“Your aunt?”

She hiked a thumb over her shoulder to where Taeral had disappeared, something dark flickering through her eyes. “She hated both my mother and yours and is as insufferable off the field as she is on it, trust me.”

She was Taeral’s niece? Wait. “Taeral’s sister was my mother’s personal guard?” she asked, eyes wide remembering the way King Vesstan’s hand had settled onto her lower back as they’d walked out of the throne room that morning.

Reniya nodded. “Half-sister, but yes. I may be second-in-command, and share her blood, but there is no love lost between us. It’d bring me great pleasure to prove her wrong about you.”

That would certainly explain why Suki had listened to Reniya’s order without a second thought. Well, that and the fact that she could probably kick everyone’s ass.

But as much as Vera would kill to see her and Taeral go head-to-head in a full spar, she’d much prefer being capable of knocking the bitch down, herself.

“All right then, Reniya, I accept. Let’s piss off your aunt.”

Reniya flashed a wicked grin as she stepped forward, reaching out as if to pat her on the shoulder. But Jaren’s arm shot out before she could make contact, smacking it away.

She sent him a warning look but lowered her arm. “We will return here tomorrow when the sun has barely entered the horizon, and we will work on…this,” she said, gesturing to Vera’s body.

Vera’s eyes narrowed, but Reniya just winked, stepping past her and strutting back toward the others. “See you later, Barilias.”

JAREN

She’d been breathtaking.

It was no wonder she’d bested him that night in the alley before he’d known who she was. No matter what baseless taunts Taeral tried to spit, Veralie didn’t fight like a human. Nor did she fight like a Magyki. She was something in-between, moving in a way he’d never seen before.

She’d taken down several guards the day they’d left Aleron, and he’d sparred her every morning during their trip across the Dividing Sea, but until she’d faced Virnorin and raised her blade before her face, he’d never been able to just sit back and watch her.

Gods. Even though he’d felt his mate’s exhaustion, felt her muscles cramping up and screaming, she’d never once wavered or so much as lowered her blade an inch. Every Magyki in Naris could run their mouth about her appearance and choppy Thyabathi all they wanted, but there was no denying her strength.

She’d moved with a grace some trained Magyki still didn’t have, and as much as he hated to admit it, Virnorin was right. Very few lasted that long against her.

Virnorin had been younger than Jaren when her aunt had thrown her into training, and he’d yet to meet another even remotely as skilled as she was. But even so, he was positive that if Vera had had control of her senses, that arrogant ass female wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“You should have expected her to use her abilities,” he said, dipping a clean cloth into the wash basin and wringing it out before carefully wiping around the long cut across her chest.