Aerie: A Fantasy Novel by S.E. Wendel

Author:S.E. Wendel [Wendel, S.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-14T05:00:00+00:00

22

For all that it was her idea, Lena found herself picking at her thumb as she and Alix set out equipment in preparation for Alix’s first training session with Bel. When she’d made the offer, it’d sounded like a good idea, and it still did—even if her nerves made her jittery. But when she’d offered, in her mind, it had been her training with him. When her leg healed up a little more, she would be a match for the hard-bodied avian.

Alix was...well, Lena could lift her easily, even soaking wet. She’d joked once that a third of Alix’s weight came from her big, untamable black curls while another third was her ego.

But she’d held her tongue during breakfast. Bel had come down from his chambers to eat with them, and while little conversation flowed between them, Alix had made up for it with her happy chatter and boasting. She’d even tried to get Pol to place bets.

Now, as they waited for Bel to come up from the kitchen to join them in the great hall, Lena wanted to pace, to work out her nerves, but the sharp twinge in her healing leg kept her frustratingly in place.

As Alix threw herself into her forms with gusto and exaggerated battle cries, Lena did what she could to stretch out her leg. It didn’t pain her per se, but she was aware of each puncture every time she took a step. When she put weight on it, a phantom sensation of tendon and muscle flexing and releasing made her think of fraying rope pulled to its limit. The longer she stood, the more she felt blood sloshing in the fleshy holes.

Not that anyone let her stand for very long. Since returning from Fort Whitewater, Alix had kept close, always ready to shove her down on the nearest chair or a bowl of stew under her nose. Lena could admit she’d never been a good patient, and Alix’s clumsy caregiving grated on her. It touched her that the girl cared so much, it really did, but she was already anxious to stop being Alix’s charge and instead be her knight again.

Soft tread sounded from the stairs, and then Bel stood at the landing, looking on at them with a carefully neutral expression. After a pause, he came forward, and Lena’s brows rose nearly to her hairline when he set one of the kitchen stools in front of her.

“For…” He gestured at her leg and swallowed audibly.

She felt just as articulate as a blush swept across her face. “Thank you,” she mumbled, too abashed to feel any grumpiness at being taken care of. If Alix had done this, she would have sighed and grumbled before giving in, but Lena quickly slipped onto the stool without a word.

Bel looked her over once before nodding and walking woodenly out to meet Alix in the middle of the great hall. Even beneath the feathery curtain of his wings, Lena could see how stiff his shoulders were, barely moving as he walked.

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