The male swung his sword at her in a horizontal slice, aimed across her stomach. There wasn’t much force behind it, and Elle likely could have stepped out of the way, though that would have defeated the purpose of the test. She brought up her shield, guarding with her magic wreathed arm with a quickness that surprised even me. The male swung again, aiming for her arm, and she blocked once more. They exchanged blows for another minute, Elle never failing to defend herself, before Alandris called for them to swap.
Elle held a sword with the precision of a seasoned soldier, and I made a mental note to ask her where exactly she’d learned to fight. She was striking her partner in the most complicated places. She would flourish behind him and stab at the back of his knee, spin again and aim for his chest, and next she’d be at his ankle. He’d barely brought up a shield of ice in front of him to guard against a couple of the attacks, but he’d not been quick enough to stop the others. Elle wasn’t pulling any punches. Poor guy would probably have a few nasty bruises.
“That’s enough,” Alandris said, calling the match. “Well done, Luelle. Nairu, you’re up.”
Quinn volunteered to take the beating first, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. It made me instantly dislike him, and very much look forward to stabbing him. My sword lessons with Kaelias and Lorian were about to come in handy. At the time, I questioned why the ship’s doctor needed to learn sword fighting, since she was never allowed on raids. Lorian had always said I would use it one day. I would never tell him he was right.
I waited for the cue to start before moving into the stance Lorian had taught me. Like a predator, I followed Quinn, circling him until his attention faltered and I found my chance. I lunged for his arm, but before the sword could hit, he conjured a shield of hardened flame, and the sword bounced off the surface. Following my training, I steadied my breath, resumed my stance, and waited for my next opportunity. His side this time. Quinn quickly pivoted and blocked with his arm, coiled with flames. Each time I thought I had him, he would react with near-perfect precision.
I felt the blush of shame heat my cheeks when Alandris called for us to swap.
Quinn—unlike me—did not bother with a proper fighting stance or fancy footwork. He held the practice sword loosely in his hand, as though bored. Then he swung the sword at my side hard and fast. I’d had enough time to pull my shadows forth to swirl around my arm, but not enough time to harden them. The sword slammed into my forearm with a brutal thwack.
“Nice try.” He snickered, goading me. “Knowing how to hold a sword doesn’t make you a Mage. You may want to adjust your priorities.”
He was trying to infuriate me, to make me sloppy. I wasn’t taking the bait.
Quinn’s next strike landed on my thigh. I’d failed again. Too slow. He aimed for my chest next, and I finally got the upper hand, bringing my arm—perfectly encapsulated in solid shadow—in front of me to block. Elle clapped from the sidelines and I saw Quinn’s lip twitch at the sound. He clearly wasn’t used to losing—didn’t look good for him after all that bravado.
Before I had time to recover, Quinn was swinging down at me with full force, aiming straight for my face. I braced myself for the hit, crossing my arms in an ‘x’ in front of me. It was going to hurt like a bitch, but at least I wouldn’t have a black eye. I closedmy eyes and gritted my teeth, but the pain never came. I looked up to see a wall of solid, brilliant fire erected in front of me.
“I established ground rules, did I not?” Alandris hissed, dropping the wall. His eyes narrowed at Quinn were swimming with silent fury. “If you want to fight dirty, I will be your opponent. How does that sound?”
Quinn stood in silence, his face blanching.
“I didn’t think that would interest you.” He looked to Elle. “Monitor the remaining bouts.”
She nodded. “Yes, of course.”
Alandris hooked a finger at me. “Come.”
I would have normally argued, but my pride was already in ruins; confronting the Grand Arch Magus in front of everyone didn’t seem worthwhile. I followed him out of the practice room, out of the silence, never questioning where he was dragging me as we turned down hallway after hallway.
Alandris stopped walking in front of a huge archway and turned to face me. “I keep a private study beyond here. Come here in the evening after your normal lessons, and I will train you personally.”
I froze. “Why?”
“I told you I have an interest in your magic, and you are incredibly below our standard here at the Consortium. We need to remedy this quickly, or you’re going to end up with much worse than a bruise.” He saw me open my mouth to respond and quickly added, “this is a nonnegotiable part of our agreement.”
The last remnants of my pride floated away. “Great. Looking forward to it.” I hoped he recognized the sarcasm.
“Go see our healers.”
“It’s only a bruise.”
He stared at me, waiting.
I clicked my tongue. “Fine. See you tomorrow.”
There were no afternoon lessons today, which meant I could finally catch up with my crew over lunch. They’d been doing who knows what while I’d been subjecting myself to training. I knew they were in the guest wing, but I didn’t know what their roles at the Consortium were; none of them possessed magical ability.
Kaelias was the first to scoop me up into a hug, signing to me as we parted. “Are you doing well?”
I nodded with a grin. “Yes, I’m fine. There will be no doting on me permitted.”
“You’re the baby of the group!” Makatza whined, and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “We’ve missed you.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked at her. “I’m twenty-five—two years younger than you, you know that, right? I missed you too, though…”
