His tail latched around my ankle and threw me to the ground. My breath whooshed out from the hard hit, and needles pricked my lungs. It had been entirely my fault for getting distracted by a mere smile.
Monqilcolnen moved on top of me, pinning me in place, and I froze, my soul pounding so loudly it drowned out all the sounds of feet dragging on the mats or Urgg’s boisterous laughter or the thump of someone smacking into the floor. No, all I heard was my own soul racing. Monqilcolnen’s solid weight pressed into me, and the strands of his hair that had escaped his bun brushed my cheek, tickling me in a distracting manner. I stared into his gold eyes, and my thoughts drifted away.
The moment seemed to stretch on forever, and I had no desire to move, nor did Monqilcolnen. His eyes roved my face, and his breath turned as harsh as mine, all while his weight settled more fully on me. He was so much larger than me, but I wasn’t concerned in the slightest. Rather it felt nice, grounding, to have him press into me. Almost as if I was perfectly safe.
What exactly was happening?
With a low grunt, I forced myself to move. A shove and a twist later, I was free. I maneuvered behind Monqilcolnen to put him in a choke hold. He patted my arm, not trying to get free, and Iswallowed at the feel of his warm scales on mine. I released him instantly, scuttling away.
His face reverted to the peaceful expression I was used to seeing. “Excellent as usual, Lieutenant Wyn. You pass as expected.”
I offered him my throat, and he dismissed me with a wave, then called another person forward. My tail coiled around my ankle and my wings fought to escape the confines of my shirt, but they couldn’t. I had one harnessed, so it was impossible for them to slide out of the slits in my shirt. With deep breaths, I attempted to calm my pounding soul. I couldn’t say what had happened, but I didn’t care for it. Nothing good could possibly come from whatever had just occurred on the mat, and it was much better to simply forget about it.
Camden sidled up to me. “You’re as good as everyone says.”
“At fighting? Yes. I’m not as gifted with blasters.”
“Could you teach me? I learned the basics back on Prince Dontilvynsan’s ship, but I want to be able to defend myself.” His aspect darkened, and his hands curled into tight fists, shaking.
My eyes roved his tight muscles. Unless he chose to tell me, I would never know what happened to him on Xome. However, the xoi weren’t known for being kind, and slavery was never free of pain, suffering, or trauma.
“I would be honored to teach you. Seth was one of the first people I taught, and he is decently talented.”
“I asked him to teach me,” Camden said, “but Seth’s not comfortable with me yet. And I think he’s peopled out after he takes care of the necessary stuff.”
Seth didn’t care for people as a whole. The individual person? Yes. People in groups? No. Too much time with others would tire him. Besides, he was busy with his new kit as well as his mate, without even discussing the responsibilities of being the leader of the humans.
“I can teach you,” I said.
“Thanks.”
I smiled but remained silent. My eyes shifted to Monqilcolnen again.
He was attractive. Of course he was attractive, with his long nose, full lips, and strong chin, all resembling the princes’ features, but he was uniquely lovely for the roughness of his aspect. His tapered ears were pierced to the tip with gold studs, and a gold stud pieced his right nostril. He wore no other jewelry, which wasn’t unusual for being on duty, but it was odd for someone of his station. He was nobility, even if he wasn’t part of the royal family.
Our different stations were as obvious as the lengths of our names. I had only one letter; he had four.
Once everyone had been assessed in hand-to-hand combat, Monqilcolnen called me forward to the range on the back of the wall. I, along with four others, raised my blaster. We had ten shots. To pass we had to hit the three inner rings eight out of ten times. I lined up as best as possible and fired. My score would appear on Monqilcolnen’s screen.
He stood in front of me. “Four out of ten.”
My head ducked. Fail. I’d known it was coming, but it frustrated me. I went to a range twice a week to practice, and I wasn’t getting better at a normal speed. I was up from my usual of two out of ten, but it had taken years to get to four. I would never make it to a proficient state.
“I will see you in class,” he said, moving closer.
Swallowing, I swore I felt his breath on the sensitive tip of my ear. “You will.”
I returned to the back wall, and Urgg clapped my shoulder while Camden gave me a pitying smile.
“You’re getting better,” Urgg said.
“Not truly.”
“You are. Celebrate the small successes, Wyn.” Urgg nudged me. “Want to go drink?”
“It’s the morning, and I have duty.”
“Fine,” Urgg grunted. “Meet me for lunch?” They glanced at Camden. “Both of you?”
