“The men have been quite busy this morning. And, well, you are a formidable fighter. Or so I’ve heard.”
I looked between Aeris and Meridan, wondering who’d been dressing up my reputation.
“Alright,” I said. “I suppose I can spare a few moments.”
Aeris removed her big coat and tossed it over a barrel, testing the weight of her new weapon in her hand.
“We won’t be using these,” I said, discarding my own bronze cutlass.
“Why?”
“Because they’re sharp and oiled with hemsbane and we are sirens.” I glanced up at Addison, who was sitting beside her workstation eating an apple. “Addy,” I called out. “Have you got any unfinished blades? Ones that haven’t been sharpened or oiled?”
“Course I have,” she said with a full mouth, reaching for a bundle of swords that didn’t even have handles yet. Only the tangthat was meant to fit inside one. I took them from her and brought them to the middle of the deck where there was ample room to move. I chose the smallest from the pile and handed it to Aeris.
“What weapons have you used before?” I asked.
“That’s why we’re here,” Meridan explained. “She told me she’s never used one.”
“I grew up a prisoner,” Aeris clarified. “I was never taught to fight. Nazario has taught me how to shoot a pistol, but nothing like this.”
I picked up an unfinished blade for myself and stepped further into the open.
“A blade is offensive,” I said. “Even when you’re using it to defend yourself, it is meant to cut. It should be aimed where it will do the most damage. Anything less will only cause problems.”
“I know where to do damage,” Aeris admitted, adding, “With my teeth.”
Meridan and I exchanged a smile. “We all do, but against Kroans, Kraal, and the sons, teeth won’t do.”
Around us, I noticed we were drawing attention. Some of the men had stopped what they were doing to watch whatever was about to unfold.
“In Dornwich, the Kraal used mostly hands and teeth. Kroans have blades on them,” I said a bit louder, realizing my lessons might benefit the whole crew in some way. “Xhoth fight with spears and teeth. Their skin is thick and their bones are thicker.”
“Will blades harm them?” Aeris asked.
I nodded. “Vidar slaughtered half a dozen of them himself some time ago. They’re soft in their gills and in their eyes.”
“And the Kraal?”
“They are the same. Their gills are located beneath their ribs, like a Kroan. Meridan?” She perked up. “Choose a blade.”
The corner of her mouth quirked as she picked up one of the bronze swords. She cringed a little at the weight and length of it. Itwas a far cry from the bone knives we were used to. The two of us faced each other, a familiar excitement kicking at my pulse.
“Am I to try and best you, or is there a lesson here?” Meridan teased.
“There will be a lesson,” I said. “After I beat you.”
She narrowed her eyes and lunged, feigning a high sweep before dropping to swipe at my legs. I picked up my foot, stomping on her blade and pinning it to the floor before reaching for her hair. I seized a clump in my hand and yanked her head back, exposing her throat. She spun on her toes, rising so my arm was at a dangerous angle. One where she could snap my elbow if she wanted to. I released her, kicking the small of her back to put distance between us. She rolled into a crouch, grabbing another knife from the pile of unfinished blades.
Meridan knew the patterns of my training almost as well as I knew hers. She was smaller than I was, which made her faster. She could attack so quickly, it could throw off any enemy. There was no time between one attack and another and it was exhausting. She managed to hit me not once, but twice. Once on my shoulder and once on my thigh. Both would have been severe blows if the blades had been sharp, but it did not compare to the massive welt of swelling flesh across her belly and the one on her knee. We had held back, but we would still bruise.
When Meridan went for her final attack, I caught her against my body. She attempted to coil her legs around me and pin my arms, but where she was faster, I was stronger. I slammed her onto the deck, jamming my dull blade under her chin while I pinned her wrist at her side with my bare foot.
She wasted no time. Her free hand pounded against the floor.
“I could have had you!” she complained.
“There was hope,” I teased.
