power inside so the dagger will stay permanent instead of vanishing after a while.”

“A drop of your power?” Was he really trying to tell me he’d sacrificeda permanent part of his magicso I’d have a weapon that wasn’t a few inches too long? Something warm bloomed inside my chest.

“Don’t look at me like that. Believe me, I have plenty to spare. This doesn’t weaken meat all.”

Ahh, his arrogance was back. Yet I smiled. This almost made up for yesterday’s rejection—which, in the light of the new day, came across more like an automatic defense mechanism—and I had to admit to myself that this training session wasn’t the catastrophe I thought it would be.

Half an hour later, everyone was up and awake, and the camp was already disassembled. Dion had bullied Ireas,who was luckily feeling much better already, into giving me a holster and a belt for my dagger. I took great care to attach all of it safely to myself.

When I was sure Dion wasn’t paying attention to me, my eyes searched for Thain to see if he was feeling better. His wounds had looked bad, and I was responsible for them in a way, after all, but he was already walking around and joking with Fig.

When he felt my eyes on him, he raised his hand and waved. “Hey Naya! Wanna ride with me again today?” His question was in total disregard for the potential human bomb in our camp, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he enjoyed provoking Dion.

I slowly counted to three in my head, but I hadn’t even reached two when Dion’s voice boomed through the clearing, “No!”

“You heard him.” I gave Thain a small shrug.

Even from a distance, I could have sworn I caught Dion growling in warning as Thain laughed. “Well, we can come together later when we rest. There’s quite a lot we have to chat about.”

I merely nodded, and Dion stalked over to me, ignoring Thain and the fact that he and I were talking, and he grabbed me by my good wrist. “Come along, on the horse with you.”

When had I started to tolerate that this man bossed and hauled me around? One thing was for sure: I only allowed it because of his lethal temper and because of what I’d learned about the reasons whyDion had so much leeway with everyone. But it wouldn’t take long anymore before we had to discuss his behavior in a serious debate.

After he’d manhandled me on our horse and had mounted behind me, I sighed. “Will you please take off the godsdamned choker?”

“Can’t do that, Jama. Fig’s order.” The smugness in Dion’s voice made my fingers itch with the urge to slap him. Of course, he enjoyed a decree that suited him for once.

And in a way, Fig was my boss as well. I had a much easier time accepting his authority compared to Dion’s arrogance and addiction to control. The difference was that Fig always kept his professional distance, while Dion, time and time again obliterated it.

Dion’s lack of trust made it seem like he didn’t believe I could make my own choices. Even though he didn’t treat me as property most of the time, but more like a helpless ward who couldn’t even be trusted to pee alone, the way he acted was smothering, and his attitude didn’t sit well with me. Not wanting to wait any longer to speak my mind, I did my best to calm the nerves that danced in my stomach.

“Dion, there are a few things I’d like to discuss.” Dion must have sensed that it was an unpleasant topic I had in mind since his whole stance became rigid. For someone so tough, he could be surprisingly sensitive.

“And what would that be?” Dion steered his horse away from the others, so we were out of earshot, which I appreciated.

“I’m thankful for your dedication to keep me safe. But you often cross a line and come across as unnecessarilyoverbearing. I’m capable of deciding when to eat and sleep without you ordering me to do so. You also don’t get to say with whom I talk or spend my time with when the person in question is safe to be around.”