Song of Blood and Reign

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It wasn't hard to find them. All Jai had to do was follow the sounds of metal against metal, something he wished he didn't have to hear, especially when he knew the two boys who were fighting. Before he went down to the training courtyard, though, Jai thought it best to clean up and change, but Elys always saw more that what was good for him.

Even with the chill in the air, both Elys and Eamon were covered in sweat, a clear giveaway that they'd been at it for hours. Jai remembered doing the same with Destan and Gideon, though they were older than the six- and ten-year-old who were fighting each other now. Both had clear looks of determination on their faces, but Elys...Elys's held anger and pain Jai absolutely hated to see.

Lady Roesia, the captain of the city guard, circled them as she watched their form, but Jai walked up to another who was sitting at the edge of the courtyard. How Laurel was able to get herself down to sit on the stone ground, he had no idea. He joined her, though, after she caught sight of him and waved him over.

"They've been going at it for hours," Laurel told him as he sat. Her hands rested on her very round belly, having only a month or so before his nephew made his first appearance, but then she gestured to the empty tray on her other side. "I had to bring them lunch or else they wouldn't have gone to the kitchens. They devoured it, took a quick break, and then went at it again. That was hours ago."

"And you've been here ever since?" Jai asked, raising a brow.

She gave him a sheepish smile. "Mostly because I can't seem to get up."

He couldn't help but laugh, the sound foreign in his ears. It died quickly, though, and Laurel knew why. The guilt ate at his stomach. Why did he get to laugh when Lyv was...?

His sister reached over and grabbed onto his hand, threading her fingers through his. "Thia came and found me a little while ago. She said Gideon wouldn't talk to her, but she needed to get it all of her chest. She told me...she told me what you all saw. And I know what you're thinking, but it's not your fault."

"I couldn't get to her, though."

Laurel knew he wasn't talking about what happened the day before in that small Ethran village.

"Because Corliss trapped you. You couldn't."

"I can't track her, can't feel that bond between us to even help."

"It's still there, just buried deep underneath magic and darkness."

Jai nodded toward the boys in the courtyard. "And don't even get me started on those two."

Finally, Laurel was silent, looking in the same direction he was. Both of them saw two little boys who had grown up too fast in the last four months, who thought they could help more in doing so. But all Jai wanted for them was a normal childhood, one that was filled with laughter and family and playfulness. That wouldn't happen with a war coming, though, which was exactly why they demanded to be trained every single day for hours at a time.

But it wasn't just steel against steel then. Eamon seemed to be getting frustrated that Elys was beating him, pushing him further and further back to the boundary line. He wasn't going to take that, though, and threw magic at him to push him back. It was a little too much, though, and hurled Elys backward onto the ground, his sword clattering to the stone a few feet away.

Jai immediately jumped up and rushed over, but Elys seemed to be quicker.

"Hey! No magic!" Elys yelled as he pushed himself up to stand and went for Eamon, reaching for his dagger at his hip. Jai was there to hold him back, though.