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‘Enough,’ roared Esyllt and the sparring ceased at once. ‘I’ve never seen a more sorry excuse for shieldbearers in all my life.’
‘It’s not our fault they let a girl in,’ someone called from the back.
‘Have you seen her? She’s no girl.’
‘Who said I was talking about a girl?’ Esyllt snapped. ‘Worry about your own abilities, Lachin. Or lack thereof.’
Thea couldn’t help exchanging a grin with Kipp.
‘That will be all for today,’ Esyllt said sharply. ‘I can only stand the sight for so long. Kipp, Thea and Callahan, you’re on clean-up duty.’
The grin vanished from Kipp’s face. ‘But —’
‘If that is anything other than gratitude on your lips, Kipp Snowden, I would think again.’
Kipp bowed his head. ‘Yes, Sir.’
As the other shieldbearers staggered away, sweaty and dishevelled, Thea waited with Kipp by the shed.
‘What is it we have to do?’ she asked.
‘Clean up the armoury. Polish the weapons. Make sure everything is in order so we can mess it all up again tomorrow,’ he replied.
‘That’s the spirit, Kipp,’ came another voice. A young man strode towards them, lean and muscular, chestnut hair pulled back into a short tail.
‘You know me, ever the optimist.’
‘Ever the fool, more like,’ the man clapped him on the shoulder with a laugh. He turned to Thea. ‘I’m Callahan Whitlock – Cal,’ he told her, offering a hand.
She took it firmly in her own. ‘Thea,’ she said.
He nodded. ‘Nice to meet you under such happy circumstances, Thea. We’d best get started if we want to eat any time this century.’
Somewhat baffled, Thea followed their lead. It turned out the task at hand was exactly as Kipp had described and Thea found herself ordering the shields from largest to smallest along the wall and wiping them down with a wet cloth.
‘Was there a reason Esyllt picked us?’ she asked, wringing out the square of fabric.
‘Well, Cal suspects he always picks the worst performing shieldbearers of the day…’ Kipp answered as he rolled a large shield into its place. ‘But personally I think it’s because he only knows a few people’s names.’
‘Really?’
‘That’s what Kipp tells himself,’ Cal said.
‘Well, I don’t know why you’re objecting. It would at least mean you’re not as terrible as you think.’
‘You know my strengths lie in the long-range weapons. I’m never on clean-up duty after those sessions.’
‘Whatever you say,’ Kipp replied with a shrug.
‘How long have you both been training for?’ Thea asked, listening to the ease between them with increasing curiosity.
‘Nine months for me,’ Cal told her. ‘Ten years for poor old Kipp. He needs a lot of repetition.’
‘Ease off,’ Kipp argued before turning to Thea. ‘It hasn’t been ten years, I swear. I’m useless but I’m notthatuseless.’
Cal snorted.
Shooting him a filthy look, Kipp continued. ‘I’ve been here since I was ten. But I only started training as a shieldbearer… a few years ago.’
