Placing his hand over hers, he tipped the blade until it was almost parallel to the ground, then took three steps away from her. “Good. Now try stabbing me with it.”
“You—you want me to do what?”
“I want you to stab me.”
“I-Isn’t that dangerous? Wh-What if you get hurt?”
Riftan’s lips curled up in amusement at her alarm. “Even if the sky were to split in half, you would never hurt me with that thing. So stop worrying and come at me.”
Maxi’s face flushed. He was right, of course. It was improbable that she could best the greatest knight on the continent, but his overly condescending tone stoked her ire. She glared at him, then squeezed her eyes shut and charged. She had barely managed two steps before her foot caught on a stone, and she lurched forward.
Maxi flailed her arms, frantically trying to regain her balance, and sent the dagger flying toward the spectators. Balancing their bowls of stew in one hand, the knights hastily dodged the oncoming dagger.
Riftan deftly caught her before she fell. He sighed incredulously. “Why would you close your eyes before attacking? Especially when you’d be lucky to strike your target even with them open?”
Maxi felt her ears burn. “B-Because it was my first try. I will do better…th-the second time.”
Riftan cocked an eyebrow. Then, as if goading her to prove her determination, he released her and backed away.
It did not take long for everyone to discover that she possessed no talent for swordsmanship. She would swing her dagger wildly at Riftan, only for it to rebound off hisgauntlet, then fall out of her hand.
In a show of patience, Riftan taught her the correct way to wield it and how to efficiently stab an opponent’s vital points. Despite the lesson, Maxi failed to improve no matter how many times she attempted an offensive.
Clutching her sore wrist, she nervously studied his face. She was afraid that she had only reinforced his presumption that she was a weak, inept noblewoman.
“It’s hopeless,” Hebaron muttered under his breath, shaking his head. “We’ll just have to do our best to protect her.” He had been watching from a rock, munching on jerky. Although he probably had not meant for her to hear, his deep baritone carried over.
Her shoulders sagged in dismay. It appeared that Riftan agreed with Hebaron, but he, at least, did not voice his opinion out loud. He picked her dagger off the ground and slid it back into the sheath at her waist.
“Let us stop here for today. You must be exhausted. Get some rest.”
Afraid that he would give up on teaching her, Maxi blurted out, “I-I will do better tomorrow. You will…teach me again tomorrow, won’t you?”
“We will see,” he answered vaguely, then nudged her back to the tent.
Maxi cast him a subtle glance. “What about you? A-Are you not…coming in with me?”
Riftan’s lips thinned into a contorted smile. “I shall join you later. You should go rest first.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if he intended to sit up all night outside her tent again, but she meekly retreated. She was utterly spent and did not have the energy toargue with him.
In the tent, she rubbed her aching wrist and removed her boots. She shoved the filthy footwear into a corner. What she wanted more than anything was a bath, but she pushed the thought out of her mind. Right now, they had to conserve water. She removed her belt and lay on the bed with her bag as a makeshift pillow.
Even though the sun had completely set, taking the heat with it, her damp clothes clung to her, making it hard to fall asleep. She repeated a fervent prayer to find a stream tomorrow until she finally drifted off.
Chapter Nineteen
The heavens did notlisten to Maxi’s prayers. For the next five days of the journey, there was no sign of even so much as a puddle. A few trees or thorn bushes every now and then were the only landmarks. The kegs of water that had once formed a mountainous pile atop the cart were quickly running out. Maxi’s hopes of a bath faded to a mere dream.
Drenched in sweat and covered in dirt, the campaign party rode full days across the barren land. They only came upon monsters twice. The first was a chilling encounter with three drakes in a rock-strewn clearing. The second was the very next day, when all the fodder they had lugged throughout the journey had nearly gone up in flames because of the salamander hiding in the rocks.
Maxi found it terrifying—a giant lizard that could light its body on fire. The knights, however, just seemed happy to acquire a rare firestone from the salamander’s carcass. The gruesome sight of the knights disemboweling the monster did not perturb Maxi as much as it once had. Bearing witness to monster battles and the knights skinning wildlife for theirmeals had strengthened her stomach over the course of the journey. It felt as if her delicate nerves had chafed away. Now when she saw a rabbit hiding in a crevice, instead of perking up at the sight of such an adorable creature, she thought of rabbit stew for supper.
Maxi was not entirely sure if that change was a good one.
“Commander, we’re almost out of water,” said Sir Edon while they took a short break to feed the horses. “We will have to find a source tomorrow.”
Riftan, tearing up meat jerky on a rock, glanced over his shoulder at the remaining kegs of water on the cart. Maxi could see the creases forming on his forehead. He scanned the area for a moment, then spoke in a calm but clear voice.
