We’d picked up Blue on the stairs, fresh from the nest.
Chandra hadn’t joined us for supper last night, so I hadn’t had the chance to ask him about the anchors and whether there was a way for them to sleep outside of the nest and still recharge. I’d hopefully be able to speak to him sometime today.
The grounds were still bathed in the gray light of dawn, and my boots crunched on frosty earth. Thank goodness I’d dressed warmly in fitted pants, a thick long-sleeved tunic, and leather boots. I’d scraped my hair into a braid and coiled it into a knot at my nape to keep it out of the way. The style left my neck bare to the chill, but I was sure I’d warm up soon.
“Looks like it’s gonna rain,” Blue said.
I glanced up at the overcast sky that signaled a miserable day to come, but the weather couldn’t temper my enthusiasm for training.
I’d completed trial after trial, but nothing had really given me the opportunity to fully test my strength in combat. The snake in the labyrinth didn’t count. That thing was a next level kind of beast. But this morning, I’d get to unleash on two Asura who’d won battles.
Asura who’d had their wings clipped and their faces turned to stone.
A flash of heat lit my chest. If there was a way to restore the brothers, then I’d find it. Heck, once I was queen, I’d order Asura Rajni to lift whatever fucking curse he’d laid on his sons.
Dhoona waited in the quad, hands loose at his sides. He was dressed in a short-sleeved tunic and pants tucked into boots. Mist rose off his skin eerily. He obviously ran hot when it came to body temperature.
Araz had been the same. The hollow place in my soul yawned wider.
Yudh joined his brother, and both Asura faced me, their stone visages impassive and unreadable.
Blue hopped off my shoulder and onto Keyton’s, and the two of them stepped back to watch me train.
“Today we will test your strength and agility,” Dhoona said. “Both are essential in battle.”
“All right. What do you want me to do?”
“You can start by hitting me,” Dhoona said, stepping forward. “Do not hold back.”
His words reminded me of Pashim. I’d succeeded in knocking him back with a single blow, and he’d been a drohi, the offspring of Asura and djinn. How would a regular Asura fare?
I was about to find out.
I took a deep breath and approached. “Are you sure?”
Dhoona tipped his head to the side. “I am sure. Hit me.”
I shrugged. “Okay.” I drew back my arm and palm-punched him in the chest. The impact reverberated up my arm and gathered in my shoulder, but all the blow did was send Dhoona sliding back a few feet. It didn’t knock him into the air like it had Pashim.
Dhoona looked down at the groves his boots had dug into the ground. “Yes. We can work with this.”
“But you barely moved.”
“But he moved,” Yudh said. “No other opponent has succeeded in knocking my brother back. You have the strength of a deva for sure, Leela, and now we will teach you how to use it.”
The next two hours flew by. Dhoona and Yudh were relentless in testing my agility. We played a game where they tried to land a light blow, or a tap, and it was up to me to avoid being touched. The trick was to anticipate your opponent’s moves by reading body language.
This would work with an Asura or humanoid opponent, but not all creatures held to the same rules when it came to body language. And who knew what kind of bodies they’d have? I said as much to Yudh, who explained that the training would sharpen my reaction times and create muscle memory that would allow me to adapt in novel situations.
By the time the session was over, I was sore and achy but exhilarated.
“Same time tomorrow?”
Yudh smiled with his eyes. “Indeed.”
Keyton joined us. “We should get you fed, Leela.”
My stomach grumbled loudly in agreement.
