The royal room was dark, no sign of light from outside. But to Embla this was of little concern, the room was inside the Court’s palace, built out of several of the ancient trees and still very much alive. To her eyes, the lack of light was no impediment, the tree’s aura was easy to spot and the shape of the room perfectly visible.

Laying in bed, her gaze shifted towards her lover.

Barry’s aura was so feeble it was easier to spot him by the outline of his body surrounded by the denser aura of the tree. The man lay with his head pressed softly on her shoulder, his hand squeezing her breast.

For a moment she wondered whether he was seeking to wake her, but it was clear he was still deep in his sleep. He twitched and groaned, muttering under his breath and shaking his head. Embla cast a simple silent spell, the words coursed through her lips as she focused her energy to follow the patterns. She made sure to keep her power light. With a mere caress, he relaxed, sighing and sinking into her embrace. She slowly wrapped him closer into her arms, kissing his forehead gently.

A singular sound broke the silence, a growl.

Embla chuckled in amusement. “Of course.”

She let the Hound keep complaining for a while longer as she stroked Barry’s hair between her fingers. Alas, she could not ignore the feralborn maiden forever, even if she did feel tempted to.

A second spell was muttered, her whole hand glowing with a faint green as she caressed Barry’s chest. Spells that placed someone into an unconscious state were useful, but unconsciousness was not restful. So she made sure hers would be one for deep sleep instead.

Untangling herself from Barry’s grasp, Embla threw the bed-sheet over him and walked towards the double-doors of the room, sending the Hound follow. She was uncaring for her nudity. Though the same could not be said about her guards.

“Ma’am!”

Embla needed only to give them a look, and they returned to their posts. She could feel the feralborn Hound trailing within her shadow as she descended the stairs towards the training courtyard. There were a few trainees using it, but she scared them off with a small increase of her aura. With the place left for herself, she waited for the Hound to come out of the shadow. Embla waited, naked and enjoying the light cool breeze of night air.

They both knew the rules of this encounter, it was not their first.

With a savage snarl, the Hound lunged at Embla. Her response was a roundhouse to the chest that sent the maiden flying backwards.

The guards knew better than to come and check.

Embla pressed her advantage, closing the distance in a single step, her fist sinking into the canine’s gut. There was enough resistance to show the Hound had at least put some effort in learning since the last time, the canine used the chance to lashing out to rip out the Lady’s flesh.

She let her.

Long angry strips of blood and skin were gouged out of her arms. The pain surged through Embla’s body like fire, and the next punch found her target’s ribs. Embla punched again despite the claws sinking into her arms, the next attack came harder, hammering the feralborn mutt against the wall. Each impact shook the tree with a concussive blow, the pain of the claws sinking into her biceps pushed her to throw herself harder.

It wasn’t until she felt the protective layer of elemental energy drop and the Hound’s ribs crack that she stopped. Orion was breathing heavily, coughing, blood dripping from her lips. But her claws remained firmly grasping Embla’s biceps, claws having dug themselves past her dark skin.

With barely a flinch, she tore those out and stepped back, letting the Hound drop to the ground. “Is that all?” She growled at the canine, pushing her powers to close the wounds, the bleeding had stopped within seconds. She turned towards the courtyard’s entrance. “Berry.”

The door opened, and two soldiers entered, quickly leaving a small bag with the healing berries. Embla took one out and tossed it at the feralborn that lay on the ground. At least this time the canine hadn’t been dumb enough to throw the offer away, quickly consuming the fruit. It wouldn’t heal her broken ribs, but it would go a long way towards leaving them less of a crippling injury.

The canine whimpered and grunted, slowly raising herself to her feet again.

The growl came back.

Embla nodded solemnly. “Good.”

Lunging forward, her fists came hard and fast. Orion managed to dodge a few, but she lacked the skill and experience to handle someone that could so openly ignore the pain of having her claws rip into them. Admittedly, the difference in experience would have been enough to mark the difference, but even without it, Embla was in a thoroughly advantageous position when it came to a fight with no powers involved. Her breed was faster, stronger, and had not just a powerful ability to self-heal but also to ignore pain.

The primal maidens had made her breed as natural born mage-killers, able to disrupt and deny spells and some of the more complex elemental abilities. Meanwhile, the Hound wasn’t a fighter, she was a hunter. Made to track prey for months and wear them out before delivering death, she had a healing power, but it paled to Embla’s.

But the biggest and true drawback besides inexperience was that a Hound was half-way down her genus, its powers not yet realized in full, she still had another shift left in her… once she became strong enough.

Meanwhile, Embla was at the peak. And had been for nearly half a decade.

The spar took four hours before the Hound could not get back up even with the aid of the berries. She had learned the hard way to dodge rather than block, to move out of the way with the least amount of effort. It was a lesson she’d yet to truly hammer down, but there was a talent in the canine, a clear goal somewhere in the maiden’s mind she was pushing herself to.

By the time the Hound could stand up no more, most bones had broken under the unrelenting fists. No guard stood around watching for long, many of them were familiar with what training a feralborn maiden meant, and none were keen on spectating after the first ten minutes.

Embla gazed down at Orion, proceeding to pour every bit of her power over the creature to show this had been little more than a warm-up to her.

The Hound grunted, growling weakly but not moving.

Embla rolled her eyes and scooped the canine into her arms, walking her towards the apothecary. The resident healer grunted in annoyance, lifting her gaze from the book she’d been reading. “Again?”

“Again.”

Placing the Hound gingerly on the table, the old maiden made an annoyed sound. “You’re trailing blood all over the place.”

“Someone will clean it.”

“You should have cleaned yourself.”

“Your tone should clean itself too.”

With glowing hands the old maiden leaned over the Hound. There was a sound of annoyance, and then rest. The healer glanced at Embla. “You should show more respect to the one who changed your diapers.”

The only response was a cocky smirk as she put her hands on her naked hips. “Going to finish any time soon, hag?”

“For failing to get a feral to bow to you, you’re in a good mood.”

“Perhaps.”

“You fought naked.”

Embla shrugged her shoulders slightly. “Maybe I’ve grown a taste for insolence. Makes it more interesting.”

The healer quirked a brow. “Or maybe you’re proud your male bonded a high-spirited thing.”

The barest hint of color reached Embla’s face. “Maybe.” She rolled her shoulders to remove the tension.

“Don’t think you can fool me, girl, you’ve been parading that bare neck of yours all over.”

“A symbol of freedom.”

“At the hands of a human.” The woman spoke with an edge of steel.

That caused the woman’s eyes to narrow. “What are you trying to insinuate?”

“Nothing, my Lady. I only feel concern about whether you’ve forgotten our cause.”

Embla growled now. “Never.”

“Good.” A slight nod, the old woman leaned away from the unconscious Hound. “Your mother does not have long, and action must be taken.”

“Barry’s not ready.”

“Your mother’s health does not depend on his readiness.” The old woman spoke, meeting Embla’s steel gaze.

“I am aware.”

“If a rush comes through while she is incapacitated like this, we may lose too many to survive.”

“I am aware.”

A harsh nod followed. “Then act like it.”

Embla leveled a glare at the woman, but said nothing. She reached to take Orion from the table and with the feral in her arms, she proceeded to walk over to the nearest shower. She placed the unconscious feral on the floor and allowed the cold water to drench them both. Thoughts of her mother came heavily as she began scrubbing her body clean of the blood, her own wounds closed.

She cared not to dry herself as she headed back to her room.

The guards dared not speak or comment on their Lady carrying a naked drenched Hound back into her chambers. And after laying Orion on the nearest chair, she moved towards the bed, stopping herself at the edge. She looked at the human that slept soundly, hands stretched out in search of someone who was not there. Quietly, in the dark, Embla stared at the pasty pale redhead. The young man whose eyes would still twinkle with wonder and innocence. His warmth called to her with a promise of rest, of peace. A breath of fresh air she had not known she’d needed so desperately.

Had she lost sight of their goals? Had she deluded herself to believe this could continue forever? Fingers reaching for her throat, she caressed where the collar had once been. She could still see the item, its enchantments broken and gone, no more than a piece of leather.

Closing her eyes, Embla steeled her resolve.

She turned towards the dresser, she activated the mage-light to look at her reflection. Her fingers brought the collar up, clicking it around her neck. The sound loud in the silence of the room, her fingers shook for a moment, as if expecting something terrible to happen, of old memories to resurface. But there was nothing, inside or outside, only quiet.

Embla opened her eyes to stare at her reflection once more.

She looked as if a weight had fallen on her shoulders, she knew it to be one that had never left. Her eyes shone with sharpened steel, the soft contours of the hint of the smile she’d worn now gone.

A wave and the light was out.

She turned towards the door, knowing she could not turn to Barry or she’d waver.

The guards froze as she stepped outside, feeling her power as she projected it in full.

She gave but a single command.

“Bring me my armor.”

They ran.