Luna of the Beastly Lycan King

Chapter 20. Strange

☉DANIKA

I had tried to follow the men after they had gone, to catch a glimpse of their faces, but I had heard the chatter of another group of people walking towards me and I had abandoned thoughts of listening more to their conversation. I slipped out of the palace anyway, headed instead to the sparring grounds.

As I walked through the courtyard, I tried to brush the thoughts of mutiny and treason and conspiracies from my mind as I raced to the sparring grounds, but they just would not stop coming. They only took different forms, and everything seemed to further heighten the feeling of powerlessness that I felt.

I had warned Finarfin. I had told him that he was being too hard on everyone around him, but would he listen? Now in his first act as king, he’s managed to unsettle those who had been in power long before he came along.

Just what had Finarfin done in that first council meeting? I tried to put the pieces together, but there was no picture. There was nothing to build from.

A full moon had not yet passed since he had been appointed as king and he knew that the council could have him abdicate his rulership. He had told me as such. So why would he do something so stupid?

I shook my head as I arrived at the sparring grounds. Its walls were adorned with differing weapons, each more different than the next, and there were motley assortments of armor, armament, and protective gear assembled on separate tables. The grunting sounds of hard training and the light applause of nobles reached my ears from the entrance.

I had come here more than a few times in the past with Finarfin. I had not done any training back then, only watched him. He was probably already sparring with someone right now. I did not want to see him. After my outburst the other day, I wasn’t sure that I was ready to face him yet. I had no idea how he was going to react.

A loud grunt of exertion reached my ears. Whoever was sparring, it was getting heated. I made my way over to the center of the sparring grounds. Loud crashing noises, each after the other and with more intensity than the last rang through my bones until I gritted my teeth.

There, in the middle of the ring was Finarfin, muscular body gleaming with a glowing sheen. His face was unsmiling, bored even but the person he was sparring against looked like he was on his last needle. His opponent was covered in perspiration and his moves were energetic and wild, but Finarfin… Finarfin was gracious.

His opponent had a sword in his hand, but Finarfin was unarmed. I did not need to wonder much why because I watched as his opponent’s blow came down, and at the very last moment, Finarfin sidestepped the blow and knocked the sword out of his opponent’s hand. It clattered uselessly to the floor. Light applause filled the air as Finarfin walked over to the table with the nobles.

I exhaled, thankful that we had not locked eyes.

“Danika,” somebody called. I turned to see Sonia walking towards me, bow in hand. She scowled at me.

I was glad to see that her wounds were completely healed. She wore padded clothing that made her look stuffed but she was still as intimidating and as elegant as she had been that day when she had volunteered to fight the Crimson-horned stag with me.

She looked taller, more imposing. She struck a pose. “What are you doing here?”

“I came searching for you.”

“Of course you did. Why?”

“I want you to teach me how to fight.”

Sonia’s face contorted with disgust. She arched a brow at me. “And why would I do that?”

“Because I want to learn how to fight again. I want to learn how to defend myself and not be so weak anymore, or completely at the mercy of anyone. I want to have the power to defend my honor and pride again. Please,” I begged. She inched away again, but I was determined. “Teach me.”

Sonia groaned. “Again I ask, Danika, why would I do that?” She turned away from me with a graceful movement and hefted her bow above her shoulder. “The last time I offered to help you, I almost died. The King called me weak and now I have to bear daily affronts from my peers, and even those I am far above. Tell me, Danika. What exactly does teaching you, or training you serve to function?”

I considered my words. I had nothing.

“I just—”

The sound of commotion cut me short. I whipped my head around to check for the source. There, back in the middle of the sparring grounds was Finarfin. And at his feet was an unconscious half-clad man.

“It appears, I will need more heat.” He gestured to the other warriors in the room. They had all been watching. I could sense their hesitation. They knew as well as I that not one of them stood a chance. But together…

“All of you. At once.”

They hesitated.

Waited.

Then he commanded.

They charged at once.

A rugged smile split his face as he took a stance. The first man did not get the chance to swing his sword. The flat of Finarfin’s sword slapped the man across his face, flinging his body through the charging men. The warriors stopped and exchanged looks with each other. Then they let loose a roar and continued their charge.

I turned to Sonia, but she only smiled and walked away. I could not peel myself from the spot. Even the nobles were rising from their seats to watch.

I had known that Finarfin was quick-footed for his size, but the speed he moved in this sparring session was unimaginable. He would lure the men in until they were just barely out of reach, then he would close the gap lightning-fast, thrust into a single man, and pull back just as speedily. Man after man fell to this attack of his.

A blow came from behind, aimed at his head. His hand swung behind him, parrying the blow with lethal accuracy. He jumped into the air and came down crashing with a blow that disarmed an opponent. He sidestepped the sword that was thrust in his face and spun to return a lateral swing to the attacker’s head. Another man fell.

The men were thinning out under his brutally efficient attacks. His guard was constantly up. I had thought that I knew how Finarfin fought, but he proved now that his feat at the arena was no fluke. He moved like he was in a trance—like he was dancing. Every move was simply too fast, too powerful to be parried and he delivered them with the least appearance of exertion.

He was a whirlwind of limbs as he struck out one after the other at the men. He stamped on the sword of a warrior who had thought to take out his feet, and he cracked his sword over the warrior’s head.

The sound was sickening. The warrior was out cold immediately. From the horde that had rushed at him, there were only two left now. It looked like Finarfin had run out of moves. But he smiled again and shot at the two men. When he was close enough, he feinted an attack to the right, expecting that one of the men would parry, then he spun to the left and delivered a blow to the sternum with his sword. The warrior doubled over. Just at the same minute that the last warrior brought down his sword against Finarfin’s exposed back, Finarfin fell forward and slammed his sword against the warrior’s jugular.

The warrior clutched at his throat as he fell forward, unable to breathe. Finarfin rose. Some of the warriors groaned. Others just lay inert. I marveled at his strength and agility.

He had completely changed. I had never seen him fight like that before. I could not keep my mouth closed, in complete awe at the way he had defeated all his sparring opponents and his agility. I considered going to him. Normally, I would offer him a towel to clean up, or a glass of water to cool down, but I could not bring myself to move.

He was… different.

Strange.

He looked around at the fallen warriors and his smile vanished. His eyes roved.

“Fergal,” he suddenly said. “Spar with me.”

I could hear the authority in his voice. Still, Fergal hesitated. “Alpha, I am sure that there are other men here who would die for the chance—”

“Spar with me.”

Finarfin’s eyes were intense. I looked over to observe Fergal and felt a tremendous wave of energy roll off his body. He was shaking with anger. I wondered just what had gone on between these two.