“Begin!” he shouted.
Zaela took the offensive first, lunging at me as she unsheathed a wooden dagger from her boot, slicing it through the air. I unsheathed my own on instinct, blocking her strikes as they came at me.
A smile formed on my face. “Ha!” I yelled with a laugh.
“You think you’re beating me, Princess?” Zaela hissed. “I’m merely playing with you.” I countered another strike. “Tiring you out before I put in somerealeffort.”
Zaela faked a low strike and quickly transitioned into a swinging attack from above—I barely sidestepped before she sent yet another swipe of her wooden blade in my direction.
As we began circling each other, sweat dripped down my brow. A short sense of pride rumbled through me as Ithought of the female I was back in Isla. The princess who had never once broken a sweat or allowed to get even a speck of dirt on her finery gowns, yet always dreamed of adventure—and here I waslivingit.
“Avery, pay attention!” Lia boomed, snapping me from my daydream.
My gaze flew to where the sound of her voice came from to see her approach from behind Gage, Jace right beside her.
Gods-dammit.
“This doesn’t concern you, Lia!” I screeched as I blocked yet another strike. “I’m training!”
“Yes, I can see that. Now focus!” she shouted.
The muscles in my thighs strained as they worked to carry me, quickly pivoting out of the way from where Zaela struck. With a sudden twist, she spun on her heel, lifting her opposite foot, and kicked the wooden dagger from my hand, disarming me.
“No!” I screeched, as she came at me with a wicked grin on her face.
I lifted my own foot and kicked her in the chest, sending her body tumbling backward across the training space.
My jaw dropped as I pivoted and turned to face the others. Lia stood with her arms crossed, a beaming smile of approval on her face. Gage winked at me, and Jace looked…concerned.
Suddenly, Lia’s face dropped. “Avery, look out!” she screeched with a half laugh.
My body crashed into the unforgiving wood beneath our boots as Zaela tackled me to the ground, a battle cry echoing from her. Our bodies became tangled andaggressively rolled across the space as we each threw in a series of punches.
“What's the matter, Zaela? Upset that I beat you?” I taunted her.
“Little princess, it wasIwho disarmedyou,” she breathed.
“Alright, you two, that’s enough,” Lia called as she stalked over to us.
Zaela rolled off me and pulled herself to her feet, offering me her hand. I eyed her skeptically before taking it, allowing her to pull me up.
“It was a good kick, though,” she offered as she rubbed at her chest.
“It sure as hell was!” Lia announced as she pulled me into a hug. “That was badass.”
I giggled nervously. “She disarmed me, though.”
Lia cupped my cheek in her hand. “That’s okay. You’re still learning.”
“A fight with daggers is different from a battlefield with swords,” Jace said as he approached us.
Gage offered me a smile. “She will get there.”
A soft smile tilted my lips at his words.
“She still has a long way to go,” Zaela huffed, and I rolled my eyes. “The sun will be setting soon, and I promised my mother I would be there for dinner, so let's wrap this up, huh?”
I stuck my tongue out at her back the second she turned from us.
