His voice was low against her ear. “You want to hold the dagger like you’re shaking hands with it. Keep the blade angled outward for control.” He guided her arm forward. “Extend. Drive the tip straight toward your target. Keep your wrist firm.”
Then his hand was on her thigh, the contact of his palm striking through her soaked leathers. She inhaled sharply, and he didn’t miss it.
“Feet apart. Stay light. Watch me.”
He stepped forward to demonstrate. Rain slid down his face and followed the line of his jaw. His arms tensed with each movement, every precise step keeping her eyes locked on him.
“Now you.”
For a moment, she forgot why they were even here. Why was he helping her now after being such an ass earlier? Was it guilt or something else? She didn’t ask, mostly because she didn’t want it to stop. So she reset her stance and mirrored his movements, pushing herself to focus. Again and again, until the burn in her muscles drowned out everything else.
When they stopped to catch their breath, she asked, “Did I do something to upset you last night?”
He stilled, his mouth opening then closing again.
“You always do something to frustrate me,” he said at last, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
“I mean it, Kaldrek. You seemed… particularly annoyed this morning. Why?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “You didn’t do anything.”
“Really? So you just enjoy making a spectacle out of me?”
His laugh was soft, edged with something close to bitterness. “I push you to see what you’re capable of. Not to humiliate you.”
Evelyne stepped forward, closing the space between them. “That’s it?” Her tone sharpened. “You expect me to believe today was just sometest?”
He didn’t answer, exhaling through his teeth as she approached.
“No,” she said firmly. “Not good enough. Tell me the real reason. Why did you come at me like that? What are you trying to prove?”
His voice cut through the rain. “That you need work.”
She stared at him, unflinching, so he kept going.
“No one’s pushing you. You’re pampered. Alaric watches you like you’ll fall apart if the wind shifts. And Heidara?” He scoffed. “She’s too soft to say it, but she knows. Deep down, she knows you won’t survive when it matters.”
Each word landed like a blow. A cold reminder of just how unprepared he thought she was. And still, as Evelyne looked at him, one question kept circulating: why did he care? Kaldrek had treated her and Alaric like burdens since this journey began. If he thought she was useless, why not let her fail? Why did it seem to bother him so much?
How generous of him to let them both tag along on this grand mission north. But now she saw what he really thought of her: that she was weak, useless, and nothing more than dead weight. He was being a prick, but she didn’t believe for a second that was the real issue. Something else was eating at him, and she wasn’t about to back down.
Not a chance.
She took another step forward, lifted her chin, and met his eyes. “So you think I’m too fragile to care for myself?”
His face twisted with aggravation. “No. I never said you were fragile. I think you’re more than capable of surviving. But I also think you’re too pampered.”
“That’s not really why you’re on edge, though, is it?” Her voice dipped, laced with quiet certainty. She moved in again, close enough to catch the faintest shift in his breathing. “Tell me what truly set you off, Kaldrek.”
The air between them changed, and his gaze flicked over her face like a predator assessing its prey.
“You love pressing, don’t you?” His voice lowered too, rough and edged with warning.
Evelyne didn’t waver. She held her ground, heart hammering. “Maybe I just don’t like being lied to.”
He shook his head slowly as a wicked smile played at his mouth. “You want to know why I’m on edge?”
He moved before she could react, one hand slipping to the back of her neck, tilting her chin upward. The other found her lower back, drawing her in until there was no space between them.
