Page 57 of Shackled By Shadows

By the time we return to the house, the sun has begun to set, casting long shadows across the sand. The cool breeze makes the air feel lighter, but I am sore, every muscle in my body protesting. Zander seems unaffected, as if he hasn’t even broken a sweat.

Inside, Oberon and Ash have already returned from their meeting. Dinner is laid out on the table, and I practically collapse into the empty seat between the two of them.

Oberon shoots me a quick glance, followed by a sharp look at Zander.

Ash, ever the tease, leans back in his chair. “Damn, it looks like you got your ass kicked.” He laughs, the sound light and teasing. “I thought you were supposed to go easy on her.”

Zander sits across from me, his face an impassive mask as his eyes scan the room, taking in everything without a hint of emotion. Finally, he speaks, his voice flat but steady, like he is stating a simple fact, “I pushed her. She could handle it.”

His words hang in the air, and for a moment, I can’t quite process them. He had every opportunity to tell them how badly I performed. He could have made it clear how weak and unprepared I am, how easily he had dominated me without breaking a sweat. But instead, he says nothing more than that. He doesn’t berate me or make me feel small.

I shake off the unexpected flicker of surprise and force myself to speak before he can change his mind. “How did your meeting with whatever his name is go today?” I ask, directing the question to whichever male wants to answer.

Ash grins and leans back in his chair, throwing an arm over the one beside him, his relaxed posture a stark contrast to the tension in the room. “His name's Breer, and the guy’s a pain,” he says, the teasing lilt in his voice betraying how little he actually cares about the male they’ve been meeting.

Oberon, however, is quieter, his voice measured and cool. “We still have a long way to go.”

Chapter twenty-three

Surrender

Over the next couple of weeks, we bounce around from village to village. Oberon is typically tied up in meetings during the day, leaving me to alternate my training sessions between Zander and Ash. Both males push me in very different ways.

Zander, calm, quiet, and controlled, always tests my physical limits on the sparring field. Despite his unrelenting style, I can feel myself improving. And, begrudgingly, I find myself warming up to him as well. He wears a tough exterior, perhaps a necessity in his line of work, but I notice the icy walls around him starting to crack, slowly, as he begins to let me in.

Ash, in contrast, pushes me mentally. His focus is to help me unlock my magic, and the process feels like a constant battle. Clearing my mind is easy enough now, and I can always feel the magic pull just beneath the surface, just out of reach. Every time I think I might finally catch up, the horrors of my past rise up, blocking me. Oberon tells me I’ll have to face those ghosts and stop running from them. But that part of the journey doesn’t come easily. Still, I can feel progress, a sense that I am getting closer, even if only by an inch at a time.

At night, I sleep in my own room, undisturbed by Oberon’s presence. The nightmares still come, but they aren’t as frequent or as suffocating as they have been. Maybe it is the constant mental push from Ash forcing me to confront the things I’ve buried. Or maybe it is just the simple reassurance of knowing Oberon is nearby, always just a room away. “They want you to look,” Oberon told me. The thought doesn’t make facing them any easier. I know he is right. It is a comfort, and even the smallest sense of peace feels like a gift with how hard I am being pushed during the day.

I throw on my leathers, preparing for the day, swinging open the door to my room, not paying attention.

OOF.

It feels as though a wall collides with my face as I run directly into Oberon, leaning against my doorframe, arms crossed.

“Good morning,” I manage, stepping back and raising a brow at him. “You’re usually off before dawn, buried in some meeting.”

“No meetings today,” he replies with his usual clipped tone, not bothering to elaborate.

I step past him, glancing up at him, my curiosity piqued. He doesn’t give anything away. He simply follows me down the stairs, his presence looming in the background.

As we enter the dining area, he pulls out a chair for me at the table, then takes a seat himself, settling in. He doesn’t say a word at first. Instead, he sits with his chin resting on his fists, elbows propped up on the table, staring at. I try not to squirm under his gaze, but it is no use.

The rest of the team trickles in soon after, each of them taking their usual seats. Ash plops down with a grin, looking more like he’s just woken up from a nap than ready for the day, while Zander sits quietly, his usual air of mystery surrounding him.

Oberon breaks the silence. “Ash and Zander have the day off today.” His announcement is authoritative, but there is a hint of mischievousness underneath.

I shoot him a look, one eyebrow arched in disbelief. He just smiles back at me like he is enjoying some private joke. Then he turns his attention back to me. “You’ll be training with me today,” he adds, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Let’s see if either of these idiots managed to teach you anything.”

A flush creeps up my neck at his words, and a sudden wave of anxiety washes over me. It isn’t the training that bothers me. It is the idea of embarrassing myself in front of him. For a moment, I forget to breathe.

Ash, ever the distraction, breaks the tension first. “Sweet, I know exactly what I’m doing today,” he says with a gleam in his eye, clearly more interested in whatever mischief he has planned than anything to do with actual work.

Oberon shoots him a hard look. “No getting into trouble,” his voice steady but carrying a warning. “We still need these alliances, and we’ve made little progress on that front.”

Zander rolls his eyes in response to Ash’s antics, clearly unimpressed.

Ash grins, unbothered. “One, you’re absolutely no fun,” he teases. “And two, you wound me, thinking I’d cause trouble.” He leans back in his chair, flashing a grin. “My good buddy Zander and I are going to go find some completely legal, above-board activities. No trouble at all.”