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The earth shifted, layers of soil, rock, and rooted plants peeled away. Under Dace’s feet, a hole appeared, dropping him out of sight with a quiet yelp.
He reappeared at my side, shaking his head, his arms crossed over his chest. “That was awfully cruel of you.” He paused as I smiled, then continued with, “Nice move; must come mostly natural to you. But people like me don't fall for it. Or they have the opportunity to grab ahold of the edge, climb right out of your little hole.”
“Not if I cover it up.” Another wave of my hand and the rock and grass melded back together as it once was.
“In a real fight, you’ll be too busy to close up every hole you open.” Dace walked slowly, circling me like he was trying to examine me from all angles.
I put my hand out to stop him. “Not if I get really good at it.”
“Oh, you’ll get good at it. Just not quite yet.” He grabbed my hand, lifting my arm over my head, then gave me a twirl like we were dancing again. He pulled me against his chest, my back against him, and his mouth next to my ear. “You need to go for the kill.” One finger trailed over my neck like a knife.
“Any suggestions?” I untangled my hand from his, pulling away from the firm muscle of his body with a sigh.
“Maybe instead of creating a hole, you create a mountain.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” A strong wind blew across the lawn, ruffling the loose material of our shirts.
“Not like a big one. Think little. Think quick. Think sharp, like a spike.” His fingers met at a small point in front of him as an example. The tiniest crinkle of his nose made me think that he was pulling this all right out of his ass. Maybe he was.
“Like this?” Inhaling, I imagined rock spiking up out of the ground. I fisted my hand. Cracking and crunching met my ears, and I opened my eyes to find a skinny slab of earth in the thinnest, sharpest, pyramid I’d seen. It hit about Dace’s height, and he looked at it with half-hooded, lazy eyes.
“That took too long,” he said mildly. “Faster. This time, keep your eyes open.”
“Fine,” I huffed.
He’s expecting so much from me. This is hard, and I had done it rather quickly for it being new. He’s lucky I don’t knock him over with an ‘accidental’ earthquake in my effort.
Forcing my eyes open, I shifted my gaze from him to the ground. Power thrummed between me and the earth, flowing up through the soles of my feet. Muscles in my jaw twitched before I kicked my boots from my feet and peeled my socks away with only one questioning look from Dace. Fresh air filled my lungs smelling of grasses and sweet blooming flowers. I closed my fist. Earth rose between us.
Dace hurried forward, stomping it with his boot before it could build to anything more.“Faster,” he snapped.
I ground my teeth together and fisted both hands. Sharp pillars began to rise on either side of him. His fist burst through one, his foot kicking through the other. Neither fast enough to beat his speed. But it wasn’t just his speed I was trying to beat; I was trying to beat all of the Fae just like him.
An angry heat flooded my veins. So I tried again, letting the emotion consume me from the inside out. I closed one fist, a pillar rose, and was shattered at the end of Dace’s fist.
Again.
Closed a fist. Earth climbed over earth, sharp and angry, to the same end. Pebbles fell like a small hail storm.
My fist caught the air like I was snatching something up. Then I did it again with the other. Back and forth I went as Dace became a flurry of kicks and punches, slicing through everything I was creating.
Wind blew again, cooling the thin sheen of perspiration that was breaking out over my skin. But it couldn’t calm my temper.
Why is he being so hard on me? Isn’t this only lesson number one?
“Stop.” I panted, yanking my fist through the air, “Doing.” my fingers curled into my palm, “That.”
“Why?” Dace taunted. “Does this upset you?” He spun around, kicking down the spike that I pulled up behind him.
“I said, STOP,” I shrieked, pulling both my fists to my sides. The ground shook, and horses whinnied in surprise as dust sprinkled from the barn’s edges. Spikes erupted like wildflowers around Dace, two touching his chest, and one pressed against his back.
His hands wrapped around the two stone pillars before him and he leaned into them. “That’s it. Get mad, Princess.” Rock crumbled between his fists.
I sighed, wiping the back of my hand across my sweaty forehead, “I think that’s enough.”
“Why? You were just starting to get good.” He flashed a toothy grin, slipping through the remains of the rock. “Although in a real-life situation, you want to aim for the rock to impale them. But I do appreciate you not doing that to me.” With the pad of his finger, he brushed the top of one of the mounds. “Can you make these sharper?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be training, too? Your turn. Do a fancy little trick for me.” I spun my finger in the air.
