Chapter Twenty-Three
Wisps of dust swirled around my feet with every step I took. I’d never been to this part of Lantyca before. Here, at the edges of the city, wood and stone buildings gave way to fenced-off lots filled with weapon racks and training dummies, bordered by the outer walls.
Lanterns hung on fence posts lit our would-be arena. I was grateful for the light. Everything looked so flat in the dark, and I still hadn’t learned to judge distances and movement without shadows. I could manage moving about in Sitri’s mansion, but on the battlefield, I’d struggle.
“Tell me, darling, have you ever fought before?” Sitri asked as he led me into one such lot.
“A few times,” I admitted, “but never like this. I’ve been in fistfights and done improvised self-defense, but I’ve never handled a real weapon.”
The Prince shot me a wary glance, and I knew what he was thinking; training me would be impractical. I didn’t understand my capabilities as a demon, and the intricacies of martial combat were foreign to me.
For him, it must have seemed like a waste of time. To me, it was achallenge.
I’d be learning from the best today. When I last saw him in battle, Sitri had been a thing of beauty, wielding dual spiral daggers with as much ease as he breathed. If I ever wanted to hold my own in the underworld, I’d need to absorb that expertise as quickly as I could.
“This will do,” Sitri muttered as he inspected the weapons on a nearby rack.
“The combat we face in the coming weeks won’t be orderly. I see no point in teaching you to fight in rank. For now, we shall focus on fighting dirty, and whatever mess we make of your skills can be sorted out later. I want you to use this.”
When he turned back towards me, he brandished a striking silver weapon. Its long handle had a sharp pommel on one end, and on the other was a huge ball covered in serrated metal barbs. My heart leaped at the sight of it, both savage and beautiful.
“Interesting choice,” I said, “though I’m not sure the training dummies will hold up to that thing.”
But oh, how I wished they would. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my hands around it, to embrace the power of such a brutal tool.
Sitri laughed, reading the desire in my eyes. “It’s fortunate we won’t be needing those dummies, then. We’ll be sparring today. Now, why don’t you show me what you can do?”
He tossed the heavy metal weapon into the air as if it weighed nothing at all, and it plummeted towards me. I jumped backward, barely snatching it from midair before it cracked down on my foot. I snapped my head around to the Prince, anger igniting at his carelessness.
“What the hell are you thinking, Sitri? These things aren’t toys!”
“You caught it, didn’t you?” Sitri asked, a mischievous gleam in his eye. “You are a demoness now. You have more strength, agility, and constitution than you realize. You need only settle into your new skin.”
I blinked, took in his words, and assessed my newfound prowess.Just how heavy must this weapon be? It felt solid in my hands, weighted, but not oppressively so. I shouldn’t be able to lift something like this. I didn’t have the same muscles as Sitri or his demons, and in life, my hedonistic tendencies sapped my meager strength. My transformation afforded me power beyond what my body was capable of. I raised and lowered it, feeling its weight shift, adjusting to my new physique while the Prince readied for combat.
He left his weapons at his waist and selected a wooden sword from the rack to serve him. He twirled it around his fingers as if it were half its size. Once Sitri was satisfied with how it balanced in his hand, he took it by the hilt.
“That, my darling, is a morning star. What you lack in grace, you make up for in brutality,” he said. “Show me what you’re capable of. Use its weight to your advantage and aim right for my chest.”
I stared at him in disbelief, lowering my weapon, though Sitri only raised his own.
“I’m not going to attack you with this thing. Give me a wooden one instead.”
“I can handle myself, darling,” Sitri assured me. “Demons are not nearly as fragile as humans. I need to see what you know firsthand. Don’t hold back now, Vapula and his legions certainly won’t.”
My hands locked around the morning star’s hilt, and my teeth clenched. I didn’t want to strike him. I also knew there was no chance of Sitri relenting, not until I’d given him a show. With my weapon in hand, I loosed a battle cry and swung straight at him. He effortlessly ducked out of the way, reappearing behind me.
“Less wind-up, or your enemies will see it coming. Its weight can deliver your blow. You only need to let it.”
“Noted,” I snapped as I reared around for another strike.
This one aimed to sweep through Sitri’s legs. Gravity pulled it into a downward swing. He leaped over the top, clearing its serrated barbs.
A smile crossed my lips. “How’s that?”
“Better, you almost hit a passive target. I’m impressed,” he sneered. “Now, let us see how you handle an opponent who fights back.”
Before I realized what was happening, Sitri charged me. He became a blur in my vision. I barely raised my arms in time, parrying his sword with the hilt of my morning star. As it bounced off my weapon, he redirected it, swinging it around to catch me in the side. I grunted as the impact sent me flying. The air rushed from my lungs as I hit the dusty ground. When I regained my composure, Sitri stood over me, offering his hand, smiling down at me.
