It was actually very simple. And I don’t think he did it on purpose either. He hadn’t expected me to use the major as a shield. Nor did he expect me to shove my foot against her back to send her colliding against him.
I stood still as he grunted and caught her.
And his arms were right there in front of me, stretching around the waist of the major. I merely flicked my wrist toward his left forearm, my blade connecting while I stood at ease. Blood slashed his skin in a red line.
Finn froze instantly with her still in his arms, his eyes wide in complete shock. The shock that was utterly real as he stared at me over her shoulder, not moving an inch.
The room was silent, no one speaking.
That was the fastest fight of the night.
I cleared my throat and walked back to the side of the room where the weapons rested. I sat the pocketknife on the table where it would be cleaned before put back to use again.
Godric was resting his shoulders back against the wall with his arms crossed over his massive, bare chest. The man was completely peaceful where he stood. He stared at me, his eyes quiet with no form of emotion showing on his face. Like I was no one to him.
He was the perfect visiting instructor.
My shoulders relaxed. I mentally cheered.
He wasn’t here to influence in any way.
I spun to the instructor who had ignored me earlier, and I asked into the hushed room, “So what’s for dinner?”
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
My heart hammered in my chest as I jolted awake in the middle of the night. I instantly raced to the door and turned on my light, screams of dismay echoing in the hallways. I threw open my door to see multiple CA soldiers hauling candidates down the hall with their hands in cuffs behind their backs.
I stopped in my tracks, and my eyes widened.
What in the hell?
“I swear he signed the form,” one male recruit yelled, struggling against the soldier pushing him down the hallway. His restrained arms thrashed back and forth. “This must be a mistake. I swear he did!”
“No!” Another male sobbed, pleading with the soldier behind him. Tears tracked down his flushed face; his shirt strained against his chest with his hands cuffed behind his back. “Please don’t take me. He signed. He did. I promise.”
My gaping mouth shut ever so slowly.
The instructors had indeed verified the signatures on the forms. And this was the fallout of those who had forged their male legal guardian’s name. They were being hauled off to jail, their pleas ringing in my ears.
I stiffened as a CA soldier passed in front of me.
He kicked in the door right next to mine.
I held perfectly still as more soldiers filled the long hallway. Time was irrelevant when you were on the cusp of being caught. More rooms were entered, more candidates hauled away.
One of them was Megan.
When it eventually turned deathly quiet, and all of the soldiers were gone, I exhaled, and my body began to shake.
I repeatedly blinked at the candidate across the hall standing in his doorway just as I was. Whereas I was scared for my youth spent in a cell, he was starting to grin in glee for more competition gone.
There were now only four females left, myself included. Three females had been sent home from the fight test. And one had just been sent to jail. I was getting closer to my goal. But I was still vibrating in terror from that scene.
My father had saved my ass.
The five instructors, along with Godric and Finn, walked down the silent hallway. They wore black cargo pants, white t-shirts, and black boots—standard issue recruit attire. Except for that white splint on the major’s nose. That one was all my doing, her nose broken in the fight. A few of the instructors had bandages on their faces or arms, just as Finn had a single bandage on his forearm. That one had been my fault too.
Godric didn’t sport any bandages.
