“The truth?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I mean…”
I waited, but he didn’t elaborate. “You mean…?”
He made a gesture like I was supposed to connect dots I absolutely couldn’t see. “Come on. We’re all different, but we’re still human. Still equal.” Then, under his breath, he added, “Still savages.”
“Equal?” My mouth gaped. “That’syour truth? You’re a Hunter!”
A lock of hair fell to hide the largest scar on his forehead when he cocked his head to the side. “Sophia, we’ve spent weeks together. Do you really still think I believe the NAO’s doctrine?”
Well…
He fought on their side and executed innocent people. But he’d never treated me like I was beneath him for being female, had he? And the things he said…
“No, I guess I don’t. I don’t know who or what you are.”
“I’m the guy teaching you how to not die. You ready?”
I rolled my eyes but nodded, nonetheless.
I fought and lost to him for more than an hour before he let me breathe. If only I’d trained more with Tekqua when I had thechance, maybe I wouldn’t be so winded. Still, each loss on my part was met with a small piece of advice. When I tried to utilize that advice, however, he countered it with another way to disable me. My improvement was masked by his unbeatable excellence, and I grew tired and sweaty, my mood settling somewhere in the dregs of outright waspishness.
But…
Every time he showed me how to free myself from a certain grasp or attack from a disadvantaged position, the information shuffled through the catalogue in my brain, filing into a section entitledSurvival.
I growled when I’d finally managed to trap his arms behind him, and he gave a sharp twist. I ended up on my back, blinking at him.
His silent laughter burst my last bubble of patience. I aimed a kick at his ankle, but he hopped back to avoid it.
“Help me up, you evil bastard.”
He grabbed my wrist, and I clutched his forearm, but he hissed and pulled away. He shook out his arm a couple of times before offering his other hand to help me, murmuring a soft apology.
“You okay?” I asked, studying his arm.
His face blanked. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s notnothing. If you don’t want to tell me, just say it.”
“Fine.” He raised one eyebrow. “I don’t want to tell you.”
I gripped my hips. “Tell me anyway.”
Wincing, he shook his arm again. “Has anyone ever pointed out the sheer idiocy of your stubbornness?”
I fastened on an innocent smile. “You could always request someone else. I’m sure there are less stubborn girls itching to spend every Thursday night wrestling with you.”
A hint of the smirk appeared. “No. It’s you or no one. Deal with it.”
“Then you deal with me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Why?”
“Maybe I can help.”
His gaze grew bright, his eyes wide. “Help?”
