Page 63 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Adding the weight of the blade will be different, but not dissimilar to performing these movements as you have with water. Your grip should be firm but loose in your dominant hand, and you can use your other arm as a counterbalance.” Dossidian smirked at me.

I positioned myself in the en garde position I had just learned, holding the blade as Dossidian had instructed. He picked up one of his sabers, rolling his wrist and cutting his blade through the air before him several times before taking up a counter position.

“I will come forward, and your only role is to defend. Prevent me from landing a hit. Normally I would use practice weapons for this, but alas, I do not think we have the luxury here.” He chuckled. I nodded, feeling slightly nervous.

With one hand behind his back, Dossidian came towards me smoothly, thrusting his blade forward. He stayed slow and measured, giving me the opportunity to remember what I had just learned and use the knowledge to parry and block his gentle assault.

He really was a patient teacher.

“So, how long have you and Meredith known each other?” He asked casually as we continued to spar.

“Mi know Mer since wi likkle, man. Mr. Abbey and mi grandmother were very close. Wi spent a great deal of time together growin’ up, despite living in different countries. She was often in Canada or mi was in Jamaica.”

“Ah.” He said, before tapping his blade against mine abruptly. “You’re dropping your shoulder, let’s try that again.”

I nodded and resumed my position before he carried on.

“So, you two have known each other a long time. Has there ever been any…” He cleared his throat awkwardly, and I found myself trying not to openly grin at how uncomfortable he seemed. I waited for a moment, to see if he would finish his sentence, before finally taking pity on him.

“Yuh asking if Mer and mi have ever… dated?” I asked, still biting back an amused smile as I finally successfully blocked one of his thrusts. He tapped his saber against my blade again in approval. His olive skin flushed slightly at my question. He ran his hand through his long dark hair before resuming a basic stance.

“Uhm… well. Have you?” He asked. This time I did allow myself to chuckle softly, my eyes crinkling in the corners despite myself. He shrugged at me sheepishly.

“Nah, Dossidian. Mer and mi are like family. Mi neva been wid har like dat.”

“Hmm. Well. That’s great. That you, uhm… have someone that you’re so close with.” He muttered, and we continued sparring in silence for a few more rounds.

“She likes you, yuh know.” I finally said, unable to resist. Dossidian’s entire face flushed red, and he coughed roughly into his fist.

“What? Why do you say that?” He asked, looking taken aback. I shrugged.

“Mi can tell. Yuh should ask her out or something.” I encouraged him, grinning openly now. He looked horrified and shook his head.

“Oh, no, no. I couldn’t do that.” He said. We had completely stopped sparring by now, and I frowned at him.

“Why not? Yuh like har, she likes you. What’s di problem?”

He looked away, pursing his lips, as he stared out into the breathtaking view of the alpine, his saber now limp in his hand at his side.

I waited patiently.

My grandmother had always told me that if you wanted someone to share something with you, the best thing to do was to give them the space to do so. For a moment I thought he was going to tell me what was on his mind. Then suddenly, he shook his head, as if the mere act could shake away the memory he seemed to have lost himself in.

“Nevermind.” He said, turning away from the panoramic view of the Dolomites and heading back toward the chalet. “Let’s go back. We’ve been out here all day, and we really should try to eat and sleep for a bit before the opening meeting. This is going to be a long night.” He said gruffly.

I sighed and sheathed my blade, before loping after him. He was right. It was going to be a long night. Though I was glad that I had made some progress with training, I couldn’t help but worry it had been a mistake not to rest when we had the chance.

When we left Toronto, it had been late evening, but early morning here in Italy. We were going to be exhausted if we didn’t get at least a little bit of sleep. I tried not to let my anxiety show. We needed to be sharp for when we met with Trenton and presented our case.

Our work was cut out for us. We needed to recruit The Board to back Raven in the war, and convince them to allow us access to the archives to find a way to disable The Flute’s magick. We were not asking for small things. Remembering how much of an ordeal it had been to convince them to allow me to simply borrow The Lens, I shuddered.

“Mi hope Mer find what she needed in di greenhouse.” I commented as we walked back to the chalet. The sun had travelled nearly to the other end of the sky during our time at the ring. If I had to guess, I would say we were approaching four PM. The meeting began at ten. If we hurried we could squeeze in a few hours of sleep.

“Aye.” Dossidian replied, but he didn’t say much else. His mood had shifted since our conversation. I considered pressing as we entered the chalet, but the words died in my mouth the moment we entered the foyer.

There, standing in the lobby before us, was Trenton Blackwood and The Siren.

Conrad