I stared up at her in disbelief. My only other fighting instructor had been Renwell, and compliments were certainly not his way.
“But your arms need to be stronger to compensate for the weight of the sword.” She tossed her sword from hand to hand, spinning it and whipping it around her body as if it weighed nothing. “It should feel as dexterous as another limb.”
“Right. Another limb. Understood.” Gods, I hoped there was some food left. Maybe I could eat it in bed so I could fall asleep immediately after.
“You’re also hesitating. You don’t want to hit me, which I appreciate, but I’m not the one you need to be ready for.”
I slowly straightened, the wound across my shoulders itchy. “I won’t hesitate fighting Renwell.”
“With him, it will be the opposite problem. You will be emotional. Emotions make you messy. He will taunt you until you wear yourself out.”
“And how do you plan to prepare me for that?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine her being as nasty as Renwell.
She shrugged. “I have an idea we’ll try out later.”
Well, that sounded ominous.
“It’s too dark for bow training.” Nikella dropped her sword in the wet grass. “But I would like to test your skills without a weapon. As that often happens in battle.”
I bit my lip, then tossed my sword aside. “Renwell taught me a few tricks, but he thought it was a waste to teach me more. He told me I wouldn’t win against a stronger person. Therefore, I should always strike from a distance, like with my knives.”
“He lied to you,” Nikella said simply. “He wanted to keep you weaker than him. A good teacher wants you to be stronger.”
I’d surmised as much for myself after he put my throat under his boot heel. Twice. I couldn’t imagine being stronger than Nikella.
But I’d do everything she said if it meant I got close.
“Now, I’m going to grab you, and you have to free yourself.”
I swallowed hard and bent my knees, hands at the ready.
A twig snapped in the forest.
Both Nikella and I whirled to peer between the shadowy trunks. The snow that had fallen through the foliage gleamed. But I didn’t see anyone or anything.
“Perhaps it was an animal,” I whispered.
Nikella shook her head. She slowly bent to pick up her staff. In one smooth, silent movement, she unsheathed her spear. Had she been expecting an intruder?
I picked up my sword, the wooden grip clammy in my hand.
Another twig cracked, followed by a soft whinny.
My breath caught. A horse. With a rider? How many?
“Alert the others,” Nikella said out of the corner of her mouth. “We?—”
A horse burst out of the forest, a rider slumped on its back.
We sprang out of the way as the horse snorted and pranced in the snow. With a tangled mane and muddy coat, the poor creature looked like he’d been traveling for weeks.
I peered into the woods, but no one else came through.
The rider started slipping sideways toward me. Dropping my wooden sword, I caught the person about the shoulders, and Nikella helped me slide the body to the ground.
The rider’s hood fell back. My heartbeat came to a crashing halt.
“Oh, gods!” I cried out. “Ruru!”
