The Seventh Flame

Chapter 9

- Silas -

Silas dragged his thin fingers across the gleaming metal of multiple blades. There was something so beautiful and elegant about them. Although he knew how to use every one, he didn't see them as weapons. They were more of a decoration, like the one he wore on his hip. Its crystal blade curved in a menacing way and its handle was studded with stones of midnight and stars. It was a gift given to him by Callisto, and it had never once drawn blood.

"No weapons." Aideen swatted Silas's hand away from the blades.

"Suit yourself." Silas shrugged, he'd always liked hand to hand combat anyways. Of course, so did Aideen. She was a vicious opponent, and one that was not easy to beat.

The two of them were training for the upcoming tournament that the King was putting on in honour for Callisto's return. Callisto wasn't competing, but the rest of The Seven were, and although he had been training for years, Silas knew he wouldn't win. He was not the strongest nor the fastest, and he wasn't ashamed of that. His skills lay elsewhere. He saw this type of fighting as absurd and a waste of time. If he were somehow chosen as King above the others, he would never need to fight. That was because a king never needed to fight. He had men to do that for him.

At least, Silas had never seen Theon raise a sword. Theia – Theon's sister and their trainer – told them that the King was a skilled fighter, even better than she. Silas couldn't see it. If Theon had been better back then – when they were competing for the throne – he wasn't anymore. Theon preferred to talk his way out of nasty situations, and that was something Silas admired him for. The only problem was... No one can talk their way out of every situation. Perdita was living proof of that. Theon hadn't been able to talk his way out of the oncoming war or the circumstance regarding the Ardere.

"Hurry up, I haven't got all day." Aideen bounced back and forth on her toes as Silas shrugged off his fur jacket. Her hair was pulled up and out of her face in a sleek braid and the low cut of her shirt revealed the light patches that crawled up the dark skin of her neck. She stretched her arms and grinned when Silas finally stepped into the ring.

"You sure you can handle this?" Silas grinned back, cracking his knuckles.

"Last more than two minutes against me and I'll introduce you to my friend from the north. He's coming down for the tournament."

"Deal." Silas lunged, knowing that once you were playing defence against Aideen, you were already beat. He fainted a punch to her face as he swept out his leg to trip up her feet. Aideen did not fall, but it worked as well as Silas could've hoped. With the mere second it took her to recover, he landed a blow to her jaw. Unfortunately, when he tried for another, she caught his arm and twisted.

As his arm was being wrenched in the wrong direction, he tried to kick out and separate himself from her. Aideen's grip did not loosen, and her knee slammed into his stomach.

"Done yet?" Aideen whispered in his ear, wrapping her free arm around his neck and pulling him to her chest.

"You wish." Silas drove his elbow into her side at the same time he bit down on her arm around his neck. Her grip slackened instantly, and he pushed himself away from her.

"Did you just bite me?" Her face held that of bewilderment and Silas prided himself in his ability to surprise her. It wasn't easy. Without answering, he jumped back into the fight. After a few hits and kicks, the two of them were grappling on the ground.

Aideen had Silas pinned and although he saw an opening on her left side to drive his knee into, he saw something else that interested him far more than continuing the scrapple. A girl in a white and green maids uniform stood near the doorway, watching them. She did not smile, but there was a glint in her eyes that Silas recognized. Their gaze connected and when he winked, the corners of her lips twitched slightly.