Alex and Mandla were sitting just outside the cave entrance, now visible, as Alex had tucked the strands of greenery to the side. But normally it was a marvel of camouflage – without prior knowledge of its existence, it would be almost impossible to find.
With his usual efficiency, Alex was peeling a type of fruit he dubbed Pinkertons – probably because of their pink flesh rather than any vague resemblance to the famous detective agency. The pink flesh resembled that of a ripe guava, but the taste and texture were closer to a tart, crisp apple. Alex handed the peeled fruit to an excited Mandla, who wasted no time in biting into it with apparent relish.
Allyra grinned, enjoying the picture of casual domesticity. Alex was endlessly patient with Mandla, no amount of wailing tantrums or desolate sobs ever changed that. They never spoke about it, but she imagined that it couldn’t be easy acting as a parent to a once loved friend.
Her eyes rested on Alex – it was only in these quiet moments with Mandla that he appeared truly relaxed. The tension bled from his body, leaving him younger and more vulnerable; making her wonder if he was much older than she was.
Mandla let out an excited exclamation as he spotted her. She grinned and walked over to him, pretending to grab at his pinkerton. He was as quick as lightning, snatching it and hiding it behind his back. Allyra made as if she was searching desperately for it while he held it behind his back, almost overflowing with glee. It was only a matter of time before he could no longer contain his excitement and popped it out in front of her as she exclaimed in mock surprise. This game of hide and seek had become something of a ritual between them and Mandla never tired of it, always playing with childish enthusiasm.
Allyra glanced up and found Alex watching them, a wistful smile playing across his elegant features. His smile widened as their eyes met, before he turned away to rinse off the sticky knife. She untied her hair, and shook it out to long waves cascading over her shoulders. She’d recently shown Mandla how to tie a braid and it had become a favorite pastime of his to style her hair into skewed and messy creations.
As Mandla sat behind her, playing with her hair, Allyra allowed her mind to wonder, vaguely watching Alex crouched at the river, meticulously cleaning the knife.
“Don’t trust him.”
She nearly gave herself whiplash as she turned to stare at Mandla, unable to hide her incredulity. At the best of times, Mandla could barely string a sentence together. The most he ever managed was to call her the Grey Lady; everything else was just the nonsensical rambling of a toddler. But now the emptiness in his dark eyes was gone, replaced by sharp intelligence.
“I’m sorry?” She managed to stutter out.
“Don’t trust him Allyra. Don’t make the same mistake I did. He’ll stop at nothing to accomplish his goal, even if it means destroying everything you love and ultimately you as well.” His voice was low and soft, but it rang with desperate urgency.
She glanced at Alex – he seemed to feel her gaze on him and looked up, meeting her eyes, giving her a rare smile, softening the shadows on his face. Surprise was written too clearly in her expression, making him raise his eyebrows in a silent query. Allyra reassured him quickly by shaking her head with a careless smile.
She turned back to Mandla. “I don’t understand…”
She was met with silence as he’d returned to braiding her hair. Allyra searched his eyes and found them devoid of intelligence. “Mandla?” She asked softly. Mandla replied with his bright, childlike grin and nothing else.
Lost in thought, Allyra flinched as Alex loomed over her.
“Is something wrong?”
She shook her head, definitely a shade too quickly to be utterly convincing.
“We should go then.” Alex said, turning to herd Mandla back into the safety of the cave.
She followed Alex slowly across the gap in the river, looking back uncertainly at Mandla standing at the cave entrance, watching them leave with the sad wistfulness of a child being left behind.
Doubt crept into her mind – had she imagined it? She forced the thought out her mind, increasing her pace to catch up to Alex. He was moving with his usual quick lightness. For a moment, she watched him, studied the graceful lines of the muscles in his back, pulling taunt as he moved.
So much power disguised in such a beautiful form. It was easy to forget just how lethal he was.
But she trusted him – didn’t she?
Doubt was an insidious thing. It crept subtly and quietly, sending long tendrils twisting through every dark and forgotten thought. Soon it was all she could think of.
Should she trust him or not?
Could she really condense it down to one simple question?
She was so lost in her tangled thoughts that she didn’t see him attack. She barely got her sword out of its scabbard before he effortlessly knocked it aside. Quicker than a flash of lightning, he had her pinned to the ground, the tip of his sword tickling the hollow her throat.
“You’re better than this.” He said roughly.
She nodded – carefully – avoiding the tip of his sword. He was right – she was better.
Since the start of sword training, she’d quickly graduated to twin swords, becoming impressively ambidextrous. They trained together every day – physical training combined with the Sequence and sparring. Both carrying identical twin swords in baldrics strapped across their backs. These swords were plain, forged in dull grey metal, bearing no similarity to the ornate silver ones Alex had
