I have not had much time to write lately. Sixteen days is not a long time to prepare for the biggest and most dangerous battle I have ever fought. While I have fought many times before, it has always been in skirmishes. Almost never have I fought head-to-head with one opponent. And while I am confident about my skill, it is true that my weapon and my strengths are not in line with this kind of fighting.
So I have spent the past week in mock duels, mostly with Anathalie, who best knows the style of fighting that most Apostates use. It has been difficult, to say the least.
“Flinch,” Anathalie snapped at me, lowering her hands and stepping back.
I sighed and returned to the first position in the series of motions she has given me. Each is an attack which she will block, and every time I flinch or hesitate, I must start again. At that point in the afternoon, I had only made it all the way through the series once.
I did better yesterday and the day before, but today Freya asked to see me fight, and so Anathalie and I brought our training to the backyard. It was harder with her watching me.
“Get used to it,” Anathalie said, reading my nerves. “You will have other, less friendly eyes watching you on the day. Which is now less than ten days away. Again.”
By the time we had finished, I was exhausted and disconsolate. At least Anathalie hadn’t damaged me, but that was the best I could say.
When Anathalie would have left with just a nod to her, Freya came down the steps to speak to her. “Give me your honest answer, please, Anathalie,” she said. “Do you think Asa’el can win this?”
Anathalie went down to one knee before her, but did not meet her gaze. “He is holding his own against me,” she said. “Asoharith is not as strong as I am.”
“She is also not as kind,” Freya pointed out.
Anathalie laughed softly to herself. “No, elder sister, she is not.”
Freya blinked at being so addressed by the dark, dread figure before her.
“We have time,” I reminded her.
“Not very much,” she said.
“If I may,” Anathalie said, “Asa’el is the quickest student I have ever taken on. He will learn what he needs to learn. For the rest, he will have me, and more importantly, he will have you.”
Freya studied me, as if she, too, would read my anxiety. I smiled at her and tried to make it sincere.
She took a breath and turned fully to face Anathalie, leaning forward into Anathalie’s line of sight. “I don’t think that I am more important than you are in this, Anathalie,” she said, filling her voice with warmth. “Without your help and teaching, Ace wouldn’t stand a chance. Thank you for everything that you’ve done.” She stretched out her hand as if to rest it on Anathalie’s shoulder, and the heat of her aura washed over Anathalie.
Anathalie shuddered. She bowed her head and stepped back without lifting it. Slowly, she spread her wings, curving them forward so that each of their tips hovered close to Freya’s still-outstretched hand. Then, without another word, she leapt into the air and was gone.
Freya was dismayed. “Did I offend her somehow?”
“Precisely the opposite,” I told her, beaming at her. “You blessed her, and she was overwhelmed. But your words and your gratitude are doing her great good.”
“I thought only God could offer blessings.”
“A blessing at its heart is simply a connection. It would be a sad and lonely world indeed if none of us could give them.”
She frowned, then shook her head. “That’s something to talk to George about.” The worry returned to her face. “I still don’t think it’s enough time.”
“But it is, because I will learn everything I can in that span of time, and that will be enough for whatever happens.”
“And if her killing you happens?”
“Then one of my siblings will bring her to an end, and you will still be safe. I will be content with that.”
“I won’t,” she snapped.
Unsurprised, I put my wings around her and guided her back to the house. “Then it won’t be that way, because I believe even fate itself will bow to your wishes, my fire woman.”
“Weren’t you the one who told me that fate is just another name for God?”
“And when such a brave, bold, and loving daughter of his speaks, how could he not be listening?”