“Do you want it to be?” He smirked and resumed his combatant posture.
“No,” I whined, backing up and spreading my feet apart.
Sebastian stared into my eyes intently, waiting for my next attack. I hid my arms behind my back, switching which hand held the blade as I charged at him again.
He noticed my attempt to throw him off and stepped out ofmy way. His body twisted, his chest pressing against my back as he grabbed me. He held me to him with both arms, then slammed our bodies down on the mat. He was much gentler than Sawyer had been, but the impact still caused me to release the dagger.
“Oldest trick in the book.” His words lingered tauntingly into my ear.
“Damn it,” I groaned as he lifted his weight off of me and jumped to his feet. I rolled to my back and sat up, scowling at him. “You aren't going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“What's the fun in that?”
“We aren't doing this because it's fun.”
His eyes narrowed on me. “Oh trust me, I know. Battles aren't fun. They're messy. Bloody. They reek like death.” He smiled smugly then spun to return to his place on the mat. “But training for them doesn't have to be that way.”
With his back to me, I jumped to my feet, holding my blade out. I ran at him, slamming my body into his from behind, causing him to jolt forward. I wrapped one arm around his side to hold him still, then lifted my dagger, preparing to stab it in his back. But he was too fast and too strong. He turned his torso so sharply that it tore my arm from his waist and left us standing face-to-face.
I lowered the dagger and stared at him with disappointment on my face. His lips curved up, and I creased my forehead in frustration.
“No wonder you're a head soldier.” When it came to combat, Sebastian was really talented.
We spent another hour practicing. Only once did I come remotely close to hitting Sebastian's armor with my dagger, but he deflected the move before I could complete it.
We concluded the session when my movements began to get heavy-handed. The extent of our training left us both dripping sweat and breathing heavily by the end of it.
“I thought I was getting better at combat, but apparently not,” I panted.
“You are doing really well. Big improvement from the first day of combat class,” Sebastian teased.
“Not funny,” I shot back as I let my body collapse onto the mat where I drank from my canteen, taking deep breaths between each sip to try and regulate my breathing.
Sebastian sat down next to me, not nearly as breathless. “Tomorrow we can switch positions and you can try some more defensive techniques.”
“Will I get to wear armor?” I asked.
“No need to.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t miss,” he deadpanned.
I brushed a few sweat-coated strands of hair away from my eyes and nodded. “Can't wait,” I said sarcastically. I was already exhausted. Wielding practice after this was going to completely drain me. The king wanting us to do this every day seemed excessive, but as usual, I didn't get a say.
I took another sip from my flask, and I couldn't stop my eyes from ogling at Sebastian as he stood up. He unclasped the buckles of his armor then lifted the chest plate over his head. The metal made a loud clash as he threw it down on the mat.
“I can’t imagine that's very comfortable.”
He shrugged. “You get used to it.”
Sebastian lifted the edge of his shirt, using it to wipe the sweat on his forehead. The ridges of his abdomen flexed and heat rose inside of me as I admired his physique.
Fuck.
I choked on my water. To muffle my cough, I turned my head and wiped my mouth, trying to rid myself of dirty thoughts.
“You good?”
