Chapter 10

The Day After

It was afternoon and the sun was at its highest. Elsa sat beneath the shade of an old tree as she watched the newly admitted cadets of the Knight Academy run through the sword drills she had just taught them. The way their blades moved revealed their temperaments, some confident and boastful, others clever and cautious. Still, each one of them moved with focus today, knowing she was present. It was not a common occurrence.

Typically, Gold-Rank knights only became involved in training after the cadets had graduated and earned their knighthoods, because it was only after that milestone that they were assigned to one of the twenty-one districts. There, the cadets, now recruits, underwent two years of supplementary training—in addition to the three spent at the academy—under the supervision of their Gold-Rank Commanders before they could then be considered full-fledged knights. It was a grueling five year journey that all knights must endure.

Elsa had endured it too, and she knew how many of her peers never made it through, sometimes by flunking out, other times through injuries. That was why she occasionally came to the academy, offering what guidance and encouragement she could.

But perhaps coming today had been a mistake...

She’d barely slept last night. That itself wasn’t a concern as she could function well enough without it. No, what troubled her was the reason she’d stayed awake. Not the men she’d eliminated, not the evil that seemed to crawl beneath the kingdom with roots in every corner, not even the danger she was sure followed her for daring to look into it.

No, it was because of Adam. A boy. She’d lost sleep over him, like some love-struck teenage girl. The mere thought still embarrassed her and she’d tried several times to erase it from her mind, but to no avail. There was no sheltering from the truth.

He was the cause of her sleepless night...

After what happened at the warehouse, she’d tossed and turned all night in her bed, wondering about his sudden change of attitude toward her, if she’d somehow frightened him or done something to offend him. They hadn’t known each other very long, but she’d gotten a sense of his character. He was aloof, always thinking, for every word he said, there were twenty he didn’t say. But last night was different. He had closed off completely.

Perhaps what happened in the warehouse affected him more than she realized. He’d said that kind of violence wasn’t normal where he came from, and that he’d never taken a life before. Hearing that had surprised her; she’d assumed he was merciless after what he did to those three men in the alley. But maybe her assumption about him was wrong, maybe he was silently struggling with all he’d done. If that was the case, then she’d given him the worst possible advice, she’d essentially told him “to get over it, he’d be fine,”

No wonder he’d grown cold to her. To say that, immediately after the carnage she’d unleashed, was a mistake. He probably thought she was some bloodthirsty monster, and usually other people’s thought about her didn’t matter ... but his did.

The next question was why. Part of her already knew the answer; it had hit her the moment she felt that sharp pang of jealousy when he mentioned the woman he was trying to help. She was deeply attracted to him. The larger, more sensible part of her mind wanted to deny it, chalk it up to a passing fascination. But it wasn’t.

She was attracted to Adam in such a strong way that it even surprised her. The other times she’d felt attraction to someone had passed quickly; they hadn’t caused jealousy, let alone kept her awake. It was clear that there were developing feelings behind her attraction, and that made no sense. She’d known him less than a week, and he was at least seven years younger than her. In another reality, he might be one of the cadets she was watching. But that didn’t change anything, not her attraction to him ... nor her budding feelings.

Maybe it was the way he spoke to her, treating her like an equal rather than someone to impress or obey. Or maybe it was something else, Elsa didn’t know. But she wasn’t one to easily let anyone in, yet somehow, he was finding a way into her heart.

What would her father think if he saw her like this...

Elsa shook her head and tried to drive the thoughts from her mind. She was a twenty-five-year-old woman, a Gold-Rank knight, by the Divine! She shouldn’t be going to pieces like this over a boy she barely even knew. She was done thinking about this.

She looked back to the training field and saw the cadets falling into pairs under the direction of an old man, Denvass Crawley, the sternest instructor at the academy. Elsa still remembered how intense his trainings were and a smile pulled at her lips. Then, she turned her gaze and watched as two boys began to circle each other with their blades held far too rigidly, telegraphing every single intention with a stiffness that made her wince.

All of them in fact, even the most confident and clever, had a fault. Whether it was their uneven footwork, their fragile balance, or their tight grips, a single well-placed strike from a real opponent would have disarmed them. But there was no need for her to point that out to them, Ser Denvass would, just more harshly than she might have.

The cadets would have to endure it just as she once had, though even Ser Denvass’s harshness was nothing compared to her adopted father’s, the man who had saved her in the attack that killed her parents, and who had raised her and taught her everything she knew.

“I thought I might find you here, Commander,” a voice said.

Elsa glanced to her side and she saw Elliot making his way toward her. He was her oldest companion, they’d fought side by side countless times, and yet she still did not trust him, not as much as she should. The same was true for Adam. Despite the feelings growing in her, she didn’t fully trust him either. There was only one person in the entire world who had earned her complete and unwavering trust, and that was her adopted father.

“Elliot,” she said calmly. “Did something happen?”

He stepped up to the tree and leaned against it beside her. “No, it’s been quiet, which is strange considering what we suspect about the King’s Hand, and he must know by now that we suspect him. After last night, I expected there would be more ... fighting.”

Elsa smiled. “He has time,” she said and returned her gaze to the training field. “He knows we can’t act against him without proof, and if we try, it’ll just give him an excuse to charge us with conspiracy against the Crown, then we’ll face a rigged trial. But I’m sure there will be fighting soon, he’ll move to silence us before we uncover any proof.”

“Proof, huh, I wonder what Arryn found that cost him his life.”

“Whatever it was, it’s probably long gone by now.”

Elliot nodded. “Probably, if they’d been sloppy, their operation wouldn’t have gone so long unnoticed.” He let out a long sigh. “For now, I guess we just have to keep watching our backs, even against other knights. How are you so calm to even be here today?”

“You already know the answer to that, Elliot,” she replied.

He huffed out a breath. “Of course, you never trusted anyone in the Knight Order to begin with,” he said. “I’ve told you before, but that’s a sad way to live.”

“You’re saying that even this situation?” Elsa lifted a brow.

“Just because you were right about it this time, doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

Elsa didn’t respond. They’d had this argument several times, and there was nothing to be gained from it. She knew it bothered him that she didn’t trust him even after all they’d been through, but that was a mark of her character, not a reflection of his trustworthiness.

“By the way, I had my men stop watching the inn as you ordered.”

She nodded as she remembered the order she’d given. “Good.”