Shattered Magic (The Shattered Trilogy) by Emily Huffman

Author:Emily Huffman [Huffman, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Alara grabbed Rocco’s hand, sliding it up the hilt for the third time since he picked up the sword a minute ago. “Adjust your grip.”

Rocco wanted to adjust his grip alright—dropping the sword and picking up a mug of ale to forget all of his problems sounded like just the grip adjustment he needed. His gaze drifted to the small pile of rejected weapons on the side of the dirt clearing Alara had affectionately called their training field. She had already insisted he try a variety of weapons—a mace, a great sword, and a few javelins that had missed the tree Alara targeted by such a large margin she put them away after a single throw.

“You’ll have more control if you hold it here.” She held up one of her own swords, demonstrating the palm and finger placement she had just positioned his hand in. “Until you pick up the basics, you need all the control you can get.”

Rocco swore under his breath and took a few tentative swings with the longsword. The blade wobbled through the air, and his shoulder already ached with the effort. What business did he have holding a sword? He wasn’t a fighter. He was a mage. This wasn’t what he had expected when Alara offered to teach him more about the Lancers of the Lost. “This is a waste of time.”

“Come on, give it a fair chance. Give me your arm.” Alara set down her sword, hefted a wooden shield engraved with rough patterns off the ground, and held it out. Alara had met him a few hours ago, yet she acted like they had been friends their entire lives.

“Why are you helping me? What’s in it for you?”

“I lost my magic surrounded by a bunch of mages who had only ever known magic and made sure to let me know I was absolutely nothing without it,” she said. Rocco didn’t blame them. They were right—what was a mage without magic? What was he without his magic? Alara bumped the shield against his arm and continued, “I don’t want anyone to go through this alone, and I want to show you that your magic doesn’t define you.”

Rocco studied her, looking for the catch. But with Alara, there wasn’t one. She held his gaze with earnest eyes and her heart on her sleeve. Rocco shook his head and focused on the leather straps dangling loosely from the shield and waiting for his arm to fill the gap.

“That looks like it’s going to do more harm than good.” Rocco frowned, but threaded his arm through the straps. Alara dropped the shield, letting it rest on his forearm, and secured it in place.

“How’s that feel?” Her eyes still sparkled up at him. Somehow, she didn’t let any of his pessimism sour her mood.

He extended his arm and tentatively positioned the shield in front of his chest. It felt terrible. The straps were chafing at his skin, his shoulder felt like it was going to fall off, and every attempt at moving resulted in the shield clunking against his body.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.