Fiona
Darian was happy to find out I wasn’t in a coma any longer, but he wasn’t exactly pleased I wouldn’t talk about what had happenedor why I’d slept in Azric’s room that night. Luckily, he didn’t press too hard when I firmly told him I wouldn’t explain anything.
The days after haven’t been nearly as exhausting, only training with my teammates. It was nice having plenty of time to think in the evenings. Everyone, Ainslee included, seems to have given up on trying to keep me on a tight leash, especially after I’ve learned how to fight the Godforged so much better.
Today, I’m matched up against Elara, one-on-one. Everyone wants to see how I do against a single Rider. She holds a greatsword in two hands, and I stand just outside her range. The Cat, Bear, and Falcon buzz inside of me, creating a heady combination. Yet, I’m not bothered by the lure of the Cat or the sluggishness of the Bear or the antsiness of the Falcon.
I’m focused on my opponent, my first chance to prove I’m not the weak little human so many of my teammates have thought me to be.She’s fast. You can’t wait for her to move. Predict where she’ll be when she strikes.
I leave an obvious gap in my defenses on my right shoulder, my strong side. She leaps too quickly for me to react, her sword coming down in a hard chop that would cut me from collarbone to hip. I already know what I’m going to do, though, and the short movements I make don’t have to be as fast as hers.
My dagger goes up to defend the blow as I spin under it. My left dagger finds the gap between her armor right along her hip. It splits the chain link that protects it, and I continue to spin, ending up behind her. She shouts in pain, but when I try to slip my daggerinto the other hip, her blade is already there even though she hasn’t spun to meet me.
She pushes my blade back as she whirls around, and then the longsword flashes out in a stab, but I’m already moving. Just like fighting Abominations, I know I can’t stay outside her range, and I can’t ever be in front of her. My dagger comes down at her elbow joint, and I find another gap. The sword falls from her hand.
Elara’s not some new recruit who panics when something goes wrong. Instead of fumbling to pick up the sword, she throws a punch with a gauntleted fist, something I wasn’t expecting. It hits me hard in the ribs, and then her other hand comes around to grip my cloak. It’s a mistake. She should have kept punching.
She may be fast, but she’s not nearly as strong as a lot of the other Godforged. Without a second thought, I slam my hands into her breastplate, and she goes flying across the floor, far from her sword. My ribs are on fire, but Ineedto prove my value to these people. I sprint across the room as she tries to get back on her feet.
I hit her at full speed with my shoulder, and I bowl her over. Landing on top of her, it takes no time to put the dagger to her eye-slit and stop just as they’ve stopped for me.
“Erelith’s flaming gash,” Rurik yells. “That was fucking wild. You see that madness, Erik?”
“I’m right here,” he responds. “Of course I saw it.” His voice is dry, but there’s a lightness to it that’s unusual for the stoic Stormbringer.
I climb off Elara with the hint of a bashful smile, and Darian slaps me on the back. Elara doesn’t seem frustrated at all, something I’dbeen nervous about. How would a Godforged deal with being beaten by a human, even if it’s only in training?
“Good fight,” she says, her plate armor clanking softly even with how well maintained it is. She rubs her elbow where my dagger had dug through the chain gambeson and struck a nerve. “That shot to my elbow was beautiful. I never saw it coming.”
Isola and Jorren haven’t said anything, and it’s Jorren who speaks next. “How do you move that fast, and how did you throw Elara like that?” he asks. “It’s not humanly possible.” He squints as the room suddenly gets very quiet.
“She’s one of those humans they call Priests,” Isola says as she pushes off from a wall. “I never fought one, but I’ve heard about them. They all wear those filthy cloaks like beggars. They fight like the Godforged, though, and they say some of them even have powers.”
“Is that it?” Jorren asks. “Are you a Priest?”
I look around at the people, all of whom are staring at me. Darian’s eyes are wide. He knows the danger of telling any of them what I am.
For the first time in my life, I put on an act that isn’t terrible. Laughing, I say, “There aren’t any female Priests. It’s one of their laws or something. I was trained by one, though. He said the world was a dangerous place for a human, much less a woman, and that learning how to fight like him would help me survive. I wish I were a Priest. It’d be nice if I had powers. Do you think I’d let all of you beat the tar out of me every day if I had magic powers like you?”
It’s Rurik that starts laughing suddenly. “Fucking humans. You’re damn right they don’t let women fight. My father was forced, by Marek himself, to allow women to become Godforged. It bothered him worse than a pair of britches made of thorns for a good ten years, but now there are plenty of women fighting, and they do a good job. Though I wonder if they’d be better in bed if they weren’t all so capable with a blade.”
“Women have always been capable of killing a man in bed. We just pretend like we can’t,” I say with a smirk. “Men are far less excited if they’re worried about whether they’ll survive the night.”
Rurik roars with laughter, and his brother’s quick to follow. Elara and Darian are both smiling, but Isola and Jorren don’t seem to have forgotten the question. They were chosen for their intelligence more than their skills as warriors. It should be expected that they’d notice things quicker than the others.
“Alright, who’s next?” Darian says. “Isola? You and me?”
She nods to him, and I realize that he’s watching me out of the corner of his eye. I give him a nod, and he smiles.
They fight, and just like every day, I’m blown away by the sheer abilities of Darian.
Chapter 31
All the Houses created by the dragons have their weaknesses. Shadows are weak to Flames, while Flames are weak to Steel. They were meant to work together, to shore up each other’s weaknesses and enhance their strengths. Instead, we isolated ourselves, the worst thing we could have done.
~King Rhion Rahn, The Future of Magic and Dragons
Fiona
