Alek’s eyebrows go up. He’s dressed for battle, not polite conversation. He folds his arms, and it reveals the carved muscles of his biceps, evidence of the trainingheendures. His expression is unfriendly, and his eyes lock on Nora. “Are you going to pull my hair again,little cat?”
He’s referring to thelasttime he and Nora saw each other. Nora attacked him like a wildcat, pulling his hair and screeching in his face. Verin had to pull her off him.
I step in front of Nora, blocking her. “Get out of here, Alek.”
Nora moves around my arm, shifting to stand by my side. “You don’t have to protect me, Cally- cal. I have better claws this time.”
Where is she getting all this confidence? I grab her arm. “Nora.Stop it. You are not—”
“Sure she is.” Alek ducks under the arena railing, and without warning, he draws his sword.
I draw in a sharp breath, torn between diving in front of my sister and diving for my own weapon. Before I can do either, their swords meet, a clash of ringing steel in the quiet arena. Panic chokes my heart for a second, because I blink and remember Nora impaled on the blade of a soldier. She was lying in the forest, blood seeping from the wound, choking and gasping for breath.
Dying.
Blades clash again, and the image is gone. My sister is alive and well in front of me, engaged in a sword fight with my mortal enemy.
I shake myself and grab my own blade, breathless. I don’t even know if we couldbothhold him off. Should I call for help? Surely there are guards within earshot.
But as soon as I straighten with my weapon in hand, I realize this isn’t a battle to the death. Not really. Nora is attacking and Alek is deflecting, but he’s notretaliating. My sister adjusts her grip and comes at him more aggressively.
This time, Alek parries and snaps his blade against hers, driving her back a step. “Easy,” he says casually, as if she’s not panting from the effort. “Don’t lose your focus.”
She makes an angry sound and comes at him again, and he does it a second time. Nora backs away, circling, looking for a new opening.
“I know all of Nolla Verin’s moves,” he says to her. “So you’ll have to try something new.”
His back is to me, his eyes tracing her movements, so I step forward and poke the end of my blade right into his back, just below the edge of his armor.
“How about this?” I say.
Alek goes still at once.
“Dropyoursword,” I say.
“I’d really rather not.” He lifts his hands, however, letting the weapon hang from one.
I give him a little poke for good measure, but these are training blades, and I’d have to use real force to actually break skin.
Alek doesn’t even wince. His eyes don’t leave my sister. “You’re very good,” he says. “You need some new sparring partners so you don’t trap yourself with familiar moves.”
Nora wets her lips and glances between him and me.
“I’d offer now,” he says, “but your sister and I have other plans.”
“No, we do not,” I say, reconsidering whether I want to just push this blade right into his body. I give him another jab, putting some real strength into it. He grunts and yields a step.
“Do that again,” he says, “and you’ll find yourself in a fight you’re not ready for.”
For the first time, a note of anger slips into his voice, and it’s backed with a dangerous thread of warning. There once was a time when it would’ve made me falter.
Not anymore. I remember the way his body pressed into mine in the sunlight, how he whispered sweet nothings against my sweat-dampened skin, making me feel like the most treasured woman alive. A minute later, he was being torn apart by a scraver, his blood soaking into the soil. Two minutes later, I was using magic to save his life.
And then, three minutes later, he was looking at me with panicked betrayal and unbridled fury. He was undoing every moment of happiness I’ve ever found in his presence.
I grit my teeth, step forward, and jab that sword as hard as I can.
He must see it coming, because he swoops out of the way, spinning to parry, knocking my sword sideways. I’m ready for it, however, and I slam my blade right back into his. I’m gratified when his eyes flare slightly, as if he’s surprised by my response. But then he retaliates, and suddenly we’re fighting forreal.
