Chapter 28

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"Don't dance so much on your toes," Oberon said to me four days later as we spent the unusually warm afternoon in the sparring ring

Rất tiếc! Hình ảnh này không tuân theo hướng dẫn nội dung. Để tiếp tục đăng tải, vui lòng xóa hoặc tải lên một hình ảnh khác.

"Don't dance so much on your toes," Oberon said to me four days later as we spent the unusually warm afternoon in the sparring ring. "Feet planted, daggers up. Eyes on mine. If you were on a battlefield, you would have been dead with that manoeuvre."

Nolan snorted, picking at his nails while he lounged on a bench. "She heard you the first ten times you said it, Oberon."

"Keep talking, Nolan, and I'll drag you into the ring and see how much practice you've actually been doing."

Nolan just continued cleaning his nails—with a small dagger, I realised. "Touch me, Oberon, and I'll remove your favourite part. Small as it might be," he said teasingly.

Oberon rolled his eyes as he let out a low chuckle, as if this was a regular encounter between both of them. Standing between them in the sparring ring in the Estate of Elanor, a dagger in each hand, sweat sliding down my body, I wondered if I should find a way to slip out. Or perhaps to at least get out of their way, and provide them with the privacy they might have needed.

Four days of this ever since Phoebus's reignited offer—training with Oberon, and occasionally with Nolan, spending most of my time trying to figure out what sort of labyrinth the black milkweed may be located in while dodging Phoebus all the same. Unsurprisingly, I made more progress with the former.

The constant stressing and thinking hadn't done much to help my sleep either. I hadn't decided if that was a good thing. I had only but a good guess of where this 'labyrinth' might be but decided against it. It was too easy to find—almost as if it had been there the whole time waiting to be discovered. That was without considering that the attacks were closing in towards the Estate of Elanor, and seemingly moving faster than anyone could've imagined. Nolan and his sentries continued their attempts at slowing the attackers, but to no avail. That he hadn't managed to do so yet made him quieter than usual—colder. I shook my head.

Nolan's pine green eyes flicked up from his nails. "Good. You can play with her."

"Play with who?" said Kallistê, stepping from the shadows of the open hallway.

Oberon's nostrils flared. "Where'd you go the other night?" he asked Kallistê without so much as a nod of greeting. "I didn't see you by the western border." Near the camp of Elanor's armies.

They'd gone off two nights ago—away to discuss what could be done about the attacks. I'd spent most of my time in the study then, poured over a pile of books about the architecture of the Estate of Elanor, labyrinths and mazes in Asteria as well as anything else which may help me with deciphering the Alger's words. But other than those sleepless nights, Nolan, Oberon and Kallistê had kept me company, Nolan in particular. Nursing my wine, I'd usually talked over Kallistê and Oberon's bickering with Nolan, who had constantly arrived content to brood, but reluctantly joined me in observing the war of words between those two. Kallistê had joined us only a mere four days ago, when she found out I had been training with Oberon—and the commander and I made a game of betting on who, exactly, would win each round.

The Infernal Crown: Of Roses and LiesNơi câu chuyện tồn tại. Hãy khám phá bây giờ