Scars of Gold

Chapter Twenty One

I was still feeling conflicted over breakfast the next morning. Ash and I were sitting alone; Dante and Mari had both headed off to the training room early. They were preparing to spar against each other and preparations were proving intense. Neither wanted to lose.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked, something almost like concern in his eyes. "You haven't been this quiet since you first arrived."

"Did you know Mari thinks you're engaged?" I asked him, blurting out the first thing that came into my mind that wasn't connected to the twins, Volcaria or Evanthe. Anything to distract him from the topic of what was worrying me. "She told me so yesterday. Warned me to stay away."

Ash pulled his eyebrows together and sat watching me for a minute before replying. "You're worried about Mari?"

"No," I scoffed, which made him look even more confused and I realised my mistake. He'd assumed my statement about Mari was an answer to his question, rather than an attempt to change the subject.

I was saved from the hole I was digging by Evanthe's appearance at our table. Dark purple ringer her eyes, as if she hadn't slept and her lips were drawn in a tight line. Her concern for her altorae must have been weighing on her mind.

Ash looked between us, his own brow furrowed at our twin concern. He knew something wasn't right, and that could be a problem.

"Asher, your parents are ready for you," Evanthe said, with a nod in the direction of the king and queen's table. "Kacia, let's get to the training room."

"Enjoy the fight," Ash said as he rose. He paused, looking as if he was on the verge of adding something else. Then he glanced at Evanthe and turned away instead.

"Come on, Kacia," Evanthe repeated, a finger tapping against her crossed arms. After stopping off to offer to pour Michael's coffee, brushing his hand in the process, I followed her from the breakfast room.

The morning's fight was being described as a chance for Evanthe check on the progress of her altorae. The demonstration had really been arranged so that I could see two skilled altorae in action. I was looking forward to seeing what Mari and Dante's powers could do; it would be a welcome break from studying Ash's military precision.

But I was too distracted to focus properly. I kept glancing towards Evanthe. Was she looking thinner and more stressed, or was that my imagination? The guilt gnawing at my stomach? I couldn't dismiss them as three Lathrian altorae anymore, no matter what their intentions were towards my people. Not when I knew that they didn't even want to be there. Evanthe had spoken about putting the re-population on hold. Dante spoke of influencing Ash and trying to change things. The more time I spent in Lathria, the more I discovered that not everyone here agreed with the way my people were treated.

When we arrived in the training room a sizeable crowd had already formed around a huge ring in the centre; we weren't the only ones interested in watching the fight. Mari, stretching out in a lithe, viridian bodysuit, looked up as Evanthe and I approached, before dismissing us with a disappointed sigh. Dante was sitting on the opposite side of the ring, drumming his fingers against the floor.

"Finally!" Mari said when we reached her. Her lips started to pull up in a smile only to fall when she realised we were alone. "Where's Ash? Isn't she supposed to be guarding him?" She jerked her head towards me, her nose wrinkling.

"Ash is spending the morning with the king and queen, who have enough guards between them to keep him safe. I wanted Kacia to witness how altorae battle as part of her training."

"Since when do you train guards?" Mari wasn't letting this go. "I'm sure you didn't spend this much time with the other one. What happened to her? I liked her better than this one."