“I’ll go change into something more fitting, and then I’ll show you I’m not useless at all,” she said.
The orc female studied her from head to toe, taking in the oversized shirt and Audrey’s small frame. She laughed.
“All right. I’ll be waiting for you. You know where to find me.” She walked out.
Audrey huffed out a breath.
Maika approached her with concern written all over her face.
“You don’t have to train with Brumis,” she said. “Just ignore her. She’s always like this, testing people.”
“I’ll be fine,” Audrey reassured her.
She thanked her for breakfast, then hurried out, before anyone else tried to make her change her mind.
She should’ve changed her mind. What she was walking into was dangerous.
Chapter Eighteen
Audrey walked onto the sports field wearing her hunter gear.
The leather pants allowed for easy movement, and the fitted black tank top left her arms free. Her combat boots were laced tight, and she wore a vest with reinforced panels over her torso. Two of her daggers hung at her waist in leather sheaths.
She felt strong and ready. She just wanted to show Brumis that she’d been wrong about her. She knew she might be making a mistake, but she didn’t really care. So many things had changed.
Audrey could tell the orcs liked her and accepted her, but she wanted to prove herself to Brumis the Bold, too. The female warrior saw her as a soft human, and it had started to grate on her.
There were about a dozen orcs on the field, scattered around the training equipment and weapons racks. They stopped what they were doing when they saw Audrey, their conversations dying. They stared at her, taking in the daggers strapped to her waist. Their eyes widened slightly, and a few of them exchanged glances.
Brumis smiled. She looked pleased, like she had been hoping for something like this. Seeing the knives, she dropped her sword and pulled two daggers from her belt, twirling them in her hands.
“I’ll give you a fair fight,” she said.
“Don’t worry about me,” Audrey said, facing her. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Is that so, little human?”
Brumis attacked. She lunged forward with surprising speed for someone her size.
Audrey sidestepped, bringing her dagger up to block the incoming strike. Metal clanged against metal.
Brumis swung with her other dagger in a vicious arc aimed at Audrey’s side, but Audrey ducked low and rolled away, coming up in a crouch several feet from where she’d been standing. Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline flooding her system.
“You move well for a human,” Brumis taunted.
“You talk too much.”
Audrey sprang forward, slashing with both daggers in a coordinated attack that forced Brumis to react. The female orc blocked one blade and deflected the other with a twist of her wrist.
They circled each other slowly, eyes locked, each looking for an opening. Brumis feinted left, then struck right. Audrey anticipated it and parried, her blade catching Brumis’s just in time. She countered with a quick jab aimed at the orc’s exposed ribs. Brumis twisted away, avoiding the worst of it.
They started fighting properly, and Audrey soon realized that Brumis the Bold was not pulling her punches. Every strike was meant to connect, and every move was aggressive and designed to hurt. Audrey had to keep up, or she’d go down hard. She matched Brumis move for move, but it was exhausting. Brumis was stronger and heavier, and she used that to her advantage by pressing forward relentlessly.
More orcs began to gather around the field, drawn by the sounds of combat and the growing commotion. They formed a loose circle around the fighters, watching in curiosity and amusement. Someone shouted encouragement to Brumis, another called out support for Audrey. The crowd started cheering and shouting, picking sides and getting invested in the outcome. The noise rose around them, but Audrey barely heard it over the sound of her own breathing.
They started seriously hurting each other as the fight intensified. Audrey kicked Brumis hard in the stomach with all the force she could muster. Brumis grunted and stumbled backa few steps but recovered quickly. She slashed with her dagger in a wide arc, and the blade nicked Audrey’s arm. Pain flared, and blood welled up and started dripping down her arm. Audrey looked at the wound with concern, her breath catching.
“Don’t worry,” the female orc said. “The daggers aren’t laced with magic. Besides, I’m not even putting on a real fight. We’re just playing.”
