She let one eye narrowly open. Through the scorching winds, she could barely make out the body in front of her.
Theodon, he was blocking the blow.
He was so close she could reach out and touch his boots. He kept his arms raised toward the assault of fire. Not a single flame touched him. It soared around him, parting to either side, his body creating the divide. Still, the terrible burning winds stole the air from Helaina’s lungs. She couldn’t tolerate this much longer.
Through squinted eyes she watched Theodon advance, pushing back the fire with every step. The blast retreated, simmering into smaller flares. He clenched both of his fists, and the fire drake’s mouth clamped shut in unison, extinguishing the flame completely. Breyer struggled and clawed at her own snout, shaking her head frantically. Her scaled form shrank, and her womanly figure reappeared.
Fee ran to meet her, inspecting her mate as the smell of smoke and ash flooded the valley. She placed her delicate hands on Breyer’s spiked pauldrons, throwing the armored pieces to the side. Breyer seemed taken aback, deeply disturbed by the interference and who had caused it.
When Fee looked at Helaina, there was no animosity in her gaze. Helaina could have sworn she saw a glimmer of respect there. “I would consider the matter settled, Captain. Breyer is the victor,” Fee declared.
Helaina’s breaths grew ragged through the unrelenting pain. “She cheated.”
Theodon turned to look down at her. “There is no cheating. There is nofairhere. There are those who get to live and walk away, and those who fertilize the grass with their corpses. You better decide soon which one you want to be, before someone decides it for you.”
Helaina was fuming.
“If you insist on being technical about it, you’re the cheater. It was supposed to be one-on-one combat. I intervened.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
He picked her up off the ground, hoisting her within inches of his chest. “There you go again, avoiding a simple thank-you. Would you have preferred I let you roast alive?”
She glared up at him. “I tried, I used my powers. I did what you said.”
“You did,” he admitted. “It was... impressive. Where did you learn to wield a sword?”
“My brother.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask further.
“I see...” His eyes danced from her to the surrounding crowd. “Despite your efforts, Fee is right, you lost. You’re in for a long night.”
Her jaw twitched. “What do you mean? I did exactly what you asked me to.”
“Here, if you lose in the arena, you take night watch duty in one of the towers.”
Her jaw dropped. “Night watch? Now?” Her energy had been completely depleted. She wanted a bed.
She heard snickering all around as the crowd disassembled and funneled back underground. Breyer gave her one last look, which didn’t seem as furious and bloodthirsty.
“Maybe a night in the south tower will motivate you to win next time.”
A few lit torches marked the beginnings of a bridge a couple of miles away from the training valley. She could hear the swinging of knotted ropes on wood as the structure rocked in the breeze. Firelight beamed on the other side of the deep canyon, indicating the end of the hanging walkway.
“You have a lot to learn, but you fought well back there.”
“Is that your version of a compliment?”
Theodon ignored her. “You need more endurance, more strength. That’s for certain.”
“Then get a better watchman.” She scowled. She just wanted to sleep. He was right, though. She had been strong once, especially during the long months when Adriel had trained her. She wanted that strength back.
“Ihavebetter watchmen. They are up there waiting for you to join them.”
She looked past the bridge to the other side of the canyon. There in the darkness was a single stone tower stretching up toward the sky.
“You will report for training every morning after tonight. That includes tomorrow. Whether you’re sore or not, whether you’re tired or not, you will show up and learn to fight like one of us.”
“I can fight fine.”
