Chapter 19 #2
“Hello, Fera.” A thick, meaty hand pinned my wrists above my head. “Did you think it would be that easy?”
My hazy vision settled on the cadet I’d sparred with on the first day of training. I tried to break free, but my eyes were still trying to refocus, and my movements were slower than normal, and he was too heavy.
“Did you , Finch?” shouted a familiar voice just before a fist landed square in the side of my attacker’s temple. A flash of scraggly red hair told me it was Mavic. His punch flustered Finch enough that I was able to wriggle out from beneath him.
I scrambled backward, while Mavic lunged again, but Finch thrust his elbow back in his forehead, causing him to stumble backward.
My hand went straight for my knife at my hip, tightening my grip in a way that made it easy to slash or stab.
Then, I rolled and dodged Finch’s lifted boot, using the momentum to raise my arm and slice my knife across his shin, where I knew it would hurt like hell without severing anything major.
Finch cursed, stumbled, and lunged for me with both hands, one of which now wielded a blade.
When he got close enough, I punched him in the throat, then the forehead, then kneed him in the crotch, causing his knife to fall between us.
He made a terrible gagging sound, bending forward and holding his throat.
It gave me the perfect opportunity to grab his knife off the ground, turn, and put a safe amount of distance between us.
Mavic was mid-tussle with a cadet wearing a bow strapped to his back. He had to be the archer.
In an impressive move, Mavic struck him in the stomach, then straddled him before landing another solid hit to the center of his face. The moment the archer hit the ground, Mavic jumped up, yanked the remaining arrows out of the archer’s quiver and snapped them in half over his knee.
My darting eyes found Mina standing next to the other cadets in their group, hand over her mouth in shock. I wanted to be irritated by the others’ uselessness, but I couldn’t blame Mina for being paralyzed by fear. Half the time, I still was, too.
“Fera,” Finch sang ominously. His nose bled over his sinister, toothy grin that widened as he lifted a second blade and pointed it right at Mina.
“Mina, get down!” I screeched.
I gripped my chest, mouth open in horror and relief as Mina dropped to the ground on command. Finch’s blade whizzed over her and struck a tree.
“Not my sister, you shit!” shouted her twin, eyes wild while leaping through the air onto Finch with enough momentum to knock him over. Mavic’s fist flew, and Mina screamed from the ground when Finch wrapped his arm around his neck.
Without thinking, I unsheathed the extra knife from my belt, gripped it just as Elias had taught me that day in the woods, aimed for Finch’s right shoulder and threw.
It struck true with a wet thud loud enough to hear from twenty feet away. Finch howled in pain and released Mavic.
Thank you, Eli ? —
No. I stopped myself. Hell no. I would not be grateful to Elias Winterton for a single thing he taught me. Not ever, but especially not now.
But even if I refused to admit it, I was grateful, because Mavic had just wrenched himself free from Finch’s grasp and was running right toward me, red banner still tucked securely in the back of his pants.
“Go!” He waved me in Mina’s direction. “Go, go, go!”
I sprinted over to Mina, who still lay on the ground, then I grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of the fortress. I wasn’t sure how long we ran, but we didn’t stop until we were just outside the fortress walls.
When we reached the north entrance, everyone but Mavic and I were bent at the waist and gasping for breath.
“Thanks for your help, Hoss!” Mavic glared at the young man I suspected was Valda’s brother or cousin. He seemed to be one of the most capable cadets on their team.
“I’m not interested in getting in Draven Finch’s way to help the Brinnean.” Hoss stood tall and opened the door to the fortress, which was thankfully unlocked for us. “That’s your prerogative, Reed.”
“The Brinnean just won this test for us! And now , my older sister is one step closer to getting to spend her first year as a mother in a big, old magnificent room on the top level!” Mavic blocked Hoss’s way so Mina and I could enter the fortress first. I hadn’t known Mavic to sound so angry.
“Fera, you take both banners.” He handed me their red.
“What?” I shifted my weight and winced at the pain in my calf. The adrenaline had dulled the sting from the arrow hit, but after such an abrupt stop, it was returning. “That’s not nec?—”
“You saved me from an ugly necklace of bruises.” Mavic rubbed at the spot on his neck where he’d nearly been strangled. “And my beautiful face still is preserved, which means I probably have you to thank for getting laid this weekend.”
“Good gods.” Mina exhaled a tired groan.
He ignored her and pressed on. “ And you saved Mina from who knows what.” He paled as his own words settled. Had Mina not ducked when I told her to, she’d likely be dead.
Mina cleared her throat. “You take them.” She took the red banner from Mavic and shoved it into my arms. “Commander Winterton shouldn’t make you prove yourself any more than the rest of us.”
I glanced at the other cadets, none of whom protested despite their distrusting glares.