The artwork above is not mine.

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    "Reverse the dagger if you have to. That can strengthen your grip and help you push back," Azriel instructed.

    The afternoon was hot and her palms were slick with sweat. She wiped a hand across her forehead. Seren twisted Truth-Teller backwards and struck at him again. Truth-Teller shrieked against Hiraeth. Just as Azriel had said, she found it easier to push against him.

    "So," Seren ducked past his next blow. She popped up behind him and blocked another attack. "Do I get to learn how to use a sword?"

    "Do you want to?"

    "A little," she replied with a shrug.

    "Soon, then," he promised. "Let's run through this again."

    Seren rubbed her eyes, a yawn escaping her lips. They stepped apart and took up new stances. Seren kept Truth-Teller reversed. Azriel lunged and swiped Hiraeth towards her face. She brought Truth-Teller up and locked their blades together. Seren pushed him back, then twisted beneath his arm. Azriel whirled, flipping Hiraeth backwards.

    The daggers locked again. Seren began to throw in several sharp jabs and slashes, as Azriel had taught her. He countered them effortlessly. Their blows came faster and faster, until Seren no longer knew how she was keeping up with him.

    She panted for breath and wiped sweat from her forehead, then dodged another attack. Thinking quickly, Seren parried his next blow. She ran Truth-Teller up the length of Hiraeth. The blade reached Azriel's wrist. With a quick flick, she disarmed him. Seren caught Hiraeth and pointed it at Azriel.

    He smirked and shook his head. "Well done, but that doesn't count. You drew blood." He held up his wrist. Sure enough, there was a small scratch left behind from her disarming maneuver.

    "I'm sure it's not hurting you all that much," Seren laughed.

    "It will be healed in an hour or so," Azriel replied.

    "Right. I forgot Illyrians had quick healing."

    "Again. The second move this time." She tossed him Hiraeth and they squared off.

    They began, this time incorporating several hand to hand fighting techniques. Seren blocked Hiraeth with Truth-Teller and slammed her elbow into Azriel's ribs. He countered, then swept his leg beneath hers. She doubled over. Seren scrambled backwards, frantically trying to regain her footing.

    Azriel dropped down, pinning her legs with his own. "Now we're even." He slid Truth-Teller from her grasp.

    "Not quite." Seren pushed up with her hips. His eyes widened in surprise. She kicked her legs towards herself. Azriel went flying over her head. He hid the ground hard. She flipped on top of him and pried the daggers from his hands. "Does this count as a win?"

    "Yes." He dropped his head back against the stone, panting for breath.

    "Am I interrupting something?"

    Seren rolled off Azriel, her cheeks growing warm. He sat up as Gwyn approached. "We're finishing up a lesson," Azriel explained.

    "I see. I was hoping I could get some help again this evening?"

    Help with what? Seren called to Azriel. They'd begun communicating this way more often since she'd asked about training with Elain. It was good practice for her.

    I help her work on her fighting techniques too.

    Seren blocked her mind off again. Right, I forgot. He helps train the priestesses in the morning, and works with Gwyn at random. Again, that bitter seed of jealousy pricked at her gut. She pushed the feeling aside and began rubbing her hands together.

    "I would but the Inner Circle has a meeting," Azriel replied to Gwyn. "Some other time."

    "Oh. That's all right." Her large teal eyes conveyed her disappointment. "Bye, Seren." Gwyn waved and disappeared into the House of Wind.

    "She seems to like you," Seren huffed. She held out Truth-Teller and Hiraeth.

    Azriel stood and sheathed the blades. "We're good friends. I was the one who rescued her from Hybern soldiers."

    "Oh." Seren bit her lip, trying to push the jealousy down further. What is wrong with me? I have no right to feel this way.

    "Are you all right?"

    She looked up, meeting his gaze. "Fine. Why?"

    "You seem tired. That's all."

    "All this training wears me out. Now that Feyre is helping with my daemati training, my assignments have gotten bigger. It drains me mentally. Then, I come train with you and that drains me physically." She held up a hand as he began to speak. "I can handle it. Sometimes my tiredness catches up to me."

    "Is your magic adding to your weariness?"

    "My magic?"

    Azriel gestured to the band of fire around his arm. "I never see you use your fire. It's not good to let it sit inside you. You need to release it more frequently."

    "I've used it during training with Rhys and Feyre."

    "How often?"

    Seren tapped her chin. "I'm not sure. Not very often. It just never occurs to me. I wasn't formally taught, remember? I've managed thus far, regardless."

    "Hm." Azriel held out an arm. Seren held onto him and they flew away from the House of Wind.

    "What's this meeting about, or can you not tell me?" She asked.

    "We're planning a party for Elain."

    "Why?"

    "Her birthday is next week. Did she not tell you?" Azriel raised an eyebrow.

    "No, she didn't. Will you need my help?"

    "Yes, actually. Elain doesn't know about this meeting. You need to distract her long enough for us to plan things out."

    "That, I can do." They reached the river house and entered. "I just need a few minutes to clean myself up," Seren said. "Find out where Elain is please?" Azriel nodded and headed off.

    Seren sprinted up to her room. She locked the door behind her and entered the bathroom. She shrugged out of her training clothes while the tub filled. Seren slipped into the lukewarm water and hastily scrubbed herself clean. She'd changed her after training habits. Instead of taking two baths, one cold, and one hot, she now took one lukewarm one and used the salve from Azriel.

    Seren scooped some of the fragrant goop out of its container. She massaged it into her sore muscles, mainly her shoulders and inner elbows. Seren let it soak in while she scrubbed her hair clean and rinsed it.

    She drained the tub and threw on her change of clothes, not even bothering to dry her hair. Seren ran down the stairs and smacked into Azriel. He caught her before she could fall. "That was fast," he chuckled. "She's in her garden."

    "How long will this meeting take?"

    "Two or three hours? I'll let you know when we finish." Azriel released her. Seren nodded and continued down the stairs.

    Outside, she quickly caught sight of Elain. She was hunched over the roses, weeding around them. Seren joined her. "Need some help?"

    "Sure. Could you start pruning them? Pick off the dead and wilted bits." Elain pointed out a few stems and flowers.

    Seren began breaking dead stems off the rose bush. "Has Lucien replied to your letter yet?"

    "Not yet, but I hope he will soon." Elain glanced at her with a smile. "I'm glad you encouraged me to take things slow with him. At first, I didn't want anything to do with him. Now, I'll admit that the idea is growing on me."

    "Good. I'm glad to hear it."

    They worked in silence for several minutes before Elain spoke again. "Ser, what was it like for you at home? You've told me some, but not much. I know you've spoken to Azriel and Rhys about it, but they refused to share."

    Seren bit her lip and sighed. "I'm not sure what to say. I don't want to sound like I'm fishing for sympathy."

    "Just tell me the truth. I'm not going to judge you."

    Seren yanked a dead rose off the bush. "I wasn't a daughter. I was a possession. My father could treat me however he liked and I, nor anyone else could do anything about it. When he was angry, it was always my fault and he made sure I knew that. Father was good at hitting me where it wouldn't do any permanent damage. Sometimes, though, he wasn't so careful."

    Elain remained silent while Seren recounted 148 years worth of memories. She told her of Trestwyn's passion and the marks he'd left on her. She told Elain about the servants he'd killed because they stood up for her. She told of the events that led to her mother's flight and death, and the repercussions dealt to her in her mother's stead.

    She left one story untold, though. Seren had refused to think about it, ever since it had happened. She could feel the memory digging at her mind in an attempt to free itself. She wouldn't let it. The shadow tightened around her arm, reminding her of its presence. Seren rubbed her eyes, despite the dirt that coated her fingers. She was growing more tired by the minute.

    Seren waited wordlessly. Elain's hands were idle and she kept her eyes trained on the ground. After a moment, Elain looked up. Tears rimmed her eyes. She flew towards Seren, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

    "I'm sorry. If I had known, I would have gotten you out of there as soon as possible," Elain whispered.

    Seren hugged her back. Her own tears stung her eyes, but would not fall. "It's all right."

    They both straightened, hearing the door open. Azriel appeared, a concerned look falling over his features at the sight of them. "Feyre was asking for you, Elain."

    Elain gave Seren one last smile. She walked past Azriel without a word. Seren picked herself up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. "Is everything planned?"

    "Yes. What happened?"

    "Nothing. She asked about my home life." Seren rubbed her eyes. "I'm going to bed." Azriel reached after her, then stopped himself. She brushed past him and entered the house.

    Seren reached her room without running into anyone, thankfully. She didn't bother to wash her hands or change her clothes. She kicked her shoes off and toppled onto the bed. Seren hugged a pillow to her chest and somehow managed to drift off to sleep.