The Art of Blood and Power (Book 2 in The Gifted Trilogy)

21- Unexpected Arrivals

After we returned from the Earth Court, I started training a lot more with Cicero. Without my daily runs with Porter, I had more time open for practice using my Gifted powers and a lot less guilt about it. Porter had remained true to his words of no longer speaking to me. At first it hurt to pass by him without a single acknowledgement or any ounce of emotion on his face but I quickly got used to his silence, barely even noticing it now.

The only time I usually saw him during the day was when the Royal Guard would join practice with the Ember Army in the afternoon. After Briar and Katrina had convinced June there was a benefit to teaching even the non-Gifted how to fight, she started inviting the Royal Guard to join their training sessions. Cicero always kept me too busy to notice his presence and for that I was grateful.

Cicero was right, there was a different fighting style between the Shadow and Ember Gifted. When I did fight some of the Ember Soldiers instead of him, it was easy to notice the difference in fighting strategy. The Ember Soldiers almost always took the offensive, acting before their opponent and often relying on the sheer force of their skill to drive their opponent backwards. Compared to the others, Kess was the most restricted Ember Gifted I had ever fought.

The more time I spent with Cicero, the more I felt my body naturally morph into a combination of both fighting skills. It was harder to notice my fluid and constant motion when I fought Cicero but when I was fighting the Ember Soldiers, who usually paused between strikes, waiting for my retaliation, it was easy to see.

But there were still strategies Kess had taught me that I still clung too. I still made a habit of bouncing on the balls of my feet between strikes and relying mostly on blows towards the upper chest even with Cicero's constant reminders that my shadows are most destructive when aimed at the head.

A week passed before the first troop of Earth Soldiers arrived at the Ember Court with a note from Orion asking Kess to train them in the Ember Gifted fighting strategy and to send a group of his own men to the Earth Court so that they could do the same. Sharing battle strategy and combat knowledge was the first phase of our alliance, and despite the guilt I still felt over the role I unknowingly played in Orion's deceit, I felt more optimistic about our chances than I ever had before.

The Earth Soldiers were quick and silent learners. They seemed far more disciplined than their rowdy Ember counterparts but after a few days in the Ember Court, I watched them become more relaxed and open to their new allies. They were especially warm and friendly to the Garner Champions who often joined them during training. Briar even managed to make a few of them laugh on several occasions.

"What can I say, I'm the package deal," she replied one day after I had mentioned that I thought a few of the men might be developing crushes on her. She was currently lounging in the grass, her elbows propping her body up as she shot a mischievous smile to the few Earth Soldiers who were sneaking looks at her while they practiced. "Someone needs to teach the girls in the Earth Court how to crack a joke every once in a while. These men are deprived of humor, it seems."

"I'm from the Earth Court" I reminded her.

She grinned. "Exactly."

Shoving her shoulder, I fell back in the grass, squinting my eyes against the glare of the sun. "I just realized I never got to ask you how you feel," I said, using my hand to block the sun so that I could see her. "About the fact that I'm now a Gifted."

She frowned at me. "What's there to think? You were Gifted when we met, the only difference is you didn't know back then. But you're still Wren. You're still the friend that got me through the Garner and then found me in that barn. Nothing will change that, especially not something you can't change about yourself."