AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Archery,” I answered without hesitation. It hadn’t been my best skill at the Order, but it had always been Gerarda’s worst.
“Predictable.” Gerarda unbuckled her own weapons belt and placed it carefully on the ground. “But I accept.” She eyed the wall of bows and arrows in the training room.
“Should we stop this?” Vrail whispered, glancing between Riven and Syrra. Riven shrugged and I could feel the weight of his gaze on my back as Gerarda and I selected our bows.
Syrra only watched us with a hint of curiosity in her dark eyes.
Gerarda and I crossed to the center of the field facing the three targets at the edge of the beach. Each one had a tiny blue dot at the center of the circle, just wide enough for the head of an arrow to slice through. I waved my arm in front of me. “I selected the skill. It’s only fair that you shoot on clean targets.”
I half expected Gererda to refuse the gesture on principle, but she smugly stepped past me with an arrow already nocked. She didn’t stop to shoot her first shot, but aimed at the first target mid-stride, nocking the second arrow by the time the first split right through the center of the target.
She never paused. I watched her chest rise with a slow breath and then exhale. She released the second arrow in that moment between breaths, still walking across the field.
It found its mark too.
My neck tensed. Syrra’s chin nodded in approval.
Gerarda flashed a grin over her shoulder as she pulled back on the final arrow and let it fly. It landed with a resoundingclunk, embedding itself deep into the target, but ever so slightly to the left. It wasn’t enough of an error to maim instead of kill, but it was just what I needed to win our bet.
My dry lips had never tasted so sweet.
I drew the string of the bow feeling the tension in my shoulders and back. I was stiff but the pressure felt good after so long without practice. I released my hold and noticed a stray hair caught along the grip. I plucked it free and let the crimson strand float away in the morning breeze.
“Do you want to call it now?” Gerarda shouted from the far end of the field.
I shot her a look and pulled an arrow from my quiver. Gerarda’s smug grin fell to a straight line as I aimed my first shot. My stance was tense, every muscle in my back felt stiff as I drew the string. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply, letting the memory of each muscle take over. My body shifted into place and my eyes flashed open. I aimed the arrow at the bright red end of Gerarda’s and let it fly.
The arrow slid into the target, nestled beside the other. It was so close, the stone heads screeched as they were forced to share a hole inside the linen. I couldn’t keep my lip from twitching.
I lined myself with the second target and felt my body relax as I pulled back the second time. The bow felt like an extension of my arm. I aimed once more and trusted that my arrow would hit its mark.
Vrail gasped as my arrow split Gerarda’s right down the middle. Syrra’s smirk made my stomach flutter with pride.
Gerarda crossed her arms. “You still have one more.”
I shrugged and grabbed the last arrow from my quiver. I found my spot along the line and squared my shoulders with the target. I drew back as I inhaled the fresh scent of the wood, pausing for a moment, and then releasing.
A perfect shot.
But then there was a flash of silver across the target. A throwing blade had embedded itself into the linen. My arrow, colliding with the metal, bounced off and landed in the grass.
I turned to Gerarda in disbelief. “I best you so you sabotage me?”
“You didn’t best shit.” Gerarda glanced at the others. “Who would you rather have protecting you on the field of battle.”
I crossed my arms, expecting to hear a chorus ofKeeras from them all, but I was only met with silence.
My neck cracked as I turned to face them. Gerarda laughed. “A shot that takes a century to load is little help in the midst of battle.”
My fingers tightened into a fist around my bow. “That was not the challenge.”
Gerarda narrowed her eyes. “Perhaps not. But the Keera I trained with would have made sure to outmatch me in precisionandspeed.”
My stomach tightened. The part of me that hated to admit Gerarda was right, knew she was. My technical skill might not have waned in a few short weeks. But I had become blunter. Slower. My arms ached with the memory of me tumbling from that roof in Cereliath, wine sloshing in my belly as I chased a hooded Nikolai through the streets.
I may not be Blade any longer, but I was still useless dulled.
I dropped my bow onto the ground and pulled off my quiver. Gerarda’s lips pursed to the side and I knew she was expecting me to walk away.
