Restart Again: Volume 2 by Adam Scott (best adventure books to read .TXT) 📗

of the sound of applause coming from beside us. Marten had taken to his feet and was cheering loudly beside Hana, who seemed to have traded her nervous demeanor for one of excitement.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I dropped into a relaxed stance. “Alright! I’d say that was a decent warm up, wouldn’t you?”

Lia took a moment to catch her breath, then smiled. “Now we can get to the real practice, right?”

“Warm up?” Marten called out incredulously. “That was some of the best fighting I’ve ever seen! What else do you have to practice?”

“I’d say that was like fighting with one hand behind my back,” Lia replied, moving to retrieve our stick weapons from the dirt. “Now we can pull out all the stops.” She paused as she handed me my broom handle. “Right?”

“Let’s leave Pain Reduction and Strength off the table for now. I’d like to test those out in a more controlled setting first.” I rolled my shoulders and tapped into my mana reserves. “Everything else is fair game.”

We squared off again, this time with a pause to chant out combat enhancements. I watched the world sharpen and oversaturate before me as the mana activated, and I could tell by her expression that Lia was experiencing the same. A cloud of dust kicked out behind her as she sprinted towards me far faster than her first approach. I dug my heels into the dirt and brought my weapon up to block her first attack, an overhead blow which channeled all of her forward momentum.

There was a loud snap as both of our makeshift weapons burst into splinters, showering me with shards of wood. Lia looked up at me with a mix of confusion and amusement, and we both broke out into a fit of laughter. Marten and Hana sat in stunned silence, looking back and forth from one another to where we stood. As our laughter died down, I heard another round of applause, but it came from the opposite end of the barn from where Lia’s parents were seated.

I turned to find Valandra leaning against a stack of crates, her armor sparkling in the midday sun. “That was impressive, Lia. You are far more skilled than I expected,” she called out in her usual monotone voice. “Given the circumstances, that is a great relief.”

“Ah. I suppose it must be midday, then,” I sighed. “We’ll have to end our session here for now, Lia. I promised a meeting to our new acquaintance here.”

Lia nodded but caught my arm as I moved to leave and pulled me down to whisper in my ear. “Are you going to be alright?”

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled. “I’ll be fine. I’m feeling...a bit better now, thanks to you.” Her cheeks flushed lightly as she returned my smile, and I gave her shoulder a squeeze. With a final nod I turned and crossed the arena to where Valandra stood. “If you could follow me, please,” I said, motioning out toward the road.

As we left, I heard Marten whisper excitedly behind me. “Marlia. Marlia! Is that the King’s Shield? Here, at our house? Why does she know your name? Are you working with her? How did you meet her? Why is…” I let my combat enhancements drop and the whispering faded away behind the gentle midday breeze.

I mulled over what to say as we walked to the edge of the property in silence. After my talk with Lia it was clear that I had to make amends for how I treated Valandra when we last spoke, but that knowledge didn’t make the process of doing so any easier. I stopped when I reached the dirt road at the edge of the front yard and stared out across the empty field before me, still unsure of how to proceed.

“Lux. I have been given new information about the situation in Attetsia,” Valandra started, not waiting for me to turn and address her. “The situation may be more advanced than we originally anticipated. Based on the most recent reports—”

“Wait,” I cut in, spinning to face her. “Before we get into the details, I have something I need to say.” Valandra gave me a nod to continue, watching me with interest. My hands opened and closed at my sides as I took a deep breath. “I need to...apologize for my behavior yesterday. You’ve treated me with nothing but respect since we met, and I was rude and aggressive in response.” My words came haltingly as I chose each one with care, and it took more strength than I had expected to hold her gaze. “I let my past experiences with royalty influence my opinion of you. That was wrong of me, and I’m sorry.”

Valandra’s expression changed for the first time since I met her. Her eyes softened, and I could see the faintest trace of a smile on her lips. “Thank you, Lux. I accept your apology.” The features of her face quickly locked back into the impassive mask that I had come to expect from her. “I had worried that our time together would be difficult, but I am relieved to find that may not be the case.”

I nodded in response. “I will do my best to give you the respect you deserve going forward. I’m sure there will be times where I fail to do so, and I hope you’ll call me out when it happens. Wounds don’t heal overnight, but that’s no excuse for my behavior.” I laughed softly. “I’m sure Lia will do her best to keep me in line, as well.”

A miraculous sound reached my ears in the form of a gentle laugh from Valandra. Some small part of me had believed she was incapable of laughter based on how serious our interactions had been; I smiled, happy to be proven wrong. “She seems to be a very passionate young girl. And capable as well, judging by the display I saw when I arrived.”

“I’ve been training with her