“I know,” I whispered, gazing up at him. “But I can’t let Callista die for me. We have to try to get her back. And besides, nothing can go wrong if you’re there to protect me. It’ll be fine.”
17
Yuto
“We have two days,” I said to her. “You’re going to train as much as possible, and then we will make our move against Panos. We’ll have to leave the day after tomorrow if we want to make it to his castle in time.”
Aradia wrung her hands together, but nodded eagerly. She was scared. I didn’t blame her for that. But she was going to face her fears regardless. I couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride when I looked at this mortal girl. Not even some dragonlords were as brave as she was.
“Where do we start?” she asked, glancing at the row of weapons along the far wall. “The sword again?”
“No, I think we’ll try something else this morning.” I crossed the room and hefted a small bow into my hands. It had been carved from Piran Oak and was light and quick, perfect for someone with Aradia’s smaller stature.
Her eyes widened. “I’ve never shot a bow before.”
“Training is not training unless you have somewhere to start.” I handed her the bow. She took it in her hands, almost awe-struck. Her fingers moved across the smooth wood, and then ran along the thin string.
“Won’t it take me years to get good at this kind of thing?”
“Perhaps,” I said with a shrug. “Or perhaps you’ll be a natural. I’m just trying to find the weapon that feels most natural in your hands. And then we’ll go from there.”
“And you don’t think it’s a sword.”
“I definitely don’t think it’s a sword,” I said with a chuckle, picturing how she would lumber around, wildly swinging a blade that was far too heavy for her to wield. “Something smaller and lighter, I think.”
She frowned and lifted the bow to her eye, peering down the aim. “Okay, I’ll give it a go.”
“That’s my girl,” I murmured.
Her cheeks flushed. As she stuck her tongue out between her teeth to focus the aim, desire coiled in my gut. Aradia had not been what I’d expected her to be, and it took all my concentration to focus on the task at hand. All I wanted was to throw her right back into my bed again. Her moans had been music to my ears, and her slick walls had been so tight around my cock
But I had to stay focused. We didn’t have time for any of that.
Aradia flicked her finger, and the arrow shot out of the bow in an arc. And then it clattered against the stone floor at least five feet from the sack of flour set up as a target. I pressed my lips together, forcing down a chuckle.
“I see that smirk,” she said with a scowl.
“Hmm,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “Well, it could have gone worse.”
She grimaced. “It also could have gone a lot better. You still think the bow could be my weapon?”
“Do you?” I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. The bow was definitely not her weapon.
“Probably not.”
“It’s unlikely,” I said. “Let’s try something else next.”
Most dragonlords I’d met always had a knack for one weapon over the others. It was a natural thing, an instinctual thing. I’d hoped that translated to mortal hands, but I had no way of knowing if I was right until we’d exhausted all of the options with Aradia. My weapon was the spear. I already knew that wouldn’t work for her either.
“How about a dagger?” I asked as I grabbed a small, golden-hilted blade from the collection. When I turned to her, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the blanched expression on her face. “You don’t like that idea?”
“With daggers, don’t you have to get really, really close to your enemy?” She shook her head. “I like the bow better, thanks.”
“Daggers can be used in ranged attacks.” I flipped the dagger in my hand, blade flat on my palm, hilt facing her. “But you’ll need to master your aim if you’d rather attack that way.”
She made a face and took the dagger. “Based on how the whole archery thing went, I doubt that’s going to be the case.”
“Let’s see.” I stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Try to shove that thing into my stomach.”
