She waited for Tatum to strike first, wanting to see what his feet gave away in the process. This would help her for the rest of the fight. Once she understood his level of patience and self-control, then it was time to find out how strong he was.
Reasonably patient, it turned out. She noticed he held back on that first strike, suggesting that underneath all the bravado was a gentleman. When she blocked his strike with her shield, he nodded approvingly.
‘Ah. The girl can keep hold of her weapon. Good.’
She let the comment blow past her.
The next time he struck her, it was hard. She had suspected that Harlan and Roul held back some when they were teaching her, but this confirmed it. She felt the force of the blow everywhere. It hummed through her bones all the way down to her toes. It was clear that if she wanted to win, she would need to be the one doing the hitting.
When he lunged for her again, she ducked, then shot up, moving to disarm him. But he was ready. His sword locked with hers.
‘Someone’s been teaching you defender tricks,’ he said over the tops of their weapons. There was amusement in his eyes.
Eda shoved him back, but he came for her again. She spun, foot aimed at his leg in hope of knocking him off balance. But he stepped out of reach, and her foot sailed past him. It was his turn now. A foot slammed into her stomach before she had a chance to move out of its way. She doubled over, painfully winded. But she did not drop her weapon.
‘Empty your stomach if you need to,’ Tatum said, spinning his sword. ‘I’ll wait.’
She gasped for breath, eyes never leaving him. They were an even match so far as skill, but his heavy bones and muscular frame were undeniably an advantage.
‘I’m good,’ she managed to get out.
She was aware of Roul watching them. As much as he liked to play the tough, unfeeling commander, he would not enjoy seeing her hurt. She knew this because whenever he watched her spar with Harlan, he always averted his eyes when the sword connected with her.
It was around five minutes later when Eda realised the other pairs had already finished. They stood watching them, and she felt a small amount of pride at that. While she was by no means winning, she was upright and still holding her sword.
‘You can choose to lay down your weapon at any time,’ Roul called.
The words were for her, not Tatum.
‘Did you hear our commander?’ Eda panted. ‘There’s no shame in giving up.’
Tatum chuckled and wiped a hand down his sweaty face. He was tiring, but so was she.
While she was focused on that point, the recruit dropped, one foot hooking her ankle. Her feet went out from under her, and she landed on her back, winded once more. He came for her sword, but she rolled once and sprang back onto her feet, weapon pointed at Tatum as she coughed.
Hadewaye and Alveye cheered her.
‘Almost had you,’ Tatum said with a lopsided grin.
She coughed some more. ‘Almost is not a win.’ She ran at him, delivering a sequence of blows. He might have been strong, but he was not as fast as she was. If she could keep it up, he would make a mistake eventually.
Finally, her sword met his ribs. But just as hope took flight inside her, his shield crashed into her knee, sending pain shooting up her leg all the way to her hip. She bit her cheek to stop from crying out. The shield fell from her hand, but she still did not drop the sword.
‘Stand down,’ Roul called, walking over to them.
Tatum immediately stepped back from her.
‘But I still have hold of my sword,’ Eda coughed out, taking one step and almost falling in the process.
Roul’s tall frame loomed over her. ‘When I say stand down, you lower your weapon and step back from your opponent without question. Understand?’
She looked up at him. Seeing his dark expression, she nodded. ‘Yes, Commander.’
His gaze fell to her knee. ‘Do you need to go to the infirmary?’
‘It’s just a cramp,’ she lied.
His eyes travelled back up to hers, and then he turned away. ‘Gather around. I have some tricks that might help you next time. Pay attention.’
