The female paused in arranging her stock. “Another mortal girl, who dwelled here so long ago only the trees and the old elven of Lomask remember.”
A mortal. There was only ever one reason why a mortal would set foot on Lortan.
“She died in the Trials,” I whispered.
“Yes.” The elven nodded. “A tragic loss of life. You remind me of her. She, too, had fire in her eyes and a restless soul. I hope this bracelet serves you better than it did her.”
That the female could glean so much of my soul intrigued me, but there was also sadness for the girl who had not survived.
I pulled my sleeve down, covering the bracelet, and the elven gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“It’s fine. Thank you again.” I pushed off the brick wall, ignoring the stab in my heart as I recalled that the last time I had been here was with my friends. It felt like everywhere I looked there was a reminder of death.
I sprinted back to Valhan House, not pausing to catch my breath. There would be no time to rest if something was chasing me. My muscles and lungs had to learn.
So, I pushed, and I ran. Chasing nothing and everything.
Sweat was streaming down my brow by the time I returned. At the sight of the archway, I swore. I should have never left Pyxis. A golden-eyed elven, dressed in sparring leathers, was waiting in the courtyard. “You’re late.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered. “He sentyouto train me?”
“Expecting someone else?” Septimus drawled. “Trust me, there are places I’d much rather be.”
“Like my best friend’s bed?”
He gave me a wicked grin the devil himself would be proud of. “How quickly you catch on.”
“Fetch Syrina. I’d rather train with her.”
“Syrina’s mortal is dead. She is visiting friends in Dalhur.”
I flinched at the casualness in Septimus’ tone. Syrina’smortalhad been Anama. “Fuck you.”
Septimus grinned. “Aaaandthere she is. Kilian told me you were giving him a hard time, but I said, ‘No way. Not sweet little Lirahna.’”
“I’m not sweet.”
“No,” he agreed, “You’re rather prickly. But that’s not my business.”
“Noneof this is your business. Go back inside and leave me alone. Tell Kilian that if he wants me to train, I will do it by myself.”
Septimus lifted two fingers, dropping one on each count. “One: I don’t know if you’ve seen yourself train, but you’re kind of shit. And two: I don’t take orders from you.”
I ignored his jab. “You just take orders from Kilian? Then be a good little golden retriever and run back to your master and tell him I’m not playing this game.”
Septimus whistled, long and low. “Someone’s in a bad mood this morning. You know, exercise is supposed to release endorphins. Maybe you need to take another lap.”
“What Ineedis for you to disappear.”
“Are you about done?” Septimus’ golden eyes were light with amusement. If I had hoped to rile him up, I had not succeeded. In fact, he looked downright entertained. “Because we can banter all day long. I don’t have any plans until tomorrow morning.”
The elven needed to attend a seminar on what was considered banter, because they had a warped idea of it.
I groaned. “What do I have to do to get you to stop speaking?”
Septimus jerked his head toward the house. “Come for a walk with me. I can’t promise I’ll stop talking, but I’ll make it worth your while.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “A walk?”