Chapter 7 #2
I followed her lead, trying to mirror the elegant, effortless way she moved. She circled me as I awkwardly attempted to arrange my feet in the same way she did. With each misstep, Wren offered words of encouragement, and after a few tries, I had managed to balance my weight between both feet.
She began to circle me, her eyes scanning my body up and down, and I could feel sweat already beading across my brow.
“Your stance is the most important thing you can learn. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, with your knees slightly bent. Keep your weight evenly distributed between both feet and position your dominant foot slightly behind the other.”
I followed her instructions, adjusting my stance until it felt comfortable. Wren nodded in approval and stepped closer.
“Now, let’s work on your strikes.” She tucked her chin, stepped forward, and threw a wide jab at the imaginary opponent in front of her. I copied her motion, feeling my shoulder strain as I tried to imitate the power of her punch. My knuckles were clutched tight and my footwork was clumsy.
Wren glanced at me with a critical eye and slowly began to correct my form, gently guiding my hands and feet into the correct positions.
We drilled various strikes and footwork for what felt like an eternity.
My muscles grew sore and sweat dripped down my forehead until I was forced to wipe it away.
But she wasn’t done.
She paced in front of me, and my eyes never left her face. “Now we need to put what you’ve learned to use.”
She advanced at an alarming pace, her body poised and lithe as she weaved around me with ease.
No matter how hard I tried to follow her every move or anticipate a strike, she managed to catch me off guard.
Her foot connected with my leg in an expertly calculated angle, sending me tumbling backward.
The impact of the ground beneath my back sent a shockwave through my abdomen, leaving me gasping for breath.
“You were supposed to block me.” Wren’s warm laughter was like a balm that soothed my embarrassment. I reluctantly accepted her outstretched hand as she pulled me up with surprising strength, and I stumbled slightly before regaining my balance. “Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes wide.
I nodded, trying to steady my breathing. “Yeah, I’m alright.”
She gave me a small smile before gesturing back to the circle. “Let’s go again.”
I took a deep breath, then steadied myself with feet planted wide apart and hands up in a blocking position.
I focused on every detail—her footwork, the tension of her muscles, the intensity in her eyes.
As she lunged forward, I managed to block her strike; the pain reverberated through my body.
I gritted my teeth and tried to land my own punch, but before my fist could make contact, she grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me off balance.
In an instant, I was on my knees, gasping for air.
“That’s kind of pathetic.”
At the sound of Dacre’s deep, gruff voice, I jumped, and my shoulders tensed. He looked at me disdainfully as I scrambled to my feet.
“Don’t be an ass, Dacre.” Wren crossed her arms and stood between us.
I could feel my heart racing as I looked at him, his eyes locked on mine. He was beautiful, his sharp jawline and piercing eyes seeming to cut through me like a knife. But his words and the way he sneered at me made my skin crawl.
“I’m not being an ass. It’s the truth. She’s deadweight.” He nodded toward me as if I couldn’t hear his words.
Wren’s back straightened. “Tone it down a notch. What did you find?”
I dusted the dirt off my pants and tried to appear like I wasn’t hanging on to every word they said.
Dacre grunted. “It was nothing.”
There was a tense silence between the two of them, and I wondered if he was being honest or if he was hiding the truth because I was standing there. Because he considered me a traitor.
Dark circles hung beneath his exhausted eyes, and he stood motionless with tense shoulders.
“Did she tell you about her magic?” Dacre cocked his head as if studying me, and my heart raced as anger bubbled up inside me.
Wren looked over her shoulder at me, but I was still staring daggers at her brother. “No. Why do I need to know about her magic?”
Dacre’s jaw twitched as he stared at me. “Because she has none.”
Wren’s head whipped around so quickly back to her brother that it was almost comical. “That’s impossible.”
“I agree.” He nodded as he stepped into the circle. His hands were balled into fists as he assessed me. “Which means your new little friend is hiding something.”
“I’m not hiding anything,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Let’s see about that.” He moved closer to me, and I countered his movements with a step backward.
“I don’t want to train with you.” I chanced a glance in Wren’s direction, but she was still watching her brother.
“That’s not really an option for you.”
The way he studied me was so unnerving that I could hardly remember the way Wren had just taught me to stand. I stumbled over my feet as I took another step back, and Dacre made his move.
He was fast, much faster than Wren, and he knocked me on my ass before I could realize what was happening.
He reached his hand out as if he was going to help me up, but my anger surged inside me. I didn’t take his hand; instead, I kicked my leg forward, something Wren most definitely didn’t teach me, and I slammed my foot into his hard abdomen.
The impact sent him stumbling back, and I scrambled to my feet, ready to defend myself. His lips curled into a smirk, and he moved toward me again, his eyes glinting in the low light.
“There’s that backbone,” he said with a smile as he launched himself at me.
I ducked and weaved, using the basic footwork Wren had taught me to try and avoid his attacks. I managed to dodge the punch he swung toward my head, but he was too fast.
His other hand came down hard against my thigh in a slap, and I hissed in pain.
“Use your power to help you deflect.” He kicked his foot out as he spoke, sweeping his leg out in a move that was eerily similar to his sister’s earlier, and knocked me on my ass again.
I gasped for breath as he towered over me. He was breathing normally while my chest heaved with exertion.
“I told you I don’t have any power.” I lifted a trembling hand and wiped away the loose hair that fell in my face.
“You’re really going to cling to that lie, huh?” He cocked his head as he studied me.
I didn’t offer him an answer because it didn’t matter what I said. He wasn’t going to believe me either way. He thought he could break me, but there was nothing left for him to break.
“Tomorrow, you train with me.” He stood to his full height, and I scoffed as I watched Wren take a step forward.
“Lay off, Dacre.”
“No.” He turned away from me, and I pushed up until I was sitting. “I don’t trust her, and she trains with me until we find out more about her power.”
“And if she’s not lying?” Wren crossed her arms and cocked her hip. She seemed to have no fear when it came to her brother, and I envied her.
Dacre turned his head toward me, his expression unreadable. His dark eyes seemed to drill into my soul as if he was trying to uncover a secret. It felt like the slightest movement would shatter the intense moment that seemed to stretch on forever. “She’s lying. I’m just not sure about what.”