Page 78 of In Violent Waves

As they entered the middle of the training ground, the wind picked up. Lyra turned in place, closing her eyes and feeling it rush past her.

She imagined she was a leaf floating through the air, and not a mermaid trapped in a mortal body, in a bargain she never wanted to agree to in the first place.

Wilder knew Lyra hadn’t spotted him yet from his sanctuary in the tree, even though Maelys had already. Lyra walked to the middle of the grounds and stood there, closing her eyes.

The well of magic in the core of his being surged, and he couldn’t help but increase his wind.

Lyra spun in a circle, her head tilted towards the cloudless sky. He had never seen her hair braided back that way. But the serene expression on her face was his undoing.

He slid off the branch and dropped to the ground, his knees bent to absorb the impact, and then he stood to his full height, towering over her.

There was a gleam in her eyes when she saw him. He stood in her personal space, but she didn’t cower or back away from the challenge.

No, she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. She squinted against the sun’s glare, and when she did, it curled up the corners of her lips. Similar to a smile, but not.

“I don’t even know where to start with you,” he said.

“Usually, you start at the beginning,” she chirped. He closed his eyes and sighed. She would make this more difficult than it needed to be.

Footsteps crunched against the dirt, and they turned to see Otto, Ridge, and several guards breaching the grounds.

Otto gave a polite wave, bedecked in his gray linen tunic and pants, but had nearly half a dozen weapons strapped to him now.

Ridge walked through the archway next. He towered over everyone else, and his brown leather top and breeches were snug against his bulging muscles. Wilder squeezed his lips into a thin line to keep from chuckling.

The guards seemed to be the four he knew the best. Cedric, Oak, Dust, and Oron. They were the guards that Wilder, Ridge, and Otto trained when they joined the guard—and the only four Wilder trusted implicitly with his task.

Although Wilder oversaw the entirety of the guard, he delegated most of his tasks to them and had split their ranks into quarters, positioning each of them as captains.

Cedric and Oak were twins, but they couldn’t have been more different. Cedric was broad and quiet. Oak was lithe and loud.

Dust was a fiery mix of color and personality. Both quick in wit and with his help. Oron was dark-haired and of a gloomy disposition.

“I thought you could do with some help,” Otto said, stopping a few feet away from Lyra.

“Me?” she pointed to herself. “Or him?”

“Both,” Otto chuckled.

“We were due for our midday training anyway,” Cedric chimed in.

Wilder nodded. “That’s good. Start with your normal warmup. I need to gauge where to begin with Lyra.”

“And me?” Otto asked.

“You already know,” Wilder replied, weary from the number of orders he was bound to give.

The guards and Otto peeled off and began jogging laps around the ring.

Ridge stood beside Maelys as they waited for Wilder’s instructions.

“Maelys, get me a bow, two arrows, and the smallest sword you can find.” She nodded, flashing Ridge a smile before disappearing.

“Ridge, we’re going to need the witch on standby. And a table set up with plenty of water and fresh fruit.”

Ridge crossed his arms and studied Lyra. “You’ll probably need to start with morning exercise and afternoon sparring. I don’t think she can take one long training.”

Lyra straightened under the weight of their assessment. “Sheis right here. Don’t talk about me as if I’m not.” She crossed her arms over her chest and gave them both a look of disgust.