Page 48 of The Verdant Cage
I offer him a hand up. “Oddly enough, Apothecary training helps a lot.”
Eero grins, displaying his easygoing nature. It’s clear why he and Jonas were—no,are—friends. They’re both even-tempered and big-hearted. But Eero’s a few years below us. In fact, wasn’t he in the same class as…
“It’s odd that Albert’s not around,” I say, trying to sound casual. “But I guess I don’t know him well. Were you two ever friends?”
Eero’s thick, dark brows knit together. “Not really. Why?”
Because I think I saw him lurking behind the chapel the morning my mother was killed.“No reason,” I say, pasting on a strained smile. “Just making conversation.” I reach into my pocket and give Lucky Bunny a squeeze.
Across the training ground, Sal gets a well-placed clamp on Gryphon, and he drops to his knees. He lets her help him up and congratulates her, offering tips on how to refine her movements. As much as I want to guard my heart, it does something strange to me to witness how generous he is with his knowledge. I can’t imagine Gryphon’s parents being anything but furious to be bested by a mere villager. Where did he learn this grace?
As if hearing my thoughts, he looks over, his eyes holding mine in a way that feels like physical touch. I turn away, my cheeks flushed.
“You know,” Eero says, glancing between Gryphon and me, “if the two of you played like you were in love instead of, say, announcing to the entire village how much you hate each other in chapel, Misia and Jarek might give you both more freedom.”
He’s not wrong, but my stomach flips as I imagine broaching the subject.
Hey, Gryphon, want to build off that random angry kiss last night and act like we’re not allergic to each other? Maybe hold hands and smile into one another’s eyes occasionally?
“Switch partners,” Gryphon says before I can respond to Eero.
My breath hitches. Are he and I going to spar again? My skin starts humming.
“Oscar, you’re with Eero. Meryl, you move to Rose.”
I tell myself the falling sensation I feel is relief.
Meryl stands in front of me, a serene smile on her pale face. “So, you gonna kick my butt, too?” she asks in her raspy voice. Her expression is open, not a stitch of judgment in it.
“I’m having a good day,” I admit. “Beginner’s luck.”
“Maybe you can share some of it with me?” She smiles, then makes like she’s going to adjust her shirt but instead loops her arm around my neck and drops me to the ground. The impact rattles my teeth. We wrestle for several more rounds. I’m asking her to show me how she managed a wrist lock that blindsided me when I notice Gryphon leave the circle, striding into the cave. He emerges a moment later holding a stack of straight, polished branches, each as tall as him and half as wide around as my wrist.
“Who wants a weapon?”
Eero whoops in joy.
29
I’m all ears as Gryphon reviews basic moves using what he calls the bo staff. We stand in a circle, him at the center. It seems the others have trained with this weapon before, but it’s all new to me. Still, it becomes immediately clear how a tool that allows you to strike from a distance is beneficial in combat. We’re told to treat it as an extension of our arm or leg, only deadlier.
Something crucial when fighting non-human creatures.
“Like what?” I ask. I can’t let it drop. Gryphon told me he’s training the others so they’re able to protect themselves. I don’t know if he shared specifics, but if he knows whoor whatis hunting us inside the Wall, he needs to spill.
Gryphon’s jaw twitches in a gesture I’ve come to suspect means that I’ve annoyed him. “Dangerous animals,” he says. “Beasts.”
“Whatbeasts? Mountain lions?” We’re told our ancestors drove them to extinction generations ago, but then I think of my father, mutilated by a creature no one ever found. “I’ve never seen any.”
“Maybe you were too busy being Little Miss Perfect to notice,” Sal says darkly.
Her words shoot an arrow directly at my heart. I thought we’d all been getting along. “I’m not perfect.”
Meryl puts her hand on Sal’s arm, but the Cobbler girl shakes her off. “Coulda fooled us. Always turned your schoolwork in early. Never missed a sermon. Accepted Nikola as your first betrothed as if you’d been given the moon, even though we all know you wanted someone else.” She shoots Gryphon a glance, and I swallow my gasp before she locks her angry eyes back on me. “Let my grandmother die.” She uses her foot to flip a staff into her hand, tosses it to me, and then grabs another. “We saw you, those of us who didn’t fit inside the system.”
“Didn’t fit in?” I ask, bewildered. No one was more of an outsider than me. “Everyone knows you’ve always had a close friend in Meryl. That your betrothed, Simon, will be an excellent addition to the Cobbler House.”
Sal shakes her head. “Simon is awful. I’d never pick him.”
