He opened with a controlled strike toward her ribs. She blocked, twisting her body to redirect the blow, but he pressed the advantage, forcing her to pivot tighter and change angles. She adjusted without hesitation, using her reach to keep him back.
The hits came quick, each one echoing across the room. Brysonlanded a glancing blow to her side, and she grinned like he’d handed her a challenge instead of pain.
A thrum of satisfaction ran through me. She fought like she had in the hallway that first night, when the man came for her with a knife, but her moves held an edge of lethal sharpness I’d missed. I’d known then that she could handle herself; now I knew she could do more than that.
Bryson pressed in, and she let him, feinted left, then hooked his ankle and swept him down with a thump that echoed through the room.
He rolled to his feet, laughing. “You’d do well in the army.”
“She’d do well anywhere,” I said under my breath. I should’ve stopped there, but the words came out anyway. “Though I think she’d get bored anywhere else but here.”
She didn’t look at me, which only made me certain she’d heard. Her spine went a little straighter, and she turned toward her friends without a word.
Let her pretend she hadn’t heard. That way I could pretend I hadn’t meant to say it.
“Ready for the next round?” I called out, seeing the others had finished as well.
After I’d assigned more matches, Derren stepped onto Isi’s mat, loosening his shoulders, his green eyes flicking toward Isi with a grin that held just enough challenge to make my jaw tick.
“Ready?” he asked her, spacing his feet just right, his palms spreading wide.
“Sure. You?”
I gave the signal, then worked with Kerralyn, giving her guidance while my attention mostly remained on Isi.
They closed fast, their boots whispering on the mats. Derren used a quick and unpredictable style. He wasn’t as heavy-footed as Bryson, nor as brash as Maddox. He fought like a spark catching dry tinder. Sharp, with sudden bursts of movement, never quite where you’d expect him to be.
Isi didn’t flinch. She matched him step for step, her pale hair swinging with each turn, her braid brushing over her shoulder as she ducked a feint toward her head.
Derren pressed harder, driving her back a few steps, and I stilled enough to miss Kerralyn’s blow to my side.
“Good,” I told her. “Practice with Bryson.”
I shifted closer to Isi and Derren. I wouldn’t interfere, but I needed to be near enough in case he overreached. I told myself it was something a regular instructor would do. That it was training oversight, not the itch of wanting to put my body between hers and any threat.
Derren aimed a quick strike toward her shoulder, but she blocked him in a blur of motion. She countered, her palm glancing off his hip. He twisted and came in from the opposite side, and caught her back with the flat of his hand. A light touch, but it was enough to score the point.
I didn’t miss her wince.
Who had whipped her? I wanted to demand she tell me. No, I wanted her to tell me without having to demand.
“Watch your flank,” Derren called out in a low voice. “You leaned in a bit too much, signaling your next move.”
“Thanks.” She swiped stray hair off her face and braced herself, watching him as he danced around her on the balls of his feet.
She smirked and went at Derren fast. They traded blows, each landing light strikes. Their breathing quickened, the air full of the sound of boots sliding on mats, grunts, and quick conversation.
I knew the rhythm of a match about to tilt, and I could see her feeling it too.
Derren caught her arm and twisted, shoving her into a position that would’ve left her wide open. I flexed my fingers at my sides. If I was her opponent, I’d step in close enough to cage her, make her feel the heat of the loss before taking her down.
But she didn’t give him the chance.
Her weight shifted in a feint, a drop of her center, and shereversed the grip, catching his wrist in a smooth lock that made him grunt. She spun him, took his balance, and had him on the defensive in the space of a breath. One kick, and he splayed on his belly, smacking the mat with his palm to show he was finished.
Rising, he laughed. “Not bad, Isi.”
“Not bad yourself.” She wiped sweat off her face with the back of her hand.
