Dark Illumination

Chapter Six

Two weeks since his arrival at the Onyx Palace, Sebastian made good on his promise to serve with the best of his abilities. He took it upon himself to reorganize and retrain the contingent of Knights stationed in Teare. After the High King had died, their chain of command had fallen into disarray. The Duke of Lightning took one look at them and got to work.

Serena took great comfort in this since she had no idea how to handle the Knights. Were they even under her rule considering their loyalties belonged to Lumeria? For hours she had agonized about how to handle their presence in her kingdom. The High King had died so abruptly that her lessons had yet to cover the protocol for his Legion. In the end, she thought it best to leave decisions regarding the Knights to the prince when he arrived. Since his brother stood as place holder until her delinquent husband made it to the palace, she relinquished all control to him.

Bowen had been sending her daily reports of their progress. The barracks the Knights lived in were now organized and well-maintained. They had daily exercises and sparring sessions, which kept them alert. And best of all, Sebastian had established a chain of command that would survive any changes in leadership. He made it clear that although their loyalties were to Lumeria they still needed to serve under Teare rule as forces loaned to the kingdom for the protection of the High King and Queen.

With every report she had read before bed, Serena went to sleep feeling more secure. Not once did she regret her decision to put Sebastian to work. Keeping him busy meant she didn’t have to deal with him. Out of sight. Out of mind. All was well in her world. Now if only the prince would get here and they could begin preparations for the union the balance would be returned and she would have less to worry about.

She sighed. If only it were that easy. Despite the load off, an uneasy edginess still crawled beneath her skin. Having to sit still while Penny combed out the tangles in her hair as she sat in front of her vanity wasn’t helping. The long strands had the tendency to snarl during sleep. She toyed with the idea of braiding them, but she just ended up waking up with a headache in the morning.

“What’s gotten you all bothered, Your Highness?” the palace matron asked, tugging against a particularly stubborn knot in the strands.

“I’m probably just restless,” Serena said then hissed as a particularly nasty yank that threatened to leave her with a bald spot. She didn’t complain about the discomfort combing her hair caused. Anyone who had the patience to help her dress in the mornings deserved to inflict some pain in return. In fact, she had gotten so used to the infernal jerking that it was almost like a scalp massage. That was if Penny used a meat cleaver instead of a brush.

“Ah, pre-union jitters…”

“No one gets married at the age of seventeen anymore. Even the previous High Queen was already in her twenties before she participated in the ceremony.” Her shoulders slumped. So unbecoming of a princess, but what did she care? In her quarters there was no such thing as royal decorum. “I would like to think that we live in a more modern age than this.”

Penny raised a maternal eyebrow. “We do. Many youngsters prefer to explore the world before settling down nowadays. But I think someone is forgetting that she had been chosen for out of the millions of girls in this world for a very special purpose. Your responsibilities may be heavy, yet you bring peace and joy to many. Surely that should take precedence over the nervousness caused by tying yourself forever to one person.”

Another sigh. “I don’t ever regret being chosen. The benedictions alone are enough to give me hope and happiness.” She looked the palace matron in the eye through her reflection in the mirror. “I was scared at first, sure. Who wouldn’t be? It’s a big responsibility. I guess there are just times when I too want to explore the world before settling down, you know?”

One of her most trusted advisers nodded sagely. “You, my darling girl, deserve all the happiness in the world. If I could lessen your burdens you know I would.”

She reached over her shoulder and clutched the older woman’s hand in hers. “Thank you for putting up with me. I know it mustn’t be easy.”

“Pffsha. Don’t you think nothing of it.” Penny tugged at the strand she had been detangling. “Besides this beast you call hair, I am happy to serve you.”

A rueful grin replaced Serena’s worried expression. “Sometimes I’m tempted just to cut it all off. A queen with short hair.” Her grin grew wider at the shock coming from behind her. “What a scandal that would be.”

“I’m pretty sure all the High Queens will die all over again if they saw you.”

They shared a laugh. A part of Serena wanted to test the other queens’ reactions should she cut her hair and show up at the Room of Remembrance. The Dark couldn’t care less. It had more important things to do than fret over a chosen one’s hair length choices. But then the saner part of her would spare Katarina and her uncle the aggravation.

Feeling much better, she gave Penny instructions to tie all that cumbersome hair into a neat ponytail. Today she would expend some of her excess energies in the sparring circle with anyone who would humor her.

***

Dressed in soft leggings and a loose tunic, Serena made her way to the palace combat grounds. It was already pretty late in the morning. Meaning most of the soldiers and warriors have finished using the area for their daily routines. The place should be relatively empty.

So far she hadn’t run into Bowen or the Swordmaster. She could summon them but Bowen was surely busy tracking patrols and the Swordmaster would be training the young ones on the art of using a weapon. Interrupting them would be a disservice to their work.

She paused at the door, rubbing her chin, deep in thought. Who could she finagle into sparring with her seriously? No one fought seriously against her. Even Bowen was known for pulling his punches from time to time. She huffed. Men could be such sissies sometimes.

Then the metallic hiss of a sword being unsheathed caught her attention. It was coming from inside the combat arena. So someone was still working out. This could be good. Maybe she could convince him for a session. Even just to a first contact match.

Playing out several conversation scenarios in her head where she used her powers of persuasion on her unsuspecting future sparring partner to get what she wanted, Serena hadn’t been paying attention to what was happening in front of her until several battle cries reached her ears. She whipped up her head to witness ten Knights, all naked and sweating from the waist up charge Sebastian, who stood at the center of the ring—also half naked but without a drop of sweat on him.

Serena’s heart quickened in anticipation for the battle to come. Sebastian had his eyes closed, a handsome sword with a black crystal blade in both his hands. What she expected to play out in minutes considering the number of his opponents lasted mere seconds. Reports on the Duke of Lightning’s prowess with a sword were certainly no exaggeration as he executed a complicated combination of slashes and thrusts that had all ten Knights flying backwards. Some bounced off the walls like thrown balls while others rolled on the floor several times until they were stopped by equipment, a table, or whatever else in the combat grounds that provided a strong enough block to hinder their backward progress. Groans soon filled the air.

Sebastian wasn’t even breathing hard when he returned his sword to its sheath and returned to a relaxed stance. He surveyed the damage he had inflicted and shook his head. All she could do was stare in speechless wonder. If there was ever a perfect specimen of man, it would be the dark Knight left standing at the center of the ring.

“All of you, a hundred lapse around palace grounds.”

The barked order, said with such sure authority, woke Serena from her stupor. She blinked several times to make sure what she had seen actually happened. Since Sebastian remained standing and the other Knights were slowly picking themselves up to execute their orders, she hadn’t been dreaming.

“Your Highness,” Sebastian said, taking a knee, his sword at his side.

Serena shook her head. “Please, stand.” When he did, she moved a step closer. “That was some of the best sword fighting I’ve ever seen.”

He snorted, glancing at the Knights filling out of the arena. “That was an example of how fat and lazy the Knights in Teare have become. They had forgotten their training.”

“I’m sure you will whip them to shape.”

“Why did you let them wither away to this unacceptable state?”

The accusation took her aback. No one outside of her inner circle spoke to her so bluntly. She resisted the urge to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear by clenching her fists. She wouldn’t be spoken to in this manner.

Lifting her chin, she said, “The Knights may be under my rule, but they are the ones responsible for maintaining their training. I cannot be blamed for your men’s lack of discipline.”

Fire blazed in those ruby eyes. “My men are the best warriors within the two kingdoms. What you have here are pathetic excuses for Lumerian Knights.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re here to remind them of their responsibilities. I have no time to babysit Knights who don’t care about their duties just because their monarch had passed away.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at her before he took what she was wearing in with a swipe of his gaze from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She refused to step back while he assessed her. If looks could physically touch she got the distinct impression he would have been groping her by now.

“Remember your place, Duke,” she said, intentionally using his title to remind him of the difference in their stations. She hated to pull rank, but she couldn’t stand for blatant disrespect. She was a princess, soon to be the High Queen, after all.

“Why are you here, Your Highness?” he spat her own title out like a curse.

She cleared her throat and grasped at maintaining control. “I’m looking for a sparring partner. I wanted to get some exercise before this afternoon’s meetings with my staff and advisers.”

When his eyebrow arched, it nudged the circlet he wore up. “You? Sparring? With what? Toothpicks?”

Unwilling to be goaded down to his level, she pressed two fingers against the gem on her circlet, recited the prayer of summoning, then touched her fingers to the center of her left palm. An oval slit opened in her skin and a round pommel made of a rare black sapphire with a star burst at its core jutted out of the hole.

“That’s…” Sebastian’s words trailed off as Serena pulled out sword from the inside of her hand. It was a relatively simple weapon, elegantly made with a plain grip and cross guard. But what made it stand out were the obsidian markings along the blade.

“This is Darkbringer,” she said, balancing its weight in her right hand. She stepped into the ring and pointed the tip at his Adam’s apple. “Draw your weapon, Duke. I think I’ll give you more of a challenge than your Knights.”

A menacing smile enhanced Sebastian’s sharp features, making him look more handsome than he already was. Serena could admit to herself that he was an attractive man. She would enjoy bringing him to his knees.

As the familiar hiss of a blade leaving its sheath filled the space between them, she took a couple of steps back, readying herself from the battle to come.

“I’m assuming this is to first blood?” he asked nonchalantly.

“More like first contact. But if you prefer to bleed, I can oblige.” She took her fighting stance, adjusting her grip.

Bowen was more powerfully built that Sebastian, but something told Serena that just because she stood in front of a leaner opponent didn’t mean his power was any less. The jagged scars marring his torso and arms spoke of battles he had survived. Someone did a piss poor job stitching him up, though.

“Did your physician’s not know how to sew?” she indicated a particularly nasty scar that ran up one bicep with the tip of Darkbringer. She could feel the blade’s power tingling up her palm to her shoulder. It had been a while since she’d danced with someone worthy of her skills. She made sure to regulate her breathing by remaining calm. Tense muscles were the surest way to lose to anyone, especially someone as deadly as her current sparring partner.

Sebastian threw aside his scabbard and rolled his shoulders. “My brother had been the one to stitch me up at the time. The medics were busy with other Knights who needed their attention more.”

Heat climbed her neck as she realized she had just insulted the suturing skills of the future High King. Instead of acknowledging her mistake, she concentrated on keeping her feet shoulder width apart. Sebastian seemed the type who preferred ending a fight fast, with as few moves as possible. Then without warning, he swung toward her in a wide arc. She blocked by raising her sword above her head, blade parallel to the ground. The blow was heavy, ringing down both her arms, but she managed to hold on.

“You mock me,” she said through gritted teeth, pushing him back by aiming a blow for his shoulder—the one with the scar.

“You’re better than I expected,” he replied, charging her again.

“Why? Because I’m a girl?” She blocked his succeeding offensive strikes cleanly. The kiss of metal on crystal sang in the air between them. The sound reminded her of the wind chimes in the garden. So beautiful, so serene, yet deadly.

Without giving him time to think, she executed her own series of attacks, aiming most of them toward his ripped torso. Mostly because she liked to see the contraction of muscle there when he moved to avoid being sliced open. She considered the first sheen of sweat on his brow a personal triumph on her part. But she hadn’t truly won until he was breathing hard. She would make him work for his victory.

When she charged him again after he failed at knocking her off balance with an underhanded downward swing, their blades met in the middle. They pushed against each other, faces merely inches apart. In a surprise move Serena hadn’t been expecting, Sebastian brought his mouth to hers. Stealing a kiss.

“What is the meaning of this?” came the shocked question from the door of the combat grounds.

Her uncle’s voice woke Serena out of her own shock. She used the distraction of his arrival to act. With anger blazing in her eyes, she slashed unrepentantly against Sebastian. Taken unawares, he stumbled back. His own surprise was evident in his ruby eyes. He had meant to mock her with the kiss, belittle her for being a woman, which redoubled her fury. He would never have done than if she were a man. She let go of all her restraints and screamed, blade flying toward the bastard’s neck.

“Serena!” Lucius yelled, bringing her back to her senses.

Instead of slicing his throat open like she wanted, she used her forward momentum and punched him in the face. She twisted her hips into the blow while her hand was still curled around Darkbringer’s grip. Sebastian fell on his ass, blood from a cut lip staining his teeth.

“You fight like a man,” he said in awe, looking up at her and swiping at the corner of his mouth with the pad of his thumb. A grin that would have been devastating stretched his mouth.

“And you fight like a coward,” she spat down at him before she walked off the ring, past her slack-jawed uncle, and out of the combat area.