will answ
er her sword. Her hands were shaking so har
len, red from crying, and grief had made her beautiful face hard. Behi
gain, fresh and brutal. Her throat tighten
the body behind her, then louder, to
ost amused. "You think you
vision, "you should have killed me when
as stronger , every block rattled her bones but her strikes were precise, furious.
r sword kissed his ribs. He jerked
sement
good?"Who trained you?"
yes burned. "Someone better than
with all his strength. The impact ripped her sword from her hands
forward, rais
oug
t through the air
an
with ash and blood, reflecting the fires stil
Evander ordered, his
e Heaven's Heir finally decides
elestial light. "Your inv
col
arian's darkness. The force of it threw Aurelia back a step. She scr
pillars. Darian stumbled, his c
relia really looked at her this
id quietly. It wasn't a
his hand.
melted into the smoke. D
ll, heavy
mediately. "Aurel
pped her sword again and fel
after a long day of training, waiting to wake her u
was small. "Please. Please get up. You promise
teach me more! You said we'd finish my training! you can't
had killed a dozen soldiers without fl
... his sacrifice saved the king, the
She looked at Evander, furious
k!" she cried. "That doesn'
ed there, kneeling in the ash beside her, w
ntil the he
-
was the ne
ce came. Earth King and Queen stood with their heads
had given her when she was five. She remembered how she could barely lift a woo
hout compassion is just another kind of
nt you. I swear I will become the person you trained me to be
pendant gentl
romi
Evander was waiting a few st
he held ou
took it. His fingers
ements. He just held her hand as they walked back to
h King called them t
e said softly. "I kept you here because I thou
her gaze, tears
nued. "Heaven can protect you while we
y Aurelia couldn't breathe. "T
her back, holdi
His voice was firm, like steel. "
m, surprised by the
hey left f
e smaller and smaller until it disappeared. She was leaving the only h
old palaces, and a husband who in
was already thinking about the girl with red
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