AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I just leaned into her face. "There isn't one. If she steps down, she fails her god. If she doesn't choose one single Path, she fails the temple."
"No," Lurel groaned. "If she fails, what's an alternative you both can live with?"
"I'll go to Action with her," I said.
"That," she told me, but Ghale raised his voice before Lurel could finish her thought.
"Fine! If you're so skilled, then prove it. If you can't hold your own, then you'll get a fail for today's lesson. If you can, then I'll let you keep coming back."
"Fine," Nari said. She used that tone that meant a woman was on the verge of killing someone. "Who am I up against?"
I turned back in time to see Ghale's lips curl in a smile. "Me. I'm not trying to impress you like all these other boys and girls. I don't think you're special, Nariana, so you prove you've learnedsomethingin this class, or you get out of it."
I was about to tell her no. I was on the verge of calling him out, but my beautiful and amazing desire dipped her head. "Fine."
"Zeal!" I begged, the words just a groan. "Please help her."
A chuckle came from the doorway. "Pretty sure she doesn't need my help."
Nari's lips curled into a smile even as she headed to the ring. That proved she'd heard him, but others were looking that way as well. Quite a few of them. I turned, trying to see who, but my eyes landed on Wraythe. He flicked a finger over to Zeal and lifted a brow. I didn't know his exact question, but I still shook my head, because I simply had no idea of what was going on.
"What's the match?" Wraythe asked, moving to the edge so he could watch.
Lurel and I headed to the other side. Zeal didn't. He stayed where he was, even as the rest of us crowded in. Nari hadn't even warmed up, so she was swinging her arms around, getting them limber. When Ghale stepped into the pit with her, she paused to pull off her outer shirt, then looked around. I lifted a hand and she tossed it over toward me.
That piece of cloth was serving as my lifeline right about now. Lurel stood on my left, and then someone else pushed in on my right. I looked over to see Grath. He gave me a weak smile, but that was it.
"She can do this," Grath assured me.
"She's exhausted," I told him.
"And she can still do it," Lurel said. "That woman has more lace on her back than half the class. I'm pretty sure it's not just because it's pretty."
Then Ghale surged in. He didn't call it. There was no warning. He simply rushed her, but Nari skittered out of the way. She was moving lighter on her feet lately. Jamik and Harlin had been working with her on that, and it seemed to be helping. Ghale wasn't playing around, though, and he'd been a guardian long enough to know exactly what he was doing.
The man spun, ducked, and grabbed at her, but Nari did the one thing he didn't expect. She stepped in and kicked out, the heel of her boot catching him across the face. The fact that she could even reach that high was impressive, but she'd been taking dance and agility for a while.
Unfortunately, Ghale caught her leg and used it to sling her to the ground. Nari went down hard, her body bouncing against the sand, but that light in her eyes was back. She huffed at the impact, then lashed out with her other leg, making Ghale move. Then, the moment his hands were off her leg, she was right back up, stepping back to dust her hands off on her hips.
"I begged you to teach me," she said. "I wanted to learn, but you made me seek help elsewhere. You complain about me as a student, but you're the one who should be training me."
"Then pick a Path," he snarled before stepping in again.
Nari didn't duck. She punched out, her fist aimed at his throat. Ghale caught it, blocking the shot, but Nari was ready for that. She jabbed with her other hand, hitting him right in the gut. The breath rushed out of Ghale's mouth. He flowed with it only to come right back in.
He slashed at her neck with the blade of his hand. She dipped under it, coming back at him with her knee. He slapped that away, and she threw a roundhouse kick. If nothing else, it proved just how far she'd come. Unlike everyone else in this place, Nari wasn't broad-shouldered and heavily muscled. Even Lurel looked like a fighter. Nari was lean, curvaceous, and sensual, yet she wasn't about to give in.
She attacked, Ghale defended, and then they switched. My girl used her arms and legs to block just like she'd been taught. She was right in there, never flinching away from any of it, but she couldn't manage to beat Ghale down. The man was simply too experienced, and she wasn't. Still, she tried with everything she had.
But when Nari punched again, Ghale was done. He grabbed her wrist with one hand, ducked, and slung her over his side and down onto the sand. What he didn't do was let go. Before she even hit the ground, I was going over the rail, knowing this would be bad. A yelp burst from her throat as Nari's shoulder crashed into the hard ground. The snap was loud, but it wasn't a bone breaking. Her shoulder looked wrong, and that meant this game was done.
My feet hit the sand and I hopped over her legs to slam into Ghale's chest. "Back the fuck off or I will put you in the ground!" I snapped.
He tried to shove at me, so I decided to make it clear that I was not exaggerating. I slammed the heel of my hand into his chest, followed with a punch to the face, then a kick to his gut, sending the man down onto his ass. For a split second the two of us stared at each other. Me waiting for him to get up. Him waiting to see if I was going to back off.
"Nari?" I asked.
"I'm good," she promised.
