30. Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Mace
" H arder," Viola says through heavy breaths.
"I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't. I've got a lot of practice with this," she replies, wiping sweat from her forehead.
With a sigh, I swing my fist, connecting with her open palm again. "Keep your thumb tucked," she says, grabbing my hand and showing me how to position it properly. "It's not worth throwing a punch if you're going to mess up your hands." She moves away from me as I practice holding my form and punching the empty air, repeating the process with Plume.
Viola decided we rely too much on our magic when it comes to combat and wants all of us to spend some time in hand-to-hand and weapons training. Jaz, who has similar skills to Viola, has joined on as an instructor, and even some of their crew have decided to participate.
"Alright, great job, everyone," Viola says with a grin. "It's time to spar! What wants to go first?"
Of course, no one takes her up on the offer. Sparring against Viola almost feels like a death wish. "What are the rules?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at my partner. She grins, the warm sun reflecting off her white hair and blinding me almost as much as her smile.
"Blades allowed, superficial cuts only, no pulling punches," she responds, twirling her shadow blade between her fingers. "And no magic, of course." Tossing the blade up in the air, she catches it and tosses it my way, where it embeds in the grass in front of my feet. "Thank you for volunteering, Nightroot."
Of course. Of course asking a question would be seen as volunteering to Viola. I pull the blade from the grass and hand it to her, palming the knife with the green gem in the hilt that Viola bought for me in Dalery. We circle each other, and the others gather in a circle around us.
"Now, I'm not going to go easy on you," Viola says, lazily dragging the flat of her blade across her thigh. "Chances are you may fight someone or something much more skilled than you, and you need to learn how to use their weaknesses against them to help cement your victory."
"And why wouldn't I be able to use magic?"
She chuckles, palming her blade tightly in her left hand and pointing it at me. "Maybe you tried, and nothing worked. Maybe their magic is stronger than yours. Or maybe you just prefer the power that comes with defeating someone with your bare hands." Her grin is wicked, her stormy eyes flashing.
Today, Viola has braided her white hair in three sections and is wearing a cropped black shirt, leaving her abdomen bare with a pair of tight black trousers and bare feet. Shadow is wrapped around her wrist, but she flicks him off, and he disappears into the shade of one of the homes.
As I'm distracted by my perusal of her strong, fit body, Viola sweeps my legs with her own, and I land back first on the grass with a huff.
"Rule one," she says loudly for the benefit of those gathered, "is to focus on your opponent's movements. If they get you on the ground, you need to get up as soon as possible because once you're pinned, it will be much more difficult to gain the upper hand."
I tuck my legs to my chest and kick out, jumping to my feet. I realize now that Viola isn't here to play, so I swing my blade forward toward her side. She dodges my attack easily and lands a fist on my ribs, knocking the air out of me. It takes me a second too long to recover from the blow because I quickly find myself on my knees in the grass in front of her.
"You know, numen," I say, panting, "if you wanted me on my knees, you just had to ask."
Viola rolls her eyes, "I think you've said that before." My words have the intended effect, though, because she takes her eyes off of me, and I sweep my leg out and drop her to the ground. I lunge on top of her, squeezing her hips with my thighs, as I throw a punch towards her nose, pulling it at the last minute to reduce impact. Despite the pull, I still make contact, and blood drips from her rapidly swelling nose.
"I said no pulling punches," she growls, swinging a free hand out and knocking me in the side of the head. "We can Heal for a reason! "
It appears that pulling my punch truly pissed Viola off because the force with which she flips me off cracks my back, and I moan with the pain. Still, I manage to rise to my feet at the same time she does, pulling her blade. She charges me, and I throw out a leg, catching her firmly in the chest. She falls backward, getting on her feet before I can even reach her.
The fury in her eyes lights me up until I am on the receiving end of it.
A well-placed jab to my kidneys is followed by my arm getting wrenched behind my back and my blade falling on the ground. I try to kick back, but Viola is nimble, able to dodge my awkward leg movements while still keeping my arm firmly restrained with just one hand.
She kicks out the back of my knees, knocking me to them on the ground, and pushes me face forward into the grass. My free arm, which until this point has been desperately trying to reach her as I thrash my body in the hopes of dislodging her, joins my other arm wedged under Viola's thighs as I fight to knock her from my back.
Her hand feeds into my hair and yanks, pulling my face out of the grass to where I can see all of our friends watching my humiliation. The cool metal of a blade kisses the skin of my throat.
"You see," she says to the gathered crowd. "My weight on his back, with my knees rooted in the ground, makes it difficult for him to push me off, especially hands-free. With my knife on his throat tightly," she presses it into my skin just enough that it doesn't break the flesh, even though the threat is there, "his movement is restricted unless he wants to cut himself. As an Autumn fae, there is not much magic he could use at this point to try to get me off of him."
"I could Influence you to let me go," I say through gritted teeth.
"Only if there is a part of me that wants to, right?"
"Right," I say reluctantly. "I could use Lightning to cause damage to you."
"I'm on top of you. How confident are you that you'll only hit me and not yourself?"
I cannot believe I am having a conversation with the woman I love while her knife is at my throat. Though, if I'm honest, I'm surprised this is the first time.
"Not entirely," I respond begrudgingly.
"So what does that leave you?" she implores, looking down at me. When I don't answer, she turns to the crowd. "Anyone have any ideas what to do when you end up in a situation like this?"
Ideas get thrown out, and Viola discusses the merits of them as if I'm not underneath her in a compromising position. Eventually, she removes the blade and leans over, kissing me on the cheek before climbing off my back and helping me to my feet.
"Being a good fighter is not enough. You have to be resourceful, creative, and able to think on your feet," Viola lectures, arms behind her back as she looks at the motley crew of people who have made Rainworth their temporary home. "We do not know what to expect when all of the Gods return, and we work to overthrow Himureal. What I do know is that regardless, knowing how to fight and how to predict the moves your opponent will make is never a wasted skill."
"What if it never gets used?" says a younger man who worked on Jaz's ship. "Won't you forget it?"
"That's why we spar," Jaz says, turning towards him. "It's important to practice so you don't get rusty, and it's a great way to work out disputes. I have heard the bullshit you lot get into when we're out on the water. This is an easy way to handle it. Spar, get it over with, and then move on."
Viola nods, clapping Jaz on the shoulder. "How many times do you think Jaz here kicked my ass growing up?"
"Uh, none?" Tulip says, twirling her own blade in an imitation of Viola.
"Loads," Jaz says with a laugh. "I do have a few years on Viola, though, so I was ahead of her in skill there for a bit."
"You stopped sparring with me after I started consistently besting you," Viola says with a laugh.
"Of course I did. My face is too pretty to get fucked up by you constantly."
With a laugh, Viola turns back to everyone. "Split up, pick a partner, and spar. Fae, no magic. Remember, no pulling punches. I have new Healing magic and should learn to use it." She turns to me and runs her hands over me, searching for injuries. Her hands linger over my torso and I feel the warmth of her magic heal whatever damage she managed to do there.
"You're impressive," I say softly, all my prior humiliation forgotten in the face of the woman I love.
"I know," she says with a grin before kissing me softly on the lips. I taste the copper of her blood from the hit I got on her nose.
"Let's let Plume heal you," I say, looking for our friend.
Viola laughs, shaking her head. "No need to interrupt her sparring. This is minor." She pats me on the shoulder as she walks towards Jaz, muttering something in their ear.
My pride stings a little at my hit being called minor, but I did pull my punch, after all.
As everyone splits off into their pairs, and the sound of flesh upon flesh and the clink of blades fills the air, Viola and Jaz walk around, correcting form, giving instructions, and making suggestions as they fight. I take a long pull of water from my canteen, and when I lower it, I see Viola talking to Avidor on the edge of the group.
When did he get here?
Avidor has been quiet since he arrived yesterday, not interacting with the citizens of Rainworth very much. Sometimes, it feels like he's studying us. If someone approaches him, he happily converses with them, but I'm starting to feel like he only has eyes for one person.
Crossing quickly, I arrive just in time to hear him say, "… is why I learned long ago never to underestimate a powerful woman." His voice is soft and gentle, but the words make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Something about him doesn't sit right with me at all .
"Viola is never one to be underestimated, that is for sure," I say, moving beside her. I don't wrap my arm around her waist or physically claim her despite wanting to. Something tells me she would not appreciate me trying to mark my territory.
"So I saw. How's your throat?" Avidor asks with a tone that implies concern. "It had a blade to it for quite some time."
"Luckily, my partner knows her way around them, and she kept me quite comfortable between her thighs."
Well, so much for not marking my territory.
Viola huffs, taking a step backward and holding her hands up. "I've got forms to correct," she says, turning around and walking back to the sparring pairs.
Avidor, wearing a white tunic, a pair of brown trousers, and bare feet, looks at me curiously. "Which of my magic is your main?"
"Influence and Decay," I say, keeping him in my peripheral vision as I watch Viola work with Morrow on learning how to balance himself now that he has only one arm. He looks resigned, close to giving up, but he's still pushing through and listening to what she has to say.
"Hmm," Avidor says, holding his arms behind his back. I turn to face him fully, pinning him with a glare. He raises his hands, takes a step back, and laughs. "I am just surprised. I figured the Shadowweaver would have a stronger partner, is all."
He turns his back to me and struts away from the group of fighters.