Page 49 of For the Strange and Surprising

“That was a filthy comment that shouldn’t have left my mind, much less my mouth.”

“Are you coming or not?”

I start to speak, then squeeze my eyes shut. “I can’t answer that, but I would like to go to today’s lesson.”

When I pry my eyes open, he looks as if he’s about to burst with laughter. I stride right out the door, chastising myself all the way to the Colosseum. It takes me the entire walk to realize that he’s done the same thing I’ve been doing. And when I finally get to that conclusion, it brings me to a sudden stop.

Talodus bumps into my back, wrapping his arm around my waist before I can lose my balance.

“What’s wrong?”

I look down at his arm, then lean to glance at him over my shoulder. “Uhm… Nothing.”

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“I feel…” I glance down again. “I feel a lot of things right now, Talodus. I’m going to need you to let me go before I do something really stupid, not just say dumb shit.”

“Oh.” He releases me, stepping back as he clears his throat.

“Yeah. We’re going to have to keep our distance until Spiran learns some boundaries. But I’m glad it’s not just me.”

“You two look friendly,” Connak greets us from behind me.

I purse my lips as I whisper to Talodus, “She’s trying to kill me.”

He nods in agreement before speaking over my head. “Did you get the spears?”

I turn to smile at Connak, and he passes me a weapon without pause. It’s not as heavy as I was expecting, but it’s also missing a foot of length compared to some of the others lined up along the fence.

“I still think we should start with a dagger,” he mentions to Talodus.

“It was the only weapon she wanted to pla—learn to use.” He catches himself. “We’ll start here and see if she can handle the size.”

“Jesus, Neptune, and Osiris,” I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck.

Talodus shakes his head. “Everything I say is going to sound like that, isn’t it?”

“Sound like what?” Connak inquires before making it worse. “If that shaft is too short, then I brought out some other options. She can’t go too big, though. It’ll throw off her balance.”

I cover my face as my cheeks begin to ache from holding the laughter at bay. I suck in a deep breath and give them a strained grin. Spiran may or may not be responsible for what I say, but she is tampering with my feelings. I’m struggling to keep my mouth shut right now, so I just… don’t.

“I think this shaft is as good a place as any to start, Connak. It’s thicker than what I’m used to, but I’ll adjust to the weight. The tip is—”

“Ada,” Talodus warns through his chuckling, and I shrug.

“You’ve used a spear before?” Connak stares at me in disbelief.

I nod. “Not like this, but yeah. We used to go spearfishing. Something happened to the gun my dad was using on one trip, so he taught me how to throw them into the water. I doubt it’s the same thing, though there is a familiarity here.”

Talodus shakes his head, sobering his thoughts. “Let’s get started then.”

They waste no more time chatting as they lead me to the fence and start walking me through more basics. They begin by correcting my stance and arm positions, making minor alterations with every attempted throw. I get close to the straw target several times before telling them I need to take a break.

My arms throb, and that has a part of me missing the pain that comes from an intense workout.

I sit on the ground, leaning against the fence as I watch them throw the longer spears. After a few minutes, I stand and move so I can study their profiles. From the width between their feet to the angles of their arms, I soak it all in.

I think I might actually have the wrong size shaft. The smaller arrow on the end is adequate, but Connak estimated where to start based on my height, not my core strength. And I’ve been throwing with my arm, not my whole body.