Lux [h.s]

fifty-six

Cora fell to the ground, gasping. Her body ached, every joint, every muscle seemed to be screaming at her. She was sure there were bruises on her arms and legs from all the times Thalia's stick had crashed against her body. She'd initially bristled when the older fay had offered to start the training wielding sticks instead of swords, but now she was glad she had.

"I'd say we can stop for today," Thalia hummed, looking down at her. Her position was relaxed; only some strands of black hair had escaped the string she'd tied it with.

"How... just, how..." Cora muttered, unable to find the breath and words to fully pose her question.

Thalia tilted her head. "I'm not much of a fighter when it comes to magic. My gift is of the peaceful kind, which can be most unfortunate more often than not, considering I am not." She lifted her lilac gaze towards the door, a frown curving her dark eyebrows before disappearing quickly. "Here he comes," she commented, a flicker in her eyes when she recognised the other person walking towards them. "With company."

Cora looked up. Her breath parted from her lips in white clouds that hovered before her vision for a moment before dissipating, but she couldn't even feel the cold through the thin shirt she was wearing, her cloak forgotten in a puddle next to the door.

Harry was walking towards them, his usual midnight blue coat resting on his shoulders. A few steps behind him there was Iris, with her white hair tied in a long braid to keep it out of her face. Her eyes were on Thalia's face, a determined look in them, and just for a moment Cora wondered what had happened between them in the time they'd spent apart.

The first to break the silence was Harry. "Cora," he said, when he was but a few steps away from her. His eyes held nothing of the storm in Iris's and his pace was even, dancer-like as it always was. When he reached her, his fingers grazed her arm. She couldn't tell if she truly felt the warmth of his touch through her sleeve, or if the closeness was playing tricks on her mind.

"Why didn't you—" Iris exclaimed, glaring at Thalia, but she was quick to cover her mouth with a hand and usher her back inside.

"I'll wait for you in the library in a few," she told Harry before disappearing inside the house.

Harry gave Thalia a nod and turned to look at Cora, searching her eyes for unspoken truths. "Are you all right?" he asked after some long moments. "Thalia can be quite... unforgiving."

"I'm fine," she replied, even though she could feel all the places of her body that were stinging. It wasn't too painful—nothing she couldn't manage, and definitely miles away from how she'd be feeling if Thalia had truly meant to hurt her—but still, Harry didn't seem to be content with the answer.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, of course."

He took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders in a way that was by then so familiar. "I'm sorry I left her with you for the whole morning," he whispered. "Thinking about it now, I should've checked on you at least once or twice."

"You really didn't have to. I'm fine."

"It looks so," Harry commented. His gaze rose to the windows of the house, and an unhappy look flashed through his eyes. He touched Cora's arm and walked her towards the oak in the corner of the gardens. Before stepping under its branches she felt the knowing prickle of being watched and glanced up. Raven was staring at them through a window on the first floor. A hand grazed her wrist, and suddenly her back was against the trunk of the oak, hidden from view. "I've been trying to talk to you all morning," Harry sighed, leaning his head towards her.

"You have?" Cora asked, unable to hide her surprise.

He brushed back a strand of her golden hair, his fingertips cold when they brushed against her cheek. "Of course I have," he murmured, an unexpected warmth in his voice. "You know, there's one thing I regret from the conversation we had last night. I've been thinking about it for the past ten hours."