Chapter 31 Unsteady firund
EIRLYS’ POV
For days now, Solara has been teaching me how to sit without fidgeting, how to walk without looking at the floor, and how to speak with a confidence I don’t quite feel yet. I’ve learned how to hold a teacup without gripping it like a weapon, which spoon to use for what, and how to glide into a room as if I’ve belonged there all my life.
She calls it poise.
I’ve managed to pick up a few things-but the confidence part? I’m still working on it.
Sometimes, even during sword training with Orryx, catch Solara watching me from the sidelines. And every now and then, she doesn’t hesitate to call out my posture.
She says it’s important to maintain the proper stande-no matter what I’m doing.
There have even been a few moments when she corrected Orryx’s form, too. Which, judging by the way his jaw tightens, absolutely infuriates him.
Mirael was a different story.
She’s stopped pretending to tolerate me.
Ever since the day she walked in on Kierygan and me in the study-me glowing in his arms-her looks have turned sharper. Her comments, crueler. Not in front of others, of course. Just enough to sting.
Earlier, in my rush to meet Solara downstairs, I rounded a corner too quickly and collided with someone-hard. Mirael. She hadn’t been watching where she was going, and I hadn’t had time to
stop.
“Will you watch it,” she snapped.
I nearly fidgeted out of instinct, but Solara’s voice echoed in my mind. Stand tall. Don’t shrink.
So I straightened and met her glare. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I was in a rush. I didn’t see you.”
She folded her arms and looked down at me with disdain. “All these lessons, and you’ve learned nothing,” she said. “You’re wasting the kingdom’s resources.”
For a moment, I froze, unsure how to respond.
But then a calm, firm voice cut through the tension “What’s going on here?” Solara asked from
behind her.
Mirael turned slowly. “So, you’re the tutor,” she said, folding her arms again. This time, like a
challenge.
Solara didn’t blink. “I am,” she said evenly. “And I heard what you said.”
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* Chapter 31 Um teady Ground
Mirael’s jaw twitched, but she held her posture, brows arched in feigned innocence.
“If
you have concerns about resource allocation,” Solara continued, “I suggest you bring them
directly to the king. Unless you’ve forgotten who appointed me.”
“Maybe do a better job, then,” Mirael said sweetly.
Claim
Solara took a single step forward. Not threatening. But the air around her shifted. “Or maybe it’s yo
u who needs a refresher,” she said. “On manners.”
The silence crackled between them. Then Mirael turned on her heel and strode off. I let out the
breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
Solara glanced at me, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “You held your ground.”
“I almost didn’t,” I admitted.
“But you did,” she said, her smile lingering. “And that’s what counts.”
Solara said nothing more. She simply turned and gestured for me to follow. So I did.
We passed through the council wing in silence. The corridor was quiet and sunlit, windows pouring
light across the stone floor. Past the walls, out into the courtyard, where the breeze smelled of earth and growing things.
I hadn’t expected our path to lead to the stables.
The scent of hay and leather hit me as we stepped inside. Sunlight filtered through the wooden
slats overhead, catching in the dust that danced lazily in the air. It was warm and dim, the quiet
broken only by the soft shuffle of hooves and the occasional snort of a resting mount.
“You’re going to teach me to ride?” I asked, blinking in surprise.
Solara gave a small nod, brushing a speck of straw from her sleeve. “A lady must know how to ride without bouncing like a sack of flour,” she said. “Posture, grace, and poise. Not just to impress, but
to endure.”
She moved toward a tall white horse near the back of the stable, his silver mane glinting like ice
under the dappled light. My breath caught.
I knew that horse.
I remembered the feel of wind ripping through my hair, his hooves pounding beneath me, that
single wild flight from the tower… my first taste of open sky.
“Blizzard,” I whispered.
Solara glanced back with a faint smile. “The king said he likes you.”
She stroked his neck gently, then took the reins and led him forward. “Today, we’re just getting you
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