A few days later, Will found himself reflecting on the fact that he disliked physical training even more than he had in the past. Perversely, this made him lean into it. Blake complimented him often these days, but Will knew the truth. What skill he possessed came purely from repetition and hard work. He wasn’t naturally talented like his cousin Eric had been, for whatever good it had done him.

  The redheaded berserker bearing down on him swung at his torso with a heavy wooden club that moved faster than it should have, for his opponent’s strength was beyond human. There was no blocking it, unless he wanted to break his own bones or use a force spell. Will dropped as low as he could and used a minor telekinesis spell to rip a small hole in the ground beneath his rival’s descending foot.

  Even though the ginger warrior had already committed to the swing, her strength and reflexes were supernatural; she altered the swing in midair and still managed to graze his shoulder—then stumbled as she lost her footing. Will ignored the pain as the club glanced off, and rammed the rounded point of his practice sword into the woman’s gut hard enough to lift her feet off the ground. Two sharp, snapping sounds echoed at the same time, the result of his point-defense shield intercepting wooden bolts that had been fired in quick succession.

  It took enough of his attention that he was almost caught by his brutish opponent’s leg sweep. Since he was already low to the ground, there was no dodging it. Rather than try, Will summoned a travel disk. The hard stone rose from the ground, and though it didn’t have time to finish forming, it was already moving in the direction of the oncoming leg. Flesh met stone and the warrior’s bone cracked audibly. Will deflected yet another wooden bolt at almost the same time.

  Tailtiu swore loudly. “That hurts, damn it!” Rolling away, she dropped the club and her hands began growing long, wickedly sharp claws.

  Will didn’t pause. He sent the travel disk forward to keep her off balance while springing forward with his wooden sword aimed downward, ready to drive the point into her chest or throat. “Hold!” Blake’s voice rang out loudly.

  He stopped, though his weapon shook from adrenaline, or perhaps fatigue. Tailtiu snarled and surged upward, until an invisible field of force drove her back into the ground. “That’s cheating,” she growled. “You’re only supposed to use force spells to stop the ranged attacks.”

  “He called a halt,” panted Will.

  His aunt’s blood was already beginning to cool. “Oh. I didn’t notice.” She visibly relaxed.

  Will dismissed the force-push spell he had used. It was one of his favorites that he’d learned from studying Ethelgren’s work. Simple and plain, it was nevertheless an infinitely useful spell. It could be used to push large or small objects, as long as they were within thirty feet or so, and it had originally been used against Will to immobilize him against a wall. It could do a lot more, though, from gently moving small objects to crushing things against one another.

  Better still, it was one of his ever-growing collection of spells that could be reflex cast, along with other staples like the force-wall and force-dome. His constant and unforgiving practice regimen had started producing results, and it seemed as though not a week went by that yet another spell became part of his instinctive repertoire.

  Tailtiu stood up, towering half a head taller than him, though she was already beginning to shrink. Her height vanished gradually, while at the same time her heavily muscled arms and legs slowly returned to their usual slimmer form. Her chest became smaller as well, reshaping itself to display petite breasts rather than heavy pectoral slabs. Will watched, fascinated as always by the change. “You’re insanely strong already—why do you insist on changing?”

  Blake Word stepped out of the bushes, bow in hand. “Because I asked her to. You don’t need practice against smaller opponents as much as you do against the big ones.”

  “Either way, she’s inhumanly fast and strong,” observed Will.

  Blake shook his head. “Strength is one thing, but mass is another. You do very well with smaller or medium-sized opponents, but the big ones are still giving you trouble.”

  “If I wasn’t handicapped by our practice rules, I’d just blow a hole through her, and it’s easier to hit a big target. Of course, we couldn’t practice like that, but you understand what I mean.”

  “It wouldn’t kill me,” offered his aunt, her tone thoughtful, “but you’d need to get me back to my realm soon after.” As was often the case, she was entirely serious.

  Will laughed. “No. Besides, the other reason for me not using force-lances is that I need to remain free to use the point-defense shield, in case there are attacks that my other defenses can’t handle.”

  Blake nodded. “Anyway, for her to use large, massive weapons, she needs to be bigger herself, regardless of her innate strength, otherwise the momentum of the weapon will just throw her off balance.”

  Tailtiu rolled her eyes. “That’s not the real reason. It’s because you don’t get as sexually aroused when I look like your big friend, Tiny.”

  Will sputtered, “What?”

  She nodded. “That’s what Blake told me. He said you’d be able to fight better if you weren’t getting erections every few minutes.”

  “I haven’t—” Will protested.

  Blake cut him off, “I didn’t say that!”

  She grinned, and the two men stared at her for a moment before looking at one another, realizing they had been had. “Lying is fun,” said the fae woman. “I never knew how much I was missing.”

  They laughed for a bit before Blake returned to the subject at hand. “This sort of practice is useful, but you’re already to the point where it’s getting too easy, even with multiple handicaps. It would be nice if we could do something with multiple opponents. Perhaps when your students are ready…”

  Will responded immediately, “No.”

  Blake frowned. “Why not?”

  “I’d kill them,” Will announced flatly. “The problem with reflex casting is that I often do it before I’m fully aware of what I’m doing. It’s easy to say I won’t use a lethal spell in practice, but once it’s ingrained in me it’s hard not to use deadly force. Tailtiu can survive a mistake on my part, but with regular people—I’m just not willing to take the risk.”

  “Then I guess we’ll move on to terrain and environmental tactics tomorrow,” said Blake.

  “What do you have in mind?” asked Will.

  Tailtiu and Blake shared a glance. “It’s a secret,” said his aunt. “Your wife is full of ideas. With her spells and some preparation, we should be able to test you in ways you haven’t anticipated.”

  “Do you think we’ll continue this kind of training with your students once they’re ready?” asked Blake.

  Will shook his head. “It will be years before any of them have gained the spells and talents necessary, and besides, while I think the world needs proper wizards, I don’t think they need to be turned into war assets or assassins. I’ll give them some battle training, but I’d rather they develop in a more natural fashion.”

  “And you aren’t natural?”

  Will grimaced. “Do you think I’m safe to be around? Startle me and I’m liable to blow someone’s head off. That’s not normal, and this training is only making it worse.”

  “You’re the one who insisted on it,” observed Blake. “Even though you said it wouldn’t be strictly necessary.”

  Will glanced around, wondering if Lognion had some hidden observer. Part of the reason for his practice was to lend credence to Plan C, a surprise one-man assault. The only person capable of it would be Will himself, but it was only a decoy plan. The practice sessions were mainly to establish it as an actual possibility that the king couldn’t completely discount. Privately, Selene had made it clear that he wasn’t to attempt such a thing under any circumstances. Will agreed, but he’d decided to be ready to do it anyway, just in case. “It’s necessary, whether it’s for tomorrow or next year. It’s necessary until—” He stopped there.

  “Until what?”

  He just flattened his lips into a grim smile without answering the question. Until there’s no one left to be afraid of. Turning away, he headed back toward the main house. “It’s time for me to check on the students.”

  ***

  There was still some time left before the midday exercises, but Janice was waiting for him when he returned. She had a serious look on her face. “Can we talk privately?”

  Will nodded and pointed upward. “My study?”

  “Perfect.”

  Up the stairs and down the hall to the right was his office. Will opened the door and stepped in, watching Janice as she followed him. She closed the door behind herself, something she rarely felt the need for in the past. “Is it that serious?” he asked.

  “Not really,” she replied in a tone that said the complete opposite. “I just wanted to tell you in person. I’m not going to try the third compression.”

  Will frowned. “You’ve done well so far. Are you worried?”

  “We still don’t know how dangerous it is.”

  “That’s true, but you recovered from the second compression fairly well. I think you have less to worry about than most of the others.”

  “I just don’t want to do it,” she insisted. “I’m scared.”

  Something rang false in her words, though Will could tell she was genuinely worried about something. Speaking carefully, he made a suggestion. “It’s still a week away. Why not sleep on it? You don’t have to decide this minute.”

  Janice shook her head. “Nothing is going to change in a week. Besides, I’ve decided to return home. I haven’t seen my parents in over a year now.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You didn’t have any such plans a few weeks ago.”

  “I miss them,” she replied. “Just because you didn’t realize I was homesick doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

  She’s defensive, thought Will, and I didn’t accuse her of lying. He remained silent for a few seconds, studying his friend’s face, then asked, “What’s happened?”

  Janice scowled. “Nothing has happened. I’ve just made up my mind.”

  Definitely a lie. “Tiny was just here a month and a half ago. Have you talked about this with him?”

  “He knew I was thinking about it. I’ll send him a letter.”

  Another lie, and her expression had faltered for just a second when he mentioned Tiny. Will was certain she hadn’t said anything to the man because he and Tiny had already planned a surprise for her. Sir Kyle had agreed to relinquish Tiny into Will’s service. The big warrior was due to return in two weeks, and Selene would be knighting him shortly afterward. Tiny didn’t know about the knighthood specifically, but he had also told Will that he planned to propose to Janice as soon as he came back.

  Will glared at her. “You’re a terrible liar, even worse than me.” She didn’t reply, so the two of them simply stared at each other for a minute. Today was the day he would announce that they’d begin the third compression in a week. It was also the day he had planned to recheck the female students for pregnancy. It was a silly precaution, since he was certain none of them could have become pregnant, but Arrogan had insisted it be done.

  His eyes widened slightly, and Janice’s cheeks began to flush. “Today’s the day for the pregnancy test…”

  “No need to worry. I know the spell. I’ve already checked myself,” she replied, her words tumbling out in a rush.

  “Why would you check if you knew there was no need?”

  Her face was blood red now.

  “Did Tiny sneak into your room before he left?”

  “No!”

  “But you’re pregnant?” Will phrased it as a question, but it bordered on being a statement.

  Janice started to protest but changed her mind after a single word. “No—yes, damn it, Will! Just let me leave with my dignity! I’d rather not have the others know about this.” She covered her face with her hands at the end.

  “Dignity? What are you ashamed of? You love him, don’t you? Besides, he snuck into your room and—”

  “Will,” snapped Janice, interrupting him. “He didn’t sneak into my room. He was completely against this.”

  Will gaped at her. “Well, obviously that is not entirely true, otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  Janice’s hands made tight fists. “I snuck into his room, ambushed him on his last night here.”

  “Huh?”

  “I was sick of waiting. He’s so old fashioned. I just didn’t expect…”

  “To get pregnant? You could have used a spell. Surely you know that?”

  “Yes! I know. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and at the time, I just don’t know. I was out of my mind, and now I’ve ruined everything!”

  Will was confused. “Sped things up a little, maybe, but I wouldn’t say ruined. What are you talking about?”

  “You know how traditional John is,” she replied, as though that explained everything.

  “And?”

  “We aren’t married.”

  Will frowned. “Did you hit your head or something? You know he’ll marry you as soon as you tell him.”

  “I didn’t do this to trap him!” growled Janice. “That’s why I want you to keep this a secret. He’s never asked me to marry, and I don’t intend to force this child on him.”

  “By the Holy Mother!” swore Will. “Janice, you’ve never been this stupid before. You should know he wants to marry you, child or no child.”

  “He’s going to be in Darrow for at least a year. When I said good-bye to him that night, he understood it was the end for us.”

  “The hell he did!” barked Will. “He was planning to surprise you. He’ll be back in a couple of weeks. He’s planning to propose to you then!”

  Now it was Janice’s turn to look confused. “But he’s sworn to Sir—”

  “Sir Kyle released him to me,” interrupted Will. “He actually left to settle his affairs before returning here. I need a captain of the guard.”

  “Oh.”

  “I need you too, Janice. Surely you realize how valuable you are? I don’t have that many friends, especially ones as talented and intelligent as you.”

  Her mind was still processing everything she had just learned. “But I can’t be third-order, not now, and by the time I’ve had this child…”

  “Do you think that’s the only value you have?” asked Will. “Sure, I’d rather you live longer, but you’re a lot more than just a top-notch wizard. I never had any intention of using you as a soldier anyway. Second- or third-order, it really doesn’t matter. Be happy, raise a family, pursue a career at Wurthaven, or work for me—whatever you choose to do, having you as my friend is all I ever wanted. I want you to be happy.”

  Janice blinked, her eyes growing wet. “John is going to be so embarrassed…”

  “He’ll be as excited as a puppy, don’t be stupid,” argued Will, standing up suddenly. “The main thing is that you’d better not ruin the surprise.”

  Uncertain, Janice leaned back slightly.

  “The proposal,” Will reminded her. “You aren’t supposed to know he’s returning, so don’t spoil the surprise, and don’t tell him you’re pregnant until after he proposes.”

  “That isn’t fair—” began Janice.

  “No, it wouldn’t be fair if you wind up doubting his motivation for years to come. Let him ask you first, then you can surprise him. Either way he’ll be happy, but that way you won’t have any lingering doubts.”

  “But…”

  “No buts—promise me,” insisted Will.

  She started to answer, then burst into tears. Will had known Janice for years now and he’d seen her hurt, mauled, and near death, but while she had cried some during those occasions, it had been different. The tears had been muted by shock and fear, or partially suppressed for the sake of whatever had been occurring. This time was different. No one’s life was in danger, the world wasn’t ending. Janice was simply a woman, one who had been feeling alone and under pressure for quite some time. Her outburst was genuine, heartfelt, and full of raw emotion.

  Will was caught entirely off-guard. He stepped forward and embraced his friend. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  Her replies were muffled and distorted. Will failed to grasp most of it, but he caught the last few words clearly. “I was so scared…”

  He squeezed her a little tighter. “You’re not alone. Not as long as I’m alive, and I’m not the only one in this house who would tell you that. If Tiny were here, he’d be positively offended that you thought so little of him.”

  She’d been slowly calming down, but his words set off a new storm. It wound down faster than the first, and her words were clearer. “It’s not that I think little of him, it’s that I think so much of him.”

  Will pushed her out to arm’s length, frowning. “You’re the last person who should say that, Janice. I didn’t kill Dennis Spry over some worthless guttersnipe. You’re worth ten times more than that noble prick, so don’t ever think you don’t deserve love.”

  Janice was still sniffing, but she smiled faintly and daubed her eyes with one sleeve. “You would have killed him no matter who it was, guttersnipe, whore, or princess. I didn’t understand at the time, which upset me. I felt responsible. It wasn’t until later that I realized I wasn’t even part of the equation. It could have been anyone.”

  He narrowed his eyes. Janice was eloquent, but he could tell she had stopped just shy of adding, ‘I didn’t matter.’ “It wasn’t anyone. It was you, and I’m very grateful for having met you, Dame Shaw.”

  “What?”

  “Assuming you say ‘yes,’ and you actually marry our oversized friend, then you’ll officially be ‘Dame,’ after Selene knights him.”

  Janice rubbed her cheeks. “I’m going to need some time to process that thought.”

  Chapter 5

  Janice stepped out, and they discovered Seth waiting outside the door. “Can we talk for a minute?”

  Will nodded an affirmative while Janice made her way down the hall. Then he ushered his one-time roommate into the study. “It’s almost time for the session, so we’ll have to be quick. What’s on your mind?”