Erec’s heart swelled with love for her, and he knew at that moment that he did not care what others thought-he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
“Will you marry me?” he asked her directly.
She lowered her head, and Erec stepped forward, placed a hand gently on her chin, and raised it.
She looked up at him, and her eyes were filled with tears.
“You cry,” he said, crushed. “That is a no.”
She shook her head.
“They are tears of joy, my lord,” she said. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I wanted nothing else,” she said. “My heart was too overwhelmed to say it. I dared not to dream.”
They embraced, and he held her tight in a hug. The feel of her body enwrapped in his was greater than anything he had felt in his life.
“Please, my lord,” she whispered into his ear. “Win this jousting. Win it for me.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Thor, drenched in sweat, stood with the other boys in the Legion, trying to catch his breath. The second sun was at its peak, beating down on him overhead, and it had been a relentless day already.
After gaining permission from the Kavos and finally finding their way back to the other Legion members the night before, they had all crashed on the desert floor. It felt to Thor as if he had just closed his eyes when he had been awakened early, at the crack of dawn of another day-and since then, they had not stopped training all day long.
It was the first day of training of The Hundred, and it was more grueling than anything he could imagine. They had been sparring since the morning, breaking off into groups with all different ages. They practiced throwing spears at moving targets; clanging shields for hours; sparring with extra-heavy swords; jumping over ravines; and wrestling with each other. As he turned and looked around, he saw that all the boys looked exhausted. It was as if they had crammed a week’s worth of training into a morning, without a rest between. Every muscle in his body ached. He could not imagine how they could possibly keep up this pace for a hundred days. Maybe that was the point.
Finally, the commanders had summoned them all together, and he stood there with the others, catching his breath and staring back at Kolk, who paced among them.
“We have brought you to this island for a reason,” he boomed. “Training here is different than anywhere in the world. If we wanted to engage you in technical exercises, we would have kept you back in the Ring. Here, there are unique aspects to training, to becoming a warrior, which you will learn nowhere else in the world. This island is known as a training ground to the elite warriors of every kingdom-not just the Ring. They come here from all corners of the globe to train, to learn techniques from each other, to spar with each other. And now it is time to expose you to the best of the best.
“IN FORMATION!” Kolk screamed.
The boys fell into rows of two, side-by-side, Thor standing next to Reese, and began marching up the steep hill, Krohn walking beside them. Thor looked up and saw that this hill seemed to climb right into the sky, the sun beating into his eyes. He could hardly believe they were marching to the top. Even reaching the plateau they had been sparring on had taken hours; to reach the top of this mountain would likely take them hours more.
Reese huffed beside him, out of breath.
“You know not everyone comes back,” said Malic. He was speaking to William who marched beside him. Thor could see the terror in William’s eyes, and he guessed Malic’s point was to scare him. Malic must have sensed that William was more sensitive than the others, and it seemed he wanted to break him. Thor did not understand what Malic’s problem was. Did he hate everyone? Or was he born evil?
“What do you mean?” William asked, fearful.
“There’s a quota, you know,” Malic said. “To the Legion. Even if we do well, they have to leave some of us behind.”
“That’s not true,” Reese said.
“That’s what I heard,” Malic said.
“Not everyone makes the Legion,” Elden corrected, turning around. “But that’s not because there’s a quota. That’s because they fail out. It’s based on performance.”
“They wouldn’t leave us here, behind on this island, would they?” William asked, fear in his voice.
“Of course they would,” Malic answered.
William looked at his surroundings with a new sense of fear. There came an awful squawking noise, and they looked up as a huge bird swooped down low and circled over them. It looked like a buzzard, but had three heads and a long yellow tail. It seemed to stare right at William. It squawked again and raised its tail.
“What’s that?” William asked.
“A galtross,” Reese said. “A scavenger.”
“They say it singles out the walking dead,” Malic added. “Whoever it follows will die next.”
It squawked right at William, and Thor could see him overcome by fear.
“Why don’t you leave him alone?” Thor said to Malic.
“I will treat him anyway I wish,” Malic said. “And when I’m finished, I’ll turn to you.”
Thor watched Malic’s hand slip down and rest on his belt, on his dagger.
Krohn snarled at Malic.
“Try anything against my friend, and it will be my knife you feel in your back,” Reese said to Malic.
“And mine,” O’Connor added.
But Malic, unfazed, only smiled. He actually let out a laugh as he turned back and continued to march.
“The Hundred is long,” he said ominously, then fell silent.
The group, filled with a tense silence, continued to march.
The incline of the mountain became more steep, and soon they hand to nearly get down on their hands and knees and crawl their way up.
After what felt like hours, Thor’s legs burning, finally, they reached a wide plateau at the very top of the mountain. All the boys collapsed, Thor among them.
They lay there, breathing hard, engulfed in an actual cloud. It was impossible to see anything, enveloped in the mist. Thor lay there, gasping for air, more tired than he ever thought possible.
“ON YOUR FEET!” came a scream.
Somehow, Thor forced himself to his feet with all the other boys, and as they did, the cloud lifted. Thor was shocked to see, standing there, a large group of disparate warriors. At their head was the fiercest looking warrior Thor had ever seen. His skin was a light green, his head was bald, he was three times the size of any man, he wore no shirt and short pants, and his muscles bulged. He had three scars across his chest and was missing one eye, and on his weapons belt hung nearly every manner of weapon. He was a one-man army.
Behind him stood a dozen warriors, of all different sizes and races and shapes. They were the most exotic looking warriors Thor had ever seen, and he could tell they had come from countries far and wide outside the Ring. He was breathless. Real warriors. These men were his heroes. He had never met anyone from outside the Ring, much less other warriors.
“This is Kibotu,” Kolk announced. “He is the resident trainer on this island. Warriors seek him out from all corners of the globe. He has trained the very best, and he is among the very best himself.”
Kibotu gave Kolk a brief nod of respect, then looked over the Legion members. Thor felt as if he were staring right through him, and felt inadequate in his presence.
“Every year they bring to us a new crop of young warriors. Every year some of you make it, and some of you don’t. A warrior’s heart is strong. His spirit is stronger. This island is here to teach you the spirit of a warrior. It is an unforgiving place. Make no mistakes. Respect it, and it will respect you.”
Thor looked over Kibotu’s shoulder, and beyond him he could make out a training ground. There were various structures, vast sparring grounds, and dozens of warriors hard at work, training with every weapon imaginable. He watched warriors shooting bows and arrows into targets, hurling spears, attacking dummies with swords, and charging each other with lances. This place was alive with the warrior’s spirit.