Myra could finally see some improvement in her combat skills.
For the past week she woke up, dropped off the bread at the kitchens and then went to practice with Imran.
She started to feel slight muscle building in her body. The moves that she has been practising have became smoother and Imran started to speed up their fights. She was still far from perfect, but she felt proud of herself and how far she has gotten already.
Hopefully it will be enough for Sayer too when he comes back.
At one point Imran also gave her a sword, saying how she should have enough strength to hold it and swing it a few times. However, it was way too heavy and way too long, so with a few grunts, she managed to hit a dummy with the sword, but she also nearly impaled herself with it too.
Imran really tried to hold in his laugh as he watched Myra nearly stab herself. He really did try. He ended up clutching his stomach as he burst out laughing when she then fell on the floor, face first of course.
After her spectacular failure, Imran told her to wait a few minutes as he left the barn. He then came back with a stunning white sword with crystals at the bottom and a golden handle.
The sword was incredible. It was the most elegant weapon Myra has ever seen. It was smaller and lighter than the other sword, felt just right in her hand and the length of it was not awkward.
Myra couldn’t stop admiring it in her hand.
She tried to return it, saying it was too fine for someone like her and she could not afford to buy it. Imran just muttered under his breath how it’s fine and something about the prince possibly being upset about it.
With the new sword, the swings at the dummy flowed with her body. Not as graceful as the demonstrations Imran was showing her, but the combat training was already showing with the few attempts she did.
Madri also came to see them nearly everyday after Myra said she was welcome at the barn as long as Sayer wasn’t present.
The first time she slowly opened the door and hesitantly made a few steps forward. Madri’s face drained from any colour she had the moment she spotted Brenna looking at her, but she did not scream or run the other way.
Each time she came in, Madri looked less scared and now began sitting closer to Nythe.
Imran loved having another person in the barn to talk to, even if it was just for a few minutes. And he didn’t say it but it was obvious the thing he loved the most was Madri bringing muffins or cake with her each time.
So while Myra trained, she finally got to speak to her friend. She told her about the hell sent trainer, about the prince being an ass and how Nythe won’t stop eating her bed back home.
Imran of course had some input to anything they talked about.
Whether it was agreeing that Sayer must be their walking nightmare, or how the prince just doesn’t know how to interact with others, or how Myra should just move into the palace so that her bed will be safe and her house won’t be at the risk of collapsing under the weight of a growing dragon.
He was most likely right about her having to move soon. Nythe was nearly as big as Myra now and the only reason why she could still get inside the house was because she smashed through the door and the brick surrounding it.
Myra couldn’t apologise enough and promised to pay for the repairs whenever she will get her first pay.
Which still no one spoke to her about.
Madri also spoke about all the things Myra has been missing. Apparently there have been incredible things for sale in the market and they opened a new dining place on the west side of Daran. Her friend also couldn’t stop complaining about a new cook, who apparently was nice for the eye but really bad for her brain and coming here was a break that became a necessity to get a break from him.
Even now, as Myra and Imran were sparring, Madri was complaining how bad the new cook was and how he couldn’t even make a simple omelette for breakfast.
And maybe it was the talk about omelette that distracted Myra or Imran picked up the speed again without warning her, but as she ducked and threw her arm out in an attempt to get a hit in, Imran grabbed her arm twisted it and threw her on the floor.
“Ouch, that hurt me from just watching it.” Madri cringed. “Imran you have to watch how you throw her around if she gets a bruise on her face Wamir will completely start ignoring her.
“Oh shush Madri.” Myra stood up and brushed off the sand from her clothes. “And did you pick up your speed? I swear I would have gotten a hit on you there.”
“Well I can’t let you actually get a hit on me you know, won’t look good if a new rider is beating up their senior.” Imran smirked at her as they started their spar again. “And who’s Wamir?”
“He’s one of the royal guards that Myra has been crushing on.”
“Yes and he has been completely ignoring me since the day after I started the training, so unless you want to practice with me instead of Imran stop bringing him up.” Myra scowled.
“I don’t think he is ignoring you for the reasons you think.” Imran muttered.
“She doesn’t know?” Madri questioned.
“Know what?”
Before Myra could try to question her friends further, she nearly got a hit on Imran again. This time dodging his attempt at grabbing her arm and instead she spun out and got a kick on his side.
She didn’t celebrate for long since Imran reacted quickly and swiftly grabbed her leg and lifted it up, so now she was hanging upside down.
When she tried to kick out her other leg, he just grabbed it as well, making her completely hopeless since her arms could not reach him.
“Not sure how she got more pathetic since I left.” The deep voice of Prince Cairo echoed through the barn. Followed by the loud flapping of the wings and a thud from Astarot landing inside.
It seemed as if Imran was finally caught off guard as when he heard the prince’s voice, his hands became loose around Myra’s ankles until she completely slipped out and landed on the floor.
If only looks could kill she hoped the one she was giving Imran right now would kill him slowly and painfully. He offered her an apologetic smile in return.
Madri was practically frozen in place and she looked at Astarot. He was the biggest out of the three dragons and even Brenna does not compare to him.
“I recommend you make your way out before Sayer comes back.” Cairo said coldly
“Of course, Your Highness.” Madri curtseyed and rushed towards the door.
Anger flooded her mind at seeing the prince speak so coldly to her friend. She was already irritated at being called pathetic, but she could handle insults thrown her way.
“I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to fix your attitude.” Myra stormed towards the prince, attempting to think of a way to trip so that her fist could land straight on his jaw. “Insult me all you want but Madri has been working for years in the palace and she does not deserve an attitude like that.”
“Would you rather she be fired when Sayer finds her? Last I checked no one but the riders are allowed here.” The prince raised his eyebrow in question, his cocky smirk made it so much more tempting for her fall not to be an accident.
“Lovely to see you too Cairo, don’t mind me, it’s just your favourite friend that you still haven’t said hello to. Or I don’t know even asked like oh hey Imran haven’t seen you for a week, how are you, you incredible man who I still owe a bottle of wine but I pretend I don’t remember it.”
Myra snorted as she watched Imran imitate the prince. The way he walked towards them and changed his voice was just the thing she needed to stop becoming more angry. That or seeing the prince look as irritated as he was and glaring at Myra for laughing.
“Well since you asked yourself, I don’t see why I would need to repeat it.”
Cairo walked towards the dragon, taking off the seat and some equipment that was on top. The prince then took some armour and weapons off himself and Myra noticed the deep cut that was present on his arm.
If a prince who has been training his whole life got injured fighting the rebels what chance did Myra have at winning a fight?
Nythe brushed against her and the feeling of comfort rolled through her mind.
It still felt strange to have such a deep connection with something. To be able to understand her dragon by just this magical bond between them. In times like these Myra was beyond thankful for it. She felt ashamed for being so scared of fighting the rebels when so many people did it everyday, but with Nythe she didn’t need to say anything. Her companion just understood her.
Myra just wished she could steal Nythe’s bravery through this bond. She always felt her dragon’s confidence, her bravery and curiosity. How a dragon like that chose Myra who was scared at the thought of a fight was beyond her.
“What happened with the rebels?” Imran's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
“They captured Grostia.”
“Are more forces going there to get the city back?” Myra questioned.
“Not at the moment.” Prince Cairo looked away from them both, Myra swore she could see shame in his blue eyes.
Grostia was a city on the east side of Shaya, right at the border of Beryan. Myra never travelled outside of the capital, but she heard of the town from merchants before.
It was close to the mountains and close to a large lake with a stream leading towards the mountains. A lot of people travelled there to rest. People say the air there feels different and the water from the lake can heal a person. For merchants it's the best town for trade with the kingdom of Beryan as it’s just a twenty minute ride on a horse.
It’s not that Myra did not want to travel outside of Daran and see the rest of the kingdom of Shaya, but travel for those who did not have a lot of money was difficult. There is a desert between every town and the sun can be brutal without any cover.
Now it was a question if she would ever be able to see Grostia or if the rebels would destroy the city to the ground.
“When we got there the city was mostly already taken. Most of the warriors stationed in Grostia were already dead, their bodies hanging outside of the city walls.” Cairo said bitterly. “We took the bodies down as soon as we could so they could go and rest peacefully in the afterlife. After that we made a plan to attack the city and take it back, but they had those cursed magic users there. They covered the whole city in shadow, it was impossible to see anything, no fire or light could get through the darkness. Then they used it to their advantage and attacked people one by one and since no one could see anything most of the men that came with me died.”
Imran patted Cairo on the arm. “Well I’m glad you managed to get back here somehow.”
“I don’t know how I did Imran.” The prince shook his head in disbelief. “I’m not sure how but I could tell things out of the shadows and then I felt all those people rushing towards us. I called Astarot for him to grab as many men as he could while I sneaked around and fought off as many of the rebels as I could. Luckily they seemed surprised that I knew where they were so they didn’t have a chance to catch me and then Astarot grabbed me.”
The three of them remained silent for a few minutes.
Sayer told his stories of the worshippers of Cerow being able to control darkness but no one knew to what extent their powers went. The idea that they can cover a whole city in darkness sounds like a nightmare that came to real life. How are they expected to fight enemies that could basically make them blind?
“Where is Sayer?” Myra asked.
Cairo moved his gaze to her and she couldn’t read the emotions on his face. “With the king, giving him a similar report I imagine.”
After Astarot settled into the barn with Brenna, the three riders started to make their way out.
Myra did not want to say much more to them, afraid her fear could be heard through her shaky voice. So she listened as the two men in front of her talked.
It almost felt strange to see the prince talk to someone so casually or let someone passively make fun of him like Imran did. It made her smile to see such friendship between them and she hoped she would fit in with them one day. When the prince maybe isn’t insulting her and anything she does, that will be the day she would happily consider it.
They split up at the palace hall since Myra was leaving the grounds and the other riders lived in one of the many rooms of the palace. She did invite both of them for a walk towards the new dining place Madri told her about and to see the market, the prince ignored her question and just left, and Imran thanked her for the invite but said nothing can stop him from going to the baths.
After the day she had, Myra wasn’t quite ready to go back home and see her family. She needed to clear her head of the negative thoughts and of the worries that something might happen to her family.
So she was off to the market.
She also realised the market would be a lot better if she had money but she forgot to ask if riders get paid or if so when.
The sun shined softly as it was setting into the horizon. Most merchants were closing their shops and greeted her as she walked by. Most people still stared her way because of Nythe trotting behind her. Now that she was bigger, she was even more hard to miss.
The murmurs of the people still shopping, the sounds of merchants packing their goods and the song of the wind that carried the scent of the desert.
Those were all the things Myra missed during the time she was training. It used to be everyday that she could relax and walk aimlessly around the market. She never realised how much she appreciated having the time and the freedom to do such simple activities as this.
Before Myra could make the turn towards the new dining stall, something strange caught her eye.
She looked towards the city wall at the back of the market and she couldn’t see anything but she just knew something wasn’t right. Myra stalked her way towards the wall, Nythe close behind.
There was a strange shadow moving around the wall and when Myra squinted she saw it was a man dressed in all black. She had to walk closer to see what exactly he was doing.
He was painting the walls with his hand, leaving a trace of shadow on the brick.
Was this a shadow user? Did no one else see him when he stood so close to others?
After he finished painting the strange symbol into the wall he moved a bit further down. Myra now rushed towards him.
The man turned around and noticed her moving towards him, then his gaze fell on the dragon next to her and his eyes widened. He moved his hands and the shadows covered him once again making him hard to see.
Nythe dashed towards him, Myra could no longer see the man but she guessed either her companion could still smell the rebel or still see him even through his magic.
They chased after him through alleyways, until eventually Myra could spot the shadow again.
If she had a bow right now she could shoot him in the leg and slow him, or at least pin his clothing to the ground but she had no way to get him down. Nythe was too big now to run full speed in the narrow paths.
The man suddenly came to a halt and took the shadows off his body. His brown eyes glowed and Myra swore they had streaks of silver in them. Even though she could see him perfectly fine now, the shadows still clang to his body as if ready to answer to his call.
“You’ve made a mistake following me dear.” His voice was deep and threatening, sending chills down Myra's spine.
“You know what. You are probably right.”
Nythe was first to charge at him, her claw ripped the front of the man’s clothing. The dragon quickly turned around and revealed her large teeth, attempting to bite the rebel. He was forced to step back and Myra used this opportunity to kick the man on his back.
He called to his shadows and they moved to Nythe. Myra felt the panic through the bond they shared, the fear of her companion made her furious.
“Let’s see how strong you are without your pet.” He purred.
The rebel charged at Myra, slamming her into the wall. She elbowed him on the top of his head in an attempt for him to let her go but all he did was grunt at the impact. Myra kicked and punched him, tried to use everything that Sayer and Imran have taught her but they seemed to have little to no effect. The man either dodged anything coming towards him or just took the hit as if it didn’t hurt him.
He eventually grabbed her arm and twisted it to her back, pulling her closer to him.
“That’s all you got rider?” He said mockingly.
Myra knew she wasn’t strong enough to fight him but she was sure as hell going to at least hurt him in some way.
With all the force she could get she slammed her head into his chin. The rebel never loosened his grip but she felt the blood that dripped from his mouth.
His hand grabbed the back of her head and he slammed her into the wall once again, and then banged her head against the brick, again and again.
Until Myra felt something warm drip down her head and everything became dark.