Downfall of the Curse by Deborah Grace White

Author:Deborah Grace White [White, Deborah Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781925898354
Publisher: Luminant Publications
Published: 2020-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lucy walked briskly through the corridors of the palace, trying to monitor people’s reactions without looking like she was doing it. To her relief, although her training clothes were attracting some curious looks, she couldn’t see any sign of the judgment she’d unleashed in Nohl.

It was still an hour before she was expected at breakfast, but she had a feeling that Lady Yasmin was an early riser. Lucy hadn’t needed Cody’s prompt to decide to meet the noblewoman at the training hall. It wasn’t only that she wanted to spar with the Thoranian, although she did. It also wasn’t lost on her that Lady Yasmin had gone to some effort the night before to speak with Lucy in private, and Cody and Matheus had prevented her from doing so. If there were things the older woman wanted to say to her without an audience, she wanted to hear them.

Before she reached the training hall, the clang of metal confirmed that someone at least liked to train first thing in the morning. She entered the large open space cautiously, still not entirely sure she was supposed to be there.

It was an impressive room. Lucy had been struck by it on the tour the previous afternoon. In the castles of both Kynton and Nohl, the training grounds were outside. But here in Thirl, the palace itself boasted a large open hall for the purpose. Perhaps it was to protect those training from the unforgiving sun.

The floor was the same polished stone as the rest of the palace, and tall paneled windows, stretching from floor to ceiling, covered the eastern wall. The rising sun hadn’t yet crested the mountain range to the east of Thirl, but Lucy could imagine that it wouldn’t be long before the space was flooded with light.

The walls were of smooth white stone, and polished pillars ran around all four edges of the space. The walls were lined with weapons, and the room was split into different sections. A few pairs could be seen sparring with swords in one corner, and a man on the far side of the room was wielding a long wooden staff, spinning it skillfully as he struck a cushioned target.

Lucy’s eyes were drawn to one of the duos of swordsmen fighting near the eastern wall. For a moment she frowned, wondering why the figures looked familiar, silhouetted against the growing light. Then she sighed, rolling her shoulders in irritation. She should have known that Cody would be too quick to let her steal a march on him. He had clearly been suspicious the night before about how much she intended to inform him of her doings.

She moved to an empty space between two of the pillars, hoping not to attract too much notice as she started warming up. Cody and Lady Yasmin were still sparring when she finished her stretches and began some solo exercises with her blade. But the sound of a particularly violent clang followed by Cody’s low chuckle pulled her from her warm up.

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