Page 30 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

“She requires a blade, anyhow. And I happen to have two,” he said, his eyes still fixed on Leuffen, who’d resumed a standing position.

Leuffen furrowed his brow. “We’re en the middle a’ sparren’.”

Ezren smirked. “From the looks of it, the two of you were no longer sparring by the time I arrived.”

Leuffen made to protest again, but Ezren cut him off. “Why don’t you go back to camp and grab your blade, mate? We can show Terra a few tricks for fighting two-on-one.”

Leuffen hesitated a moment longer, looking agitated at the hijacking of his training. He eventually glanced at me and nodded. Just like that, he turned and jogged off into the wood.

I eyed Ezren. He watched Leuffen until he was gone before turning back to me.

A familiar heat bloomed on my face in reaction to his predatory gaze. “How long were you watching us?”

He sauntered over, keeping his hands clasped behind his back. “Long enough to assess Leuffen’s training of you,” Ezren said lightly. He unsheathed his blades, tossing the Emerald-less sword in my direction. It landed in my hand with some heft.

“Its size may be a little awkward for you, but it’s better than nothing.” He shrugged.

I turned the blade over in my palm, admiring its weight and gleam. I clasped it between two hands and buried it into the side of a nearby fallen tree.

The blade cut deep in the dead wood, and the power of it reverberated back through the hilt and my intertwined fingers. I yelped at the backlash, my hands screaming in pain. The sword stuck out of the fibrous trunk. I glanced at Ezren, who was chuckling. I shook my head in mild embarrassment and tittered. He went over to the tree and yanked the weapon from its base.

“Well, your first lesson will be proper grip. These blades can’t cut straight through surfaces like solid wood, even if the wood is rotting. They can cut through flesh, sure enough, but if you ever hit anything harder than that and don’t have the proper grip, well,” he winked, “you will feel it.”

My cheeks heated further.

“Eventually, you’ll fight one-handed, and maybe even with two blades, like Leiya and I do. But for now, place your dominant hand at the bottom of the hilt… yes, perfect. And your other above it, touching, like this.”

He took it easy at first, demonstrating the various blade positions and how to properly make contact. But once he realized I could keep up, the pace quickened. He was faster than Leuffen and equal in strength, despite Leuffen’s enormityof size. He knocked the weapon from my hand numerous times, critiquing the vulnerability I allowed when holding the sword at a certain angle. Before I quite realized it, we were sparring. Metal against metal, I spun around to meet his every move, to block his every hit. I was on the defensive, but I could tell I was making him work harder than he expected.

“Your training has come back to you a little.” Ezren huffed, jumping back, barely missing the tip of my blade.

I whirled around, bringing a knee to the ground so that I could continue my swing from a lower vantage point. He blocked the risky move at the last second.

“Only a little?” I asked, looking up at him from below my eyelashes, our blades still connected.

Ezren stepped back and let me rise, laughing at my feigned innocence. “Tell me something—about your human family.”

My brows pinched together as I sprung for his unguarded left side, and he parried, pulling us into a sequence of strike and block.

“Don’t try to distract me.” I whirled on him, sending a kick to where his midsection should have been. But he was too fast, and my foot struck only air. He took advantage of my stumble and pulled me into his body, sword pressed to my throat.

His warm voice tickled my ear. “I would never.” His mocking tenor was low and sent vibrations into my core. He paused a moment longer, relaxing his grip. “I want to know, really.”

I pushed his armed hand away, resuming the fight stance.Ezren one, Terra zero.

“Alright.” I sighed. “How about a question for a question?”

A beaming smile spread over his features, and my heart stumbled.

Focus, Terra.I gripped the hilt of my blade harder.

“I accept.” He faked right and went left, but I’d been watching his feet and was prepared for it. I struck his blade back, nearly knocking it from his grip, but he recovered and whirled on me.

“Were they good to you?” His question was devastatingly genuine, and I paused a moment, considering.

Had Mama hit me for disobedience once or twice? Had she created nights of unpredictability when she turned to drink? Had Papa never intervened?

All yes. But… “I felt very loved,” I whispered.

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