Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(26)

Searching around the palace grounds, it didn’t take me long to hear the clanging of swords, or the battle cries and grunts of the warriors as they fought against each other. I flattened myself against the side wall of the palace and slowly tilted my head around the corner so I could see them. Their training field was just as large as ours in Summer, except this one was covered in snow and adorned with hundreds of warriors in black and silver instead of brown and gold. I was going to be the odd one out. I watched quietly as Brayden gave his orders and directed them in a series of thrusts and dodges. I could tell he was a good leader just by the way he paid attention to his men and the determination in his eyes to make them better fighters.

Taking a deep breath, I left the cover of the wall and slowly sauntered out through the crowd with my head held high. The warriors halted in mid-motion, bowing as I walked past them heading toward Brayden. He hadn’t turn to acknowledge me, but with the rigid stance and the tenseness in his muscles I knew he could feel I was there.

“What are you doing here?” Brayden asked, his voice bland and disinterested as he kept his back to me.

“I’m not going to answer that question until you turn to face me,” I snapped. The warriors around us gasped and halted with their mouths wide open, staring back and forth at us.

Brayden crossed his arms over his chest and finally turned to face me. Yep, he was back to being the emotionless bastard that he was before. However, I was going to fix that problem … fast. Now that I had his attention I said, “Whether you like it or not I’m here to train. Either you can fight with me or I’ll find one of these other handsome warriors to teach me a thing or two.”

When all he did was clench his teeth, I backed away from him and pulled out my sword, turning around so I could address the warriors. “All right, since Prince Brayden won’t answer me, who here wants to fight me and help me train?”

Several of the warriors smiled while others looked to Brayden for guidance. I heard one of them whispering to another, “I don’t feel right about fighting his queen.”

Brayden heard the fighter say it too because his gaze instantly found mine. “I’m not his queen,” I announced, narrowing my eyes at him.

“She’s right,” he agreed. “She’s not my queen. If she wants to fight then let’s show her how we do it in the Winter Court.”

The guys all hollered and resumed back to their fighting, except I caught several of them sneak glances my way to watch me battle. Brayden picked a couple of his warriors to stand back and join me, all circling me like I was their prey. With my sword gripped firmly in my right hand, I was ready. However, I couldn’t stop myself from taunting Brayden just a little bit more. He was standing outside of the circle, watching on with a smirk on his face.

“What’s wrong, Prince Brayden, afraid you might get your ass kicked?” I teased.

Brayden’s smirk grew wider and he retorted back, “Not at all, Princess. I just have to see if you are worthy enough to fight me.”

“Asshole,” I hissed in his mind, narrowing my eyes at him angrily. If he wanted worthy, I’d show him how worthy of a fighter I was.

Not waiting on the others to attack, I shifted on my feet and kicked the warrior’s legs—who was standing in front of me—out from under him. He went down quickly, but then got right back up, snarling at me, “You are a sneaky one, aren’t you?”

“That’s what I’ve been known for,” I chided.

He attacked this time along with two other warriors. I fought three of them at once while Brayden watched on curiously, keeping his gaze neutral. I took a few hits knowing my body was going to be sore afterwards, but it was worth it to make Brayden sweat. He finally began showing some emotion when one of the warriors started getting a little too close to me. His gaze grew hard and annoyed, and I could tell he’d had enough.

“Stop!” he yelled. He pulled out his sword and approached the four of us, keeping his eyes steadily on me. When he reached us, he quickly glanced at the three warriors and growled, “Back up, all of you. She’s mine now.”

The air around us turned electric, and it charged me with a newfound force. I was ready to fight him even though I’d been battling it out and using all my strength. The fire in his eyes let me know he wasn’t going to take it easy on me, and I welcomed it.

“Let’s see what you got,” I said.

His wolfish smile was answer enough, but he silently added, “Gladly.”

Brayden delivered the first blow by swinging his body around in a circle and swiping his sword against the armor on my stomach, except he didn’t even touch me because I backed up just in time. Our swords clanged against each other, echoing across the field, as we fought. The other warriors had ceased their training and came to stand around us, watching intently as their prince fought the woman who was supposed to one day be his queen.

It wasn’t just the warriors who crowded around; other Winter Fae had joined in the entertainment as well. I waited on him to use the moves that I knew he would use toward the end of the fight. Kamden had taught me the Winter warrior ways when I trained with him in the Spring Court. I was ready, but I knew Brayden didn’t know I would use his moves against him.

Since we were putting on a show, I decided to spice it up just a bit. When Brayden lunged toward me, I called upon my wind magic and twisted him up in the air and then back down to the ground where he landed in a crouch. His lip tilted up ever so slightly and he raised an amused brow. “I see you have to cheat by using your magic. I knew I would be too much for you,” he insisted slyly.