Chapter 11
NYRA
I winced when Dacre landed another slap against my stomach.
He had taken to barely hitting me after the last three days of training. His eyes had narrowed on the way I stumbled into the training ground this morning, and he’d been gentler today than he had ever been before.
But I didn’t trust him.
“Pay attention.” He growled. “You’re letting me get in hits I shouldn’t be able to.”
“I’m sore,” I protested, gasping for air as I tried to catch my breath.
“Soreness is not an excuse.” Dacre’s voice was stern as his eyes flicked between mine. “You need to push past the pain.”
He lunged forward, and I ducked and spun away at the last second, feeling the rush of air as his hand barely missed me. “You’re not even trying.”
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to focus.
Dacre had been relentless in his training the last couple days, and his instructions echoed in my ear.
But memories of his hands hot on my skin as we moved through the routines made me lose my concentration.
All around us, the air swirled thick with the scent of our sweat, and beads of perspiration trickled down his broad shoulders and chest.
I took a deep breath, shaking off the thoughts that were plaguing me, and launched myself forward, my fist flying toward his face. He easily dodged it, but I didn’t let that stop me. I followed up with a kick toward his stomach, and it connected with a satisfying thud.
Dacre stumbled back, caught off guard by my sudden attempt to actually train, and he snatched my hand, jerking me with him.
He hit the ground, and a cloud of dust floated around him just before I landed at his side.
Without hesitation, I pushed to my knees and lunged toward him. I grabbed his shoulders, trying to push him to the ground, but he was so damn strong. He quickly overpowered me, pinning me beneath him as he straddled my torso. He held my wrists tightly above my head as we struggled on the ground.
I could feel the heat of his body everywhere.
“Good.” He grunted. “You’re finally trying.”
I lay on the ground, my body frozen under the intensity of the way he watched me. We were both breathless from the exertion, but I was panting for more reasons than that alone.
“Hey, Nyra.” I heard the sound of Eiran’s voice, and I tore my gaze from Dacre to see Eiran standing at the edge of our sparring circle with his arms crossed .
I attempted to pull my wrists out of Dacre’s hold, but his fingers were clamped like a vise, and I could feel slight tremors in my fingers.
“Hi, Eiran.” I swallowed hard against the lump forming in my throat. Dacre’s grip stiffened against my hands when Eiran’s name passed my lips.
Eiran’s gaze darted back and forth between us, his eyes lingering on me a little longer each time. I could feel heat rise in my cheeks as I realized the position Dacre currently had me in.
“Is there something we can help you with, Eiran?” Dacre’s gaze reluctantly drifted from my face to Eiran, but his strong hands remained firmly pressed against my wrists. My muscles tensed beneath him as I squirmed, and the hardness of his thighs pressed into my sides as he shifted his weight.
“A few of us are going out for drinks tonight, and I was going to see if you’d like to come, Nyra.” Eiran looked directly at me, and the way he specifically said my name didn’t go unnoticed.
I opened my mouth to answer him, to tell him that I was far too tired to even consider his offer, but Dacre sat up straighter, releasing my hands and answering before I could.
“Nyra and I are actually about to hit the springs. She’s not going to make another day of training if she doesn’t heal her body a bit.”
I whipped my head toward him, startled by what he’d just said, but he was still staring up at Eiran.
“Thank you for the invitation though.”Dacre gave Eiran a smile that felt anything but friendly .
Dacre finally pushed off me, and Eiran’s mouth opened and closed as Dacre held his hand out to help pull me up. I wanted to refuse him, but I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to get off this ground if he didn’t help me.
He wrapped his hand around mine and effortlessly lifted me to my feet.
As I stumbled forward, my chest bumped against his, and I had to press my hands against his arms to stop myself from falling into him farther.
My face flushed as I quickly averted my gaze from his intense dark eyes. “Thank you, Eiran. Maybe tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” He pushed his hand through his hair, but his gaze was narrowed on Dacre as he turned away. “I’ll get with you tomorrow.”
As soon as his footsteps faded, I pivoted on my heel and found myself staring into Dacre’s chest. I looked up until I finally met his dark irises that glimmered in the low light of the room.
He leaned closer, and his breath tickled my cheek as he whispered, “What?”
“What if I wanted to go?” I didn’t, but that fact didn’t matter.
“Too bad.” He ran his hands over his chest, checking meticulously over his weapons. “You just told me how sore you were. You need an evening in the springs.”
“I don’t know. A night full of drinking wine could make me forget my sore body.”
His gaze ran over said body from the bottom of my feet until he finally reached my gaze. It felt like a slow caress, like an exploration that neither one of us should have allowed.
“And you would wake up tomorrow with a headache and your body just as sore as it is now. You want to drink? I’ll grab some wine on our way.” He moved back from me and grabbed all his things before he started walking off, leaving me behind.
I quickly caught up to him, even though my legs were screaming at me at the effort.
Dacre didn’t say anything as we weaved through the tunnels and past several people who were milling about. I noted the way almost everyone nodded in his direction as he passed.
They didn’t trust me.
“These people really worship you, don’t they?”
Dacre grumbled as he stopped at a small building and quickly knocked on the door. “They don’t worship me. They respect me.”
The door opened, and a beautiful woman with long red hair answered with a smile on her face. A smile that was directed at Dacre.
“Can I get a bottle?” Dacre asked instead of greeting her, but the woman simply nodded.
She disappeared for only a second before she came back with a large dark olive bottle and placed it in Dacre’s hand. “This one is dangerous. But nothing you can’t handle.”
“Thanks,” Dacre answered gruffly before walking away without another word.
The woman watched him leave, and I chuckled even as jealousy twisted in my gut. “You could have fooled me.”
“What?” He looked down at me, and his brows were drawn together as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
“You barely said two words to that girl back there, and she was looking at you like you hung the moon. Clearly, these people have never trained with you.”
That caused a laugh to escape Dacre’s mouth, and I smiled. “A lot of these people have trained with me actually.”
“Well, I can guarantee that I’m not going to like you after I finish training with you. I might even be plotting your death as we speak.” I was joking, but I still winced at my words. The man didn’t trust me already. The last thing I needed was to make him question my motives even more.
“I could train you for a century, and you still wouldn’t be able to take me out.”
“You’re very full of yourself.” I huffed as we rounded the corner toward the hot springs, and the cloying heat in the air caused my breath to catch in my chest.
Dacre chuckled. “I have reason to be. I’ve been fighting for this rebellion for most of my life.”
We stepped up to one of the closest springs, and I looked around and realized that there was only one other person here. A woman in the back corner, and from the way her head was laid back against the rocks, she appeared to be asleep.
“Where is everyone?”
Dacre set the wine down near the edge of the spring before toeing off his boots.
“It’s late.” He groaned softly as he pulled his vest full of weapons away from his chest. “Most of our warriors have already been here if they needed it.”
I wished Wren was with us, or Eiran. Or anyone for that matter.
Because this felt too intimate.
The air around us felt like it was pressing in, suffocating us both. It was as if the space between us had turned into a mix of heat and tension, completely different from the icy chill of the training grounds that I had started to become accustomed to.
“Strip down, traitor.” Dacre paused, his gaze tracing the form of my body before sliding up to meet my eyes. He then grabbed the hem of his shirt at the back of his neck and pulled it off in one swift motion, revealing his toned chest. “You can’t get into the springs in full leathers.”
“I don’t think I need the springs today.” I stuttered the words as I averted my gaze from his abdomen, the ripples of muscle visible beneath his tan skin.
His eyes narrowed on me as he crossed his arms. “I could hear your little whimpers with every step we took here. You’re getting in this water.”
He was right, of course, but that didn’t make me any less self-conscious. I winced as I squatted down and untied my boots before pulling them from my feet.
Dacre unfastened his trousers and dropped them to the ground. He stepped over the bottle of wine he had left lying there, and without hesitation, moved toward the steaming pool. His back was broad and toned as he descended into the steam-laced water.
My eyes traced his defined muscles, appreciating the way they flexed with each movement. But my gaze then fell upon a dark, mottled bruise that marred the smoothness of his skin. It started at his shoulder blade and extended down his side, its angry hues standing out against the tan of his body .
“What happened?” I shrugged out of my vest, letting it fall to the ground next to me.