Path of Dragons

The clash of practice swords filled the air as Sadie's dull, wooden blade met her foe's. Miguel stepped backward, creating a little room between them, but Sadie pressed on. Her practice sword had been created in perfect mimicry of Final Verdict, so it was much heavier than Miguel's comparatively thinner weapon. Despite that advantage, he'd so far held his own, which had initially surprised Sadie.

The practice bout had been ongoing for more than three hours, and they'd gained a significant audience. The children were there, but so were many of the elven refugees that wished so fervently to join the grove.

And Nara too, of course.

She was always around, acting as if she had no idea what effect she had on men. The only saving grace was that she didn't encourage it, though that didn't deter people like Isaak, whose eyes rarely left her compact, yet lithe body. He was barely more than a teenager, so his obsession was more forgivable. Most of her other admirers were old enough to know better, though.

Thankfully, they were not allowed on the island.

Miguel came in low, though Sadie recognized it for the feint it was. She lifted her foot, then redirected into a pivot that sent her practice blade screaming in her opponent's direction. He reacted quickly, pulling back and slapping the oncoming attack aside. Sadie's weapon only moved an inch, but that was enough to foul her attempt to end the sparring session.

She regained her balance in time to block the follow-up attack meant to take advantage of her mistake. The clash would have shattered mundane blades, but both of their practice weapons were made of grove wood. As such, they could take far more punishment than most metals.

The two combatants broke apart.

"Ready to concede?" asked Miguel.

"Funny," she responded. "I was going to ask you the same question."

The reality was that neither would give in, and they both knew it. Both were far too prideful to admit defeat. What's more, their competitive natures mirrored one another, which meant that they would continue to fight until a true winner emerged.

Of course, if they had used abilities, Sadie would not have had any trouble at all. Nor would it have been a contest if they had been allowed to express the full measure of their attributes. Both wore shackles – silver bracelets Miguel had brought back from the Hollow Depths – that brought their attributes to more sedate levels. At present, Sadie was only as strong as a level twenty-five, and Miguel's attributes were at a similar level. So, they could only fight with the skill they'd earned with the blade.

And Sadie had to admit that the young man was more than just talented. She'd been a practitioner of jianfa for as long as she could remember. She had won countless tournaments, and she'd learned even more since the world had changed. Yet, Miguel kept up with her.

He was less skilled. She knew that from the very beginning. However, his reaction speeds were even faster than hers, and he fought with a level of creativity that made his style difficult to counter.

The result was that, for the past few hours, they were close to evenly matched.

Which added to Sadie's ongoing frustration, much of which had nothing to do with swordplay or Miguel.

Over the next few minutes, they continued to clash. Parries led to counterattacks, followed by dodges, and facilitated by nearly perfect footwork. Neither managed to get an upper hand until, at last, Sadie saw an opening.

Miguel thrust, clearly expecting Sadie to avoid the attack – which she did. What he didn't expect was for her to drop her sword, grab his wrist, and pivot. In the space of a second, he was flipping through the air, only to hit the ground with a sudden thud.

The gathered crowd gasped as Sadie pounced, taking advantage of his briefly stunned state, and holding a dagger at his throat.

"Yield."

He struggled, but Sadie had pinned one of his arms with her knee, while the other grabbed his sweaty hair. He clawed at her forearm, but it was useless.

"Yield!" she repeated.

Finally, he seemed to realize that he couldn't win, so he tapped her arm, signaling his surrender. Sadie released him, then retreated from her position atop him. The second she had a little distance, she removed the shackle from around her wrist, and the normal effect of her attributes came flooding back in.

She let out a sigh of relief. The influx didn't cure her fatigue, but it did make her feel a lot better.

By that point, Miguel had risen to his knees. He removed his shackle as well. In the middle of the grove, his attributes weren't far off from Sadie's. Given that he was much, much lower level, that was an impressive thing.

"I thought I had you this time," he muttered without looking back as Sadie approached. When she was standing in front of him, he looked up and added, "I also thought we were working on swordsmanship, not judo moves."

Sadie shrugged, offering her hand. "We were. Discarding your weapon can sometimes be your only recourse."

Stolen novel; please report.

He just shook his head, then let her help him to his feet. He ran his hand through his wet hair and said, "You sound like Ivin."

"I look forward to meeting him."

"When?" Miguel asked. "You know the situation down there. If we wait too long…"

"I know. Things are in motion."

Indeed, she'd spoken to Ivanka while she was in Svetogorsk, and Elijah was supposed to liaise with Ironshore. The fact was that the troll threat probably was far too large an issue for a couple of people to tackle alone. They needed an army, and that sort of thing took time to organize.

Sadie knew that better than most.

So, she'd been waiting, and if she was honest, recuperating. Fighting a war was no easy thing to endure, and she had desperately needed a break. The problem was that she also needed to move, which meant that she was constantly at war with herself.

And now she had to worry about that elf.

Rationally, she understood that Elijah had no reason to stray from their relationship. He'd shown no indicator that he was interested in Nara at all. And yet, jealousy was often illogical. Couple that with the fact that Sadie had very little experience with relationships, and she was wholly unprepared to deal with her feelings.

"You want to go again?" Miguel asked.

She shook her head. "I need rest and to meditate on the fight so I can correct my mistakes."

"Oh. Me too, I guess," he said, glancing toward Hope.

Sadie struggle not to laugh. "Go. Life isn't just about training and fighting. We need to take time for enjoyment as well."

That was the permission he needed, and he hurried away, finally acting like the teenager he was. Within moments, he and Ron's daughter disappeared down the path to one of the beaches. The pair were smitten with one another, which went a long way toward reestablishing Sadie's faith in humanity.

A rustle of leaves and a quiet gasp from the dispersing crowd announced the arrival of a newcomer.

"You should follow your own advice."

Sadie didn't need to turn to know that Elijah had returned. "When did you get back?"

"Just now. I…I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

Then, he went on to explain what had taken him so long. He'd told her he was only going for a quick flight to clear his head, but that had ended up taking the better part of an entire day and night.

When he'd finished, he added, "I just killed that gnome. I was fine with it, too. No guilt at all. Even back when I killed those hunters, I felt something. I buried it deep, but it was there all the same. This was different."

Thankfully, the crowd had begun to disperse as soon as the fight was over, and Elijah's arrival had hastened that. So they were alone in the clearing near the grove. He sat on a nearby fallen tree, and Sadie settled in next to him.

"Justice is a complex subject," she said. "Sometimes, my abilities help me to figure it out, but they're almost entirely black and white. Right and wrong. There are no shades of gray. I can see the worst parts of people's actions."

"I know."

She tapped her head. "Up here, you do. But that's only part of it. Seeing it. Feeling it. Smelling it. It's overwhelming," she pointed out. Indeed, if Sadie hadn't advanced her mind cultivation and quarantined Sense of Sin, she'd have long since driven herself mad. Even now, the knowledge of what it told her about every person loomed over her, ready to influence her thoughts and actions at any given moment.

She continued, "I overcame it, though. Instincts are useful. They're there for a reason. But we can't be wholly driven by them. The ability to overcome our instincts and think rationally is what separates us from beasts."

Elijah stared ahead at the matted grass of their makeshift practice grounds. "Sometimes, I wonder if there's that much of a gap between me and them. The beasts, I mean. And then there's the dragon in me, always influencing me. I thought I'd gotten a handle on it all – the balance between all three – but it still wavers sometimes."

"Power can be a burden. As we grow stronger, the more vigilant we must be."

"I guess."

For a long time, the pair just sat there until Elijah shifted a little closer and put his arm around her. She leaned close. Neither were at their best. Sadie was covered in sweat and dust, while Elijah had spent an entire day out in the wilderness. Still, she didn't think about that. Rather, the only thing on her mind was how nice it was that they had a few moments together.

"We need to talk," she said at last.

"I don't like the sound of that. What did I do wrong?"

"Besides dragging a half-naked elf to your magic cave?"

"Oh."

"Oh is right."

"Nothing happened," he insisted. "You know that, don't you?"

"She said you lectured her about life and death," Sadie responded.

"Doesn't sound like me."

She turned her head slightly, then fixed him with a look of disbelief.

"Okay, so that's kind of accurate," he admitted. "But she was criticizing how I use my cultivation cave. Not for nothing, but what I said was right. That's how nature works. It's the circle of life."

"Did you just quote The Lion King?"

"No. I mean – not really. Referenced, maybe. Besides – I didn't think you watched stuff like that."

"Everybody watched Disney cartoons, Elijah."

"What was your favorite? You seem like a Mulan kind of girl."

"Because I am Chinese?"

"What? No. Because it has the highest body count."

She sighed. "If you must know, The Beauty and the Beast was my favorite. My French tutor showed me the French version, and I fell in love with it," she admitted. Before Elijah could say anything, she went on to say, "I had something of a…princess phase. My grandfather did not approve."

"That tracks," Elijah stated. He'd made his feelings about Song Tianwei very clear.

"He's not a bad person. He's just…"

"A bad person."

Sadie looked away. She couldn't really argue with that assessment, especially after her last visit. However, it was one thing to rationally understand the truth of that label and to accept that it applied to her grandfather. She had enough good memories of the man to make thinking of him in those terms very difficult.

"That's not what I wanted to talk about," she said in an attempt to get the conversation back on track. "I wanted to talk about us. We never had a conversation about how to categorize our relationship."

"Oh. That. Me giving you a ring didn't make it clear?" he asked with a grin.

Sadie blushed at that memory. She liked Elijah, but when she'd seen that gift, she'd jumped to all the wrong conclusions. Of course, it was mostly his fault. After all, he had to know the significance of giving a woman a ring.

"I'm being serious."

Elijah took a deep breath. "I like you. I think you like me. Am I wrong?"

She shook her head.

"Then what's to discuss?"

"Exclusivity. Labels. Those matter."

"I have no intention of being with anyone else. I'm a one-woman kind of guy. And as for labels? Do you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked. "Ugh. That sounds so awkward. Like I'm in middle school passing you a note asking if you wanted to go steady. Check yes or no."

"I check yes."

He let out a breath. "Wow. So, I thought I knew what you were going to say there, but that's still nerve-wracking. The natural male fear of rejection by a beautiful woman, I guess. We all have nightmares about it."

She rolled her eyes.

"So…hot tub?"

Sadie shook her head. "No. Shower first. Then bed."

"It's mid-morning."

"I know."

"Oh. I…I like that idea."