* * *
“How much longer are you going to be avoiding Xander?” Daegal asked.
He was standing in front of me, his eyes sharp as he held a sword aloft in the air.
I passed my sword from my left hand to my right, tilting my head as I considered the question.
We circled each other, creating a trail in the damp grass beneath our feet as we eyed one another. The taller elf was watching me carefully, but I knew from our previous sessions over the past week that he would wait for me to make the first move.
“I’m not avoiding him,” I lied. I shifted my feet, adjusting my stance. Fabric rustled as I moved, the same cream-colored gown hugging my curves. I felt like I was getting used to it.
I had asked Laeanna, one of the humans, for a tunic and leggings, but she had refused. It “wouldn’t be appropriate for a female,” she had told me reprovingly.
Sword-fighting in a dress wasnotideal, but I wanted to practice. I needed to practice. To take my mind off everything else. Dress or no dress, I wouldn’t be left defenseless.
The Fortune Elf raised a brow. “You two have barely spoken a word to each other since he and I came back a week ago. You’ve been spending every day with Morwen and the other females in the weaving hut or in the library. He’s been moping around, barely talking to anyone. You two do know we’re supposed to leave tomorrow, right?”
Right. Tomorrow. We were going south to follow a clue about the third piece of the map. I hoped that in the southern provinces, we might also find more information about Earth Elves. I knew so little about myself. What I could do. Who I was.
I narrowed my eyes, tightening my grip on the sword before lunging towards Daegal. “I wasn’t aware our… marital problems were so obvious.”
It grated against me that Xander and I were still upholding this ruse of our fake marriage. Especially since his reaction after our kiss made it clear he didn’t want to be with me.
I did not know why Xander hadn’t come clean to Daegal about the reality of our marriage, but I would not be the first one to lose at whatever game we were playing.
Daegal lifted his sword, easily blocking my attack before coming around on the other side. Our swords clashed, filling the clearing with the sound of metal on metal as we fought.
The Fortune Elf chuckled. “No one else has noticed your problems. But I know Xander very well. And I’m beginning to know you, too. This respite at The Pines has been very enlightening, in more ways than one.”
“Is that so?” I blocked Daegal’s blow, twirling around and extending my sword towards his left side.
The Fortune Elf nodded as he ducked underneath my extended arm. “It is so.”
After that, we stopped speaking, giving into the warrior’s dance. Our swords became nothing more than extensions of ourselves as we sparred.
My heart pounded in my chest, and my hands grew sweaty. Even so, we trained. Strands of red hair plastered themselves against my face as I moved, but I didn’t try to get rid of them.
A welcome weariness came over me. I didn’t fight it. Instead, I fell into it.
If I was tired, I didn’t have to think about him. About the way he made me feel. About his rejection. And the aching hole in my heart that had been growing since he had broken off our kiss a week ago.
Fighting was easy. It was good. It hurt, but not in a bad way. The burn in my muscles reminded me I was alive. And right now, I needed that reminder more than anything.
I lost track of time as we sparred. It could have been minutes or hours before the Fortune Elf stepped back and bowed. “I think that’s enough for today, don’t you?”
I panted, wiping my hand on my brow. “You’re giving up?”
He shook his head. “Not giving up… calling a truce.”
A branch cracked behind us, and my neck hairs prickled. The air seemed to grow heavier as an awareness washed over me. I knew without turning around thathewas there. Right behind me.
“What do you want, Xander?” I asked through clenched teeth. I kept my gaze trained on the elf in front of me, who had sheathed his sword and was wiping his own brow.
“I want to talk with my wife,” the infuriating male replied. His voice sounded… hesitant. Like he didn’t know what I was going to say.
I snapped, “I don’t want to talk to you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
A beat passed, then two, as Daegal shifted awkwardly on his feet. He opened his mouth to speak when a hand landed on my shoulder.