Before I Let Go (Skyland #1)(24)

“Where will we be training?” I pulled my hair over my shoulder as I followed her and quickly tried to twist it into a plait.

“The back courtyard,” she answered without ever looking at me. “We’ll have plenty of space out there.”

“Okay.” We passed by the open doors to the kitchens, and I nodded at one of the cooks who watched us as we went by. “And what are we going to be training exactly?”

“How to make you not weak.” Thalia stopped and held the door open for me, and I narrowed my eyes.

“I’m not weak,” I practically growled the words, and that drew a smile to her lips.

“Prove it.” She motioned for me to go outside, and I lifted my chin as I did so.

The courtyard was a large, open space that was surrounded by flowers of every color. The flowers grew wild, far less manicured than the fae kingdom would ever allow, and I smiled at the vines that were creeping up the edges of the castle and coating it with their yellow buds.

It was breathtaking.

“Go ahead and set your weapon to the side.”

I spun around and faced Thalia, who was rolling up her sleeves. She wasn’t paying one bit of attention to the flowers, hers was completely focused on me.

“What weapon?”

She cocked her brow at me, but I knew she wasn’t a fool. “The one hiding in your boot. You won’t need it today. We’ll work with daggers another day.”

I hesitated as my heart rate spiked. I didn’t want to drop my dagger. It was right where it belonged, and I hated the fear that hounded me at the thought of not having it at my side.

“Drop it, princess.”

“Don’t call me that.” I crossed my arms and Thalia grinned.

“Why not? Isn’t that what your mate calls you? What did Gavril call you? His precious? His love? How many pet names did you have in the fae kingdom?”

My anger rose inside me, and I could feel my power rising with it. “Gavril referred to me as the Starblessed.”

“Of course, he did.” She shook her head as a small, harsh laugh fell from her lips. “I would expect nothing less from the asshole.”

“I take it you don’t like Gavril?” I watched her carefully. I knew in my gut that what Evren told me about her was true, but part of me needed to hear it from her.

“I’ll be the one to kill him.” She looked at me, and I could see the truth pouring out of her. “I will allow Evren to do whatever it is he needs to do to ensure the safety of our kingdom, but once that is done, it will be my blade that ends Gavril’s rule.”

The anxiety coursing through me loosened at her words. She hated him as much as I did, far more than I ever could, and that made me trust this girl more than anything else could.

“Okay.” I nodded and pulled my dagger from my boot with trembling fingers. I set it down carefully to the side, and she watched my every move.

“What would you like for me to call you?”

“Adara.” I straightened and ran my sweating hands down the trousers she had given me.

“Okay, Adara.” She bowed her head gently. “How did you learn to use that dagger?”

“Trial and error.” The words slipped past my lips, and Thalia laughed. “It belonged to my father, and after I learned what the Achlys family did to him, that they killed him, I promised myself that I would learn to use it, to hold it.”

I had practiced with the blade day and night when I was old enough to learn what they had done to my father, when I learned of my fate. Nightmares plagued me, memories of him I wasn’t certain were real, and his dagger in my hand was the only thing that kept them at bay.

She nodded as if she understood, and I wondered what horrors this girl had been through. Had she lost family too?

“So, no official training?”

“No.” I shook my head. “What I know is through my own practice and sneaking to watch some of the men in my village.”

Thalia nodded before waving me forward. I met her and bent at the knees as I watched her assessing me, calculating. “The first thing you need to learn is hand-to-hand combat. Most of the men we encounter think we’re nothing more than useless women. Prove them wrong.”

“Okay.” I nodded and missed the way her leg swung out and hit the back of my calves. It caught me completely off guard, and I fell to my ass with a loud huff.

My power grumbled in my veins, begging to be released, as my hip ached from my fall.

“Get up.” Thalia motioned for me to stand. Ordered me to do so.

I wanted to refuse, to fight against her, but I knew that would do me no good. So, I shoved it down. I tried to drown my power in my anger as I stood and dusted off my trousers.

“I wasn’t ready,” I gritted the words through my teeth.

“Be ready for anything, Adara. These people aren’t going to wait until you’re in position to attack you.” She rubbed her hand down the back of her neck. “We should start with the basics.”

“I think I know the basics.”

“I think your stance is weak.” Thalia’s gaze ran down my torso, and I tensed under her assessment. “We need to work on that and build strength before we do anything else.”

“I thought we were going to fight.” I pressed my hands to my hips and looked around us. “Evren told me you were going to train me to use my power.”