27.

Elai's pov

“I do not doubt your words. I never said I did.” Fuck. My reaction made me suspicious. This is my own fault. “I merely said that you confuse me.” He’s close enough for me to smell his breath; he must’ve had coffee. I look Connie straight in the eyes, breath still stuck in my throat. I keep worsening my own situation and I wish I could slap myself for it. Maybe I will.
“So why is it that you respond with such.. defense?” Connie squints his eyes at me, the tiniest grin appearing when he feels me trying to move out of his grip. My legs stay as still as ever, though; I should’ve known not to underestimate him. “Got something to hide?” Connie’s face only grows closer and it is as if he is trying to read the lie off of my face. as if it is hidden in my eyes or underneath my skin.
“Connie! Let’s not ruin the training.” I did not expect the king to take my side; I did not expect him to act at all. Yet now his hand is on Connie’s shoulder, and Connie finally let’s out a softened chuckle. If I didn’t feel watched already, I surely do now. “Once I’m strong enough, I will fight you.” I’m not going to show my distress, though. He cannot know he has made me nervous. There is no room for me to reveal any type of negative emotion. I am Elai the raider. I am nothing more and nothing less than that.
“Or you can just fight me now.” Connie is serious.
“Is that a challenge?” I am, too.
There is a tension building up between the two of us, and the king tries his hardest to break it apart. He stands in-between us with his hands leaning against his waist. “You guys are very funny. Now let’s go back to-“
“If Elai wants to fight me, let him fight me. Might teach him some lessons about his own ability.” Connie’s eyes are squinted once more, his olive skin covered in sweat. I move my head to be able to look past Arlon. Yes. Why not try it out. Maybe I will.” I’m not thinking, I’m not considering consequences. I simply want to keep myself on my feet and prove him I’m not backing out. Arlon will probably not allow him to fight me, anyways. I am good here. I’m in a great position and I’m loving it.
“Fine. Go ahead, strike him down.” Arlon’s words surprise me. I try not to react to them, but my face twitches nonetheless. “Ah! You did not expect him to be okay with it, did you!” Connie points at me the moment Arlon walks to the side of the arena. I can almost sense that he has a smirk on his face. “I saw your panic! You can’t hide it from me!” Connie sticks his hands out, and it makes me realize I will probably be on the ground in a few seconds. He was already strong without focusing his hands on anything, which means he’s probably even stronger when he does use them. I swallow as I indeed feel panic rush down my spine. “Dumb decision. You do not even know how to resist it.” I try to run away from the directions his hands are going, but the longer I seem to last, the lower they go. Connie understands what I’m doing and he watches me struggle with pleasure. I try to glare at him and it makes me aware that he is no longer using his ability. No. He is counting down. I grit my teeth; I can’t run any faster than this, yet it is the only thing I can do to try and avoid his attack. The last thing I hear before my feet leave the ground, is Arlon’s chuckle. I fly a few meters backwards before I fall onto my back. I haven’t broken anything; he had only used his ability to lift me up. I haven’t learned it yet, but I know that taking a hold over things requires much more core control than simply breaking stuff.
I have to gasp once, just to get my breath to start working. My ears are ringing, too. It hurts quite a lot, and so I decide not to move for a little while longer. I can hear Connie rushing up to me, but not because of worry. When I move my head to look up at him, he is smiling that teeth-wide smile of his. I want to crush his pride. “Fun battle! Have never won that fast before, not even in tournaments!” He just called me the weakest of the weak. He literally just- I hate this man. I do not answer him, neither do I take his hand to stand up. I do it on my own without saying a single word. I knew I’d be blown off my feet in seconds, yet I still feel defeated. It is embarrassing. These two friends are incredibly strong and I am- nothing. Compared to them, at least. I wipe the dirt off of my hands and glare up at Connie for just a quick second. All he does is laugh. “Your pride is easily scarred, huh?” He just keeps pushing my buttons.
“You could’ve gone easier on me.” I sound like an idiot.
Connie raises his eyebrows. “You’re hilarious.”
It stays silent for a few seconds, and I don’t know why, but I eventually let out a relieved laugh. It is most likely the nerves that leave my body, or the stress I can let go of. We have strayed away from the suspicion, I am save once more. “Both done?” I had almost forgotten Arlon was here too, and all of a sudden I feel like hiding my face. I do not know why. There are a lot of things I cannot explain, things I’d rather not admit to at all. I am the first to nod, eyes going up to meet the gaze of Arlon. His eyes are intense, different from any pair I have seen before. They tell so many stories yet are so quiet. They dance in light yet are so dark. I do not think I have enough time to figure out what word describes them best, but I will try my hardest to tell in the end. “At least you got dignity, I will give you that.” Connie’s hand on my shoulder is large and heavy, but I take it with a smile still on my face. “I would definitely come see you in tournaments.” The compliment makes Connie raise his shoulders. “You should! They’ll take place a few weeks after Arlon’s birthday this year!” I can hear the words Connie says, but my ears do not want to focus on them, neither does my mind. I can’t help it; all I can focus on is the gaze of Arlon. He is still looking at me, even though my eyes do not look back. It is as if I can feel his breath against my lips, his fingers through my hair. It is as if he is only inches away from me, gazing upon me like a god. My knees are getting weak; I will admit that. It feels difficult to stay on my feet, to be able to move around normally. I wouldn’t be surprised if my cheeks were turning red, or if my hands were shaking. I would not notice myself, though. No, because all I feel is that damned gaze of his. “Well?” I have not heard what Connie had said, and it seems like Arlon has the same problem. We both look around, stunned and confused, trying to figure out what the warrior had told us. “Great. Let’s go again.” He sighs out, feet already walking away from me. My body is tired, but I’m determined to get the control flowing as fast as possible. I need to be ready when I find the warlord. I need to be ready to.. kill him.
“You seem distracted.” Arlon had positioned himself beside me, and I silently walk next to him, Connie far enough to not hear our voices.
“It is quite intimidating when a king will not stop looking at you.” I want to gasp at myself. Why did you say that, you idiot?! It now is as if I do not hold any respect for him, like I do not- he’s doing it again. He is not focusing on his walk, no, he’s still shifting his eyes to me. I feel lightheaded; I swear, I might faint.
“You are simply a pleasure to look at, chasores.” His side profile is sharp but soft at the same time. I want to touch his cheek, to feel the warmth rise off of it. I want to..
“Am I, now?” I am grinning like crazy. I can feel it pull at my skin. What am I even thinking? He is probably trying to get me out of the web of lies. He’s trying to get to me. Yes. That is it. Nothing more. I shouldn’t bite into it. It will not be worth it. “Hm. Come by my chambers tonight. Let us talk.” Still, my heart skips a beat. Those are the last words he says to me before we stand still, Connie’s eyes on the both of us. “Am I third wheeling?” He is still throwing out cheeky remarks, but I have long stepped out of that attitude. I am a mess right now.

Come by my chambers tonight, he said.