you have to do to survive.” He bore down with his weight so hard I could barely breathe. “And don’t tell anyone about what you can do. I mean no one. Not even Felix. Don’t even try to do it again. You can’t tell anyone what you can do.”
Part of me really wanted to punch Sile in the face—maybe even break his nose for good measure. But I was having a hard enough time staying conscious as he crushed my windpipe. All I could do was nod, and he finally let me up.
I sat up coughing and rubbing my neck. I was so furious I couldn’t see straight. I already knew better than to tell anyone about what I had done to his wife, just like I knew better than to tell any of the other riders that I could talk to Mavrik with my thoughts. I was starting to collect a lot of big, dangerous secrets. “And what exactly am I supposed to survive? Felix already told me about the interrogation stuff. So they’ll use me as a punching bag for a few weeks? Big deal. It’s not like I’m not used to that already.”
Sile cracked a smirk and rolled his eyes, offering me a hand to pull me back up to my feet. “Felix is a good friend to you, however not even he can fully appreciate what’s about to happen. I’ve done everything I can to protect you. But when you exposed yourself last year and risked saving my life, everything I’ve done in that regard became pointless. Now there’s nowhere you can hide, and I can’t be there to protect you anymore. You should try growing some eyes in the back of your head.”
Something about the way he said that made me very uncomfortable. “You mean someone’s going to try to kidnap me now? For some kind of immortality ritual?”
Sile glared at me like that was a stupid thing to ask. It made my face feel hot. I was embarrassed and frustrated because I didn’t know what questions I should be asking. Most of the ones I did ask, he refused to answer.
“Go inside, get some dinner, bathe, and go to bed,” he commanded, picking up both swords and starting back into the stable. “Be back out here at first light. Your vacation is officially over.”
eight
There was a sense of urgency in the way Sile trained with me every day. I was running out of time. He pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed before, and still wouldn’t tell me exactly why. He didn’t give me a spare minute to question him, either. I barely even had enough time to think.
Sile got amazingly creative coming up with ways for me to build up my strength, which frankly hadn’t exactly blossomed like I’d hoped it would. At first, it was a struggle just to make it through one exercise. But after a few days, I could already feel myself getting stronger. I could run further and faster without getting tired. He had me doing pull-ups and chin-ups on an exposed beam in the stable. I did push-ups with those bags of grain piled on my back, and sit-ups until I felt like I was going to puke.
We sparred for hours, practicing with swords, scimitars, and drilling through grappling techniques. He even tied me to the family carriage and had me pull it around the house in circles a few times. All that work made it hard to keep track of time, but I could tell his intensive training was starting to work. Even if I hadn’t gained much muscle, I was getting more and more comfortable in my new body every day.
I felt bad for how much I was eating. I knew I was costing them a lot of extra money. But I was starving all the time. My appetite was out of control, and I couldn’t do anything about it. It made the training Sile was putting me through show with quicker results, but it also meant I was eating them out of house and home. I could eat more than the rest of the family combined. Mrs. Derrick teased me about hiding it under my chair, because even though I could eat a whole roast by myself, I never gained a single pound.
While we trained, Beckah brought us water and food regularly. I could tell by the look on her face that something was
Part of me really wanted to punch Sile in the face—maybe even break his nose for good measure. But I was having a hard enough time staying conscious as he crushed my windpipe. All I could do was nod, and he finally let me up.
I sat up coughing and rubbing my neck. I was so furious I couldn’t see straight. I already knew better than to tell anyone about what I had done to his wife, just like I knew better than to tell any of the other riders that I could talk to Mavrik with my thoughts. I was starting to collect a lot of big, dangerous secrets. “And what exactly am I supposed to survive? Felix already told me about the interrogation stuff. So they’ll use me as a punching bag for a few weeks? Big deal. It’s not like I’m not used to that already.”
Sile cracked a smirk and rolled his eyes, offering me a hand to pull me back up to my feet. “Felix is a good friend to you, however not even he can fully appreciate what’s about to happen. I’ve done everything I can to protect you. But when you exposed yourself last year and risked saving my life, everything I’ve done in that regard became pointless. Now there’s nowhere you can hide, and I can’t be there to protect you anymore. You should try growing some eyes in the back of your head.”
Something about the way he said that made me very uncomfortable. “You mean someone’s going to try to kidnap me now? For some kind of immortality ritual?”
Sile glared at me like that was a stupid thing to ask. It made my face feel hot. I was embarrassed and frustrated because I didn’t know what questions I should be asking. Most of the ones I did ask, he refused to answer.
“Go inside, get some dinner, bathe, and go to bed,” he commanded, picking up both swords and starting back into the stable. “Be back out here at first light. Your vacation is officially over.”
eight
There was a sense of urgency in the way Sile trained with me every day. I was running out of time. He pushed me harder than I had ever been pushed before, and still wouldn’t tell me exactly why. He didn’t give me a spare minute to question him, either. I barely even had enough time to think.
Sile got amazingly creative coming up with ways for me to build up my strength, which frankly hadn’t exactly blossomed like I’d hoped it would. At first, it was a struggle just to make it through one exercise. But after a few days, I could already feel myself getting stronger. I could run further and faster without getting tired. He had me doing pull-ups and chin-ups on an exposed beam in the stable. I did push-ups with those bags of grain piled on my back, and sit-ups until I felt like I was going to puke.
We sparred for hours, practicing with swords, scimitars, and drilling through grappling techniques. He even tied me to the family carriage and had me pull it around the house in circles a few times. All that work made it hard to keep track of time, but I could tell his intensive training was starting to work. Even if I hadn’t gained much muscle, I was getting more and more comfortable in my new body every day.
I felt bad for how much I was eating. I knew I was costing them a lot of extra money. But I was starving all the time. My appetite was out of control, and I couldn’t do anything about it. It made the training Sile was putting me through show with quicker results, but it also meant I was eating them out of house and home. I could eat more than the rest of the family combined. Mrs. Derrick teased me about hiding it under my chair, because even though I could eat a whole roast by myself, I never gained a single pound.
While we trained, Beckah brought us water and food regularly. I could tell by the look on her face that something was
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