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I watched as his best friend, Sophia Diego, entered the room and took the spot next to him. Her dark, wavy hair was tied up, with delicate strands framing her round, pretty face. She and Peter normally partnered up for this class, which I considered pointless because neither was particularly skilled in fighting. They were never going to learn anything from each other. I, on the other hand, could teach Peter a thing or two.
I looked around, searching for Ren Tanaka. I’d wanted to thank him for sticking up for me earlier, but it seemed he wasn’t in this class.
“Welcome back, everybody,” Mr Roe said, his accent distinctly Irish. “I hope you all had an enjoyable break. Today we’ll concentrate on takedowns, but I want to mix things up a little. You won’t be sparring with your usual partners. I want you all to challenge yourselves and partner up with someone new.”
Grace and I shared a glance. We were always each other’s sparring partners, and we liked it that way. Both of us were of a similar height and physical strength. Plus, sticking together meant we didn’t have to interact with any of our classmates. Added bonus.
Then again, maybe Mr Roe was onto something. I wasn’t always going to go up against my ideal sparring partner. Who knew what kind of adversaries I’d come across out in the real world.
Before I could think of who to ask to be my partner, Nic appeared in front of us, his shy eyes meeting Grace’s. “You’re probably going to kick my arse, but do you want to be partners?”
Grace smiled. “Sure. I’ll go easy on you, though. I wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face.”
She pinched his cheek, and Nic blushed before turning his attention to me.
“Darya, I feel so awful about what happened in Mr Williams’ class. He’s good friends with my father, but I always thought he was a bit of a dickhead.”
Grace mock gasped. “Nic! Did you just swear?”
“I swear sometimes,” he defended.
“No, you don’t. You’re our favourite little choir boy, and I won’t have you any other way.”
He shook his head at her while I reached out and squeezed his arm. “It’s fine. I’m not being suspended, at least.”
“That’s a relief,” Nic replied, and I moved out of the way so that he could take my spot beside Grace.
Glancing around the room, it seemed like everyone had already found a new partner. Even Sophia had found someone, a tall, slim warlock named Oscar. My pulse pounded when I saw that Peter still stood alone in the same spot. No one had offered to pair up with him, and my legs moved before I had time to think through what I was doing.
Stop. Don’t do this. He probably hates you just as much as his father does.
“Hey,” I said, ignoring my brain’s protestations as I reached him. Peter’s eyes rose from where they’d been focused on the floor, his brows drawing together. I couldn’t tell if he was perturbed or surprised to see me.
“Hello,” he replied, sounding a little unsure, but there was a flicker of curiosity in his gaze, too.
I cleared my throat. “Would you like to be my partner?”
He ran a hand over his jaw. “That depends.”
Oh, no. This was going to go badly. I could feel it. “On?”
A shadow of amusement crossed his features. “On whether or not you’re going to attack me with a tennis ball.”
Oh, my God. He’d just made a joke. A breaking of the ice. I couldn’t believe it.
Warmth filled my chest as I lifted my hands. “I promise I reserve those kinds of attacks only for teachers who need to be taught a lesson.”
“In that case, be my guest,” he gestured to the spot next to him, and I instantly heard whisperings among the students. Peter and I had never been seen speaking a word to one another before, never mind pairing up to spar. Everyone probably thought I was taking the opportunity to give a Girard a good arse-kicking. They’d never suspect that I was drawn to Peter for a very different reason.
I held his gaze a moment before Mr Roe’s voice broke through. “Okay, it looks like you’ve all found a new partner. Good.” He paused when his eyes landed on Peter and me. Mr Roe appeared just as surprised as the rest of the class to see us together. He fought with my parents during the war and knew all the details of what Peter’s great-uncle Marcel had done to them. How he’d used underhanded tactics to betray them time and again. Marcel had even been involved in sending my granddad Martin to the hell dimension. It was something my mother could never forgive him for.
A second later, Mr Roe’s attention moved on as he continued to address the class. “Start with the usual warm-up routine. Once you’re finished, I want you to use the fighting skills I’ve already taught you to take your opponent down to the ground as quickly and efficiently as possible. You have a range of methods in your arsenal. It’s up to you to decide which ones will be the most advantageous.”
