Page 16 of Crimson Kingdom
CHAPTERNINE
Before breakfast, I decided to go to the sparring room to work out the tension that had settled into my bones the night before, in spite of the momentary reprieve that getting out of the castle had offered.
It didn’t occur to me that Theo would be there as well.
I stopped short in the doorway, my eyes darting away from the cream-colored shirt that clung to his broad chest as he went through a series of exercises with his sword.
“Rowan?” He sounded surprised, and I kicked myself for not leaving sooner.
Then again, why should I leave?
“What are you doing here?” he asked through panting breaths, using his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow
I gestured toward him. “The same thing you are. I had been hoping one of the guards would be around to spar.”
A thoughtful expression crossed Theo’s face.
He had seen evidence that I could fight before, when we were attacked on the road before the Summit. He also knew I carried both a sword and dagger, but he still seemed to find it a bit of a shock that I would utilize the training room.
“Would you like to spar with me?” he asked, almost shyly.
My mouth fell open at his offer, but I quickly composed myself.
“Sure,” I responded, trying for a casual tone.
I had already done my warm-up stretches in my room, so I moved to the wall to grab a practice sword before meeting him in the center of the ring.
“Are you certain you don’t mind sparring with a woman?” My voice was teasing, but I studied his expression carefully.
He wasn’t averse to change, precisely, but he had never seemed to embrace it either. And that’s what this was, a stark contrast from the ideals he had been raised with.
Theo arched an eyebrow, a mischievous grin tugging at his full lips. “Not if that woman is you.”
His words didn’t set any part of me on fire, but they did feel nice.
“If I didn’t know any better, I might think you were flirting with me,” I bantered.
He laughed softly, his golden green eyes meeting mine. “Would that be the worst thing in the world?”
His question hung in the air, and I swallowed hard.Would it?
Instead of answering, I launched at him with one of the offensive strategies Avani and I had been practicing for the last week.
Theo didn’t hesitate before defending himself, parrying my sword away again and again. We circled one another, but he was less sparring than he was fending off my blows, as if he took issue with the idea of attacking me.
With a sigh, I stepped back.
“I’m not one of your fancy jeweled eggs, Theo. I won’t break,” I mocked before lunging at him again.
He raised his brow just as I broke through his defense and thwacked his side with the back of my sword. With a laugh, he nodded to himself, launching into an offensive position, finally facing off against me in truth.
We went back and forth this way for nearly an hour before he managed to get the better of me. I stumbled back, and he reached out a hand to steady my wrist, pulling me back upright.
Instead of using the leverage to tug me closer to him like I was afraid he might, Theo merely dropped my wrist as soon as I was stable, taking a polite step back.
He was giving me time, just as he said he would, and I was absurdly grateful for the lack of expectation. With panting breaths, we both launched into a series of cool-down stretches.
When I went to stretch my abdominals, a blush crept into Theo’s cheeks, and he averted his gaze. A glance down was enough to tell me why. The dresses we wore in Lochlann were by no means provocative, but compared to the high-necked, stiff contraptions the ladies of Elk wore...