Angelfire | The Whispering Wall #3

Sixty Five: Eavesdropping

"Let me look."

Grace took Nova's hand and pulled it into her lap, inspecting the bruising and tiny cuts on her knuckles. Nova hissed between her teeth as one split and welled up with blood that trickled down her hand. She took her hand back and stuck the bleeding knuckle in her mouth with a grimace.

"Are you sure you're not going too hard on this whole training thing?" Grace asked, folding her arms around herself and huddling deeper into her blanket. "It's been a long time since you did anything like this, Nova, you're going to hurt yourself."

"Yddris knows what he's doing," Nova muttered. She'd spent the whole morning on unarmed combat with the Unspoken, during which, as Thorne was so fond of putting it after his own gruelling sessions, she'd had her arse handed to her. Again.

"Does he?" Grace said. When Nova glanced sharply at her, she clarified. "I've no doubt he's a good fighter and a good teacher, Nova, but you're not like any of his other students. I wouldn't necessarily assume he knows when to stop for you. He throws Joe around like he weighs nothing, and my brother's a solid six feet."

"Even more solid now," Nova pointed out. "Clearly Yddris knows how to train. And he doesn't throw me around. But if I don't push myself I'm not going to get better."

"I'm not..." Grace sighed. "Fine. Whatever."

"I can still barely swing my sword," Nova said. "I used to fight with one that was even bigger than this." She ran her finger along the scabbard of the weapon lying beside her on the blanket.

"I hope you aren't pummelling yourself into the ground for my sake."

Nova scowled. She was motivated to work hard in part because she'd been charged to guard Grace, and as it stood would be worse than useless in a physical fight, but it wasn't the only reason. "It's not just for you. I need this. I haven't been allowed to do this in ten years. I want to feel like I can defend myself again."

She pushed down the image that rose up. When she'd left Caelum, she'd still had her strength and training behind her, and she'd used it to murder the agents her uncle had sent to finish her off. But it wouldn't be like that again. She wouldn't allow it.

Grace looked troubled for a moment, and Nova wondered if she was thinking about it too.

"I don't want you to have to go to that place again," Grace said softly, confirming her suspicions. "We can find other ways."

"But this is the best way." Nova looked around at the bustle of the camp to avoid seeing the look in Grace's eyes. "Grace, you're pregnant. I don't want to be put in a position where I can't defend us both in a tight spot."

Grace flinched, hand drifting to her belly. There was no bump, but in the quiet moments when they were alone together in their tent, Nova caught glimpses of the growing life in her aura. She tried not to see them, but it was hard to ignore when Grace was usually forced out of the tent at dawn by the need to be sick.

They were quiet for a long while, the ugly truth lying like an unwelcome guest between them. As far as possible, they avoided talking about it. Grace dealt with her symptoms without complaint. She had her check-ins with Nika at every other stop they made, but when Nova was around, she didn't mention it. Nova had no idea how either of them were going to keep up the evasions when the pregnancy became obvious — she dreaded the day when everyone else would be able to tell, too. She dreaded the questions she knew would be burning on their tongues and in their eyes; how, when Grace was so obviously committed to a relationship with a woman, had she managed to fall pregnant?

And no one would think for a moment that Harkenn's heir was in their midst. They'd just think Nova had been taken for a ride.

She lurched to her feet, as if to leave those thoughts behind her on the blanket. Like she could ever leave them for long. The issue prodded at her night and day, and she couldn't stop herself worrying at it like a loose tooth.