Page 31 of The Heir's Bargain

"Deal."

Chapter 7

DANI

Three days had passed since Fynn and I had made our deal, and not a second had gone by when I hadn't questioned my decision.

For this to work, we would need to announce our courtship; however, my schedule had been packed with training for the past few days.

Or at least, I was blaming my training. If I wanted to make time, I probably could have, yet I didn't.

With every passing day, I questioned the deal even more. There was no way it would work, even with our rules. As a trained strategist, I couldn't help but see the long list of flaws in our plan.

Number one?—

I gasped as my back smacked into the training mat with a loud thump.

"Ha! Finally!" Sylvia punched the air.

An icy stream of air coated my lungs as I tried to regain my breath. I groaned out in pain and frustration. I couldn't remember the last time Sylvia—or anyone, for that matter—had put me flat on my back during combat training. Sylvia was a good fighter, but not that good of a fighter.

I pushed myself onto my elbows. "Don't look so smug, Lieutenant Larpos. I was distracted."

"Nope. Uh-uh." Sylvia waved a finger in my face. "No excuses, Captain. You've always said that if you can catch your opponent distracted on the mat or in the field, you better take the opportunity lest your back hit the mat first."

I rolled my eyes, grimacing as Sylvia repeated the words my father had said to me a thousand times as a child. I looked over to General Walen, who was overseeing the matches.

The general shrugged. "A win is a win, Captain Ferrios."

I struck the mat with my fist. "I want a rematch."

Sylvia laughed as Walen shook his head, amusement tugging at his lips. The other soldiers who watched shifted on their feet, unsure if it was safe to join in the laughter.

It wasn't.

Walen sighed. "Not today, Captain. Let some of the cadets take a turn on the mat."

He surveyed the line of eager young men and women waiting on the side. It was nearing the end of their schooling, and soon, the cadets would join our battalions. During the spring months, battalions across Pontia opened their training sessions to the nearby schools of cadets to give the young pupils a glimpse of life in the battalions.

"Take this as a lesson, cadets. Even the strongest can fall," General Walen said.

A couple of the cadets giggled.

My nails bit into the flesh of my palms. When I had stepped on the mat with Sylvia, the plan wasn't to show the cadets how to get knocked out.

Sylvia extended a hand, a smug grin inching across their face.

At that moment, I didn’t know what I wanted more: to slap the lieutenant’s smug expression off or yell at Fynn for distracting me. But he wasn't here for me to do that, was he?

I could already hear the snide remark he would make: Already distracted by courting me, huh? My reputation truly does precede me, doesn't it, Ferrios?

I scoffed.

"Something to say, Captain?"

At the voice, my head dropped against the mat with a thump.

This cannot be happening to me right now.

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