Page 12 of Celestial Bodies

He looked down, thoroughly humiliated, and Dacias wished he could disappear into the ground beneath his feet. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

???

Dacias’s breath hitched as he dumped the bucket of cool water over himself. The cadets were back in the changing room, and half the infantry had already run to the lavatory to puke their guts out. Relief settled over the men asthey sponged icy water on their weary limbs. Their skin glistened under the glowing crystals hanging above as droplets of water snaked down the curves of their muscular bodies. Sighs of relief gave way to the playful banter that usually filled the room.

“Hey! Someone lock up the gear, or Dacias might try to fuck it again!”

Laughter echoed from the changing room into the adjoining area where Dacias sponged himself. He rolled his eyes and walked out fully nude to confront the culprit. “All right, which one of you said it?”

A cadet named Max said, “We’ll tell you who said it if you tell us who you were thinking about when you started humping the bag.” Max ran up to Dacias and started humping his leg. The cadets cackled.

“Get that little worm away from me! I definitely wasn’t thinking aboutyou, Max. I wasn’t thinking about anyone; I just got caught up in training.”

Max shook his head in disbelief. “Caught up?Who gets horny during shift-slams?”

Dacias narrowed his gaze at Max. “I wasn’thorny.Does your dumbass need some sense knocked into it next time we spar?”

Someone called out from across the room. “Ohhh, the battle of Max vs. Dax! Someone’s gonna get a beatdown!”

Then another cadet screamed, “OR BEAT OFF!”

The laughter intensified as cadets tossed their towels at Dacias, covering him in an avalanche of white and green cloth.

“I am going toannihilateyou all during the next sparring challenge! Just you wait!”

Klorin stood, stretching his lithe body to reveal ropey muscles. His red hair, closely cropped to his scalp, complemented his well-groomed beard. Arching an eyebrow at Dacias, Klorin remarked, “I know who you were thinking about.”

All eyes turned to his brother, and Dacias clenched his jaw at the smirk across Klorin’s face.

“Tell us who, Klorin! Is it one of us?”

Klorin continued, “Nah, it’s someone he met at Cupidor.”

Max’s eyes widened. “Cupidor!?Is it a hooker?”

“Will you all shut your traps! I’m done having this conversation,” Dacias bellowed.

He strode to the rack, about to snag a towel when his brother, Ferrean, spoke, “Wait. Cupidor? Are you serious?”

The playful clamor died down as Ferrean stepped forward.Great. My shitty brother. Ferrean was an insufferable pain for the entire infantry and Dacias’s primary rival. He detested Dacias’s reputation as the fiercest warrior in the Validar family.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Dacias squared up with Ferrean as he spoke, “It’s none of your business.”

Ferrean’s face twisted with rage. “If you mean that little Lapistrean pissant you were making eyes with at the Crag, I’ll spar you right here,” he stepped forward, shirtless, and flexed his chest in a way that made Dacias’s eyes roll, “right now.”

A murmur of whispers broke out among the cadets. One of them approached Dacias and asked, “Lapistrean? You were with a Lapistrean, Dax?”

Dacias glanced at Klorin, who mouthed, “Sorry.”

The looks of betrayal on his comrades’ faces made Dacias’s stomach drop, but he masked it with his usual bluster.

He folded his arms over his chest. “It’s nobody’s business who I did or didn’tmake eyes with. If you have an issue with me, Ferrean, let’s do this. Get your gear on and meet me in the sparring ring. Now.”

Ferrean raced to Dacias, fury emanating off him in wafts. “Fuck that, I’ll fight you right here!”

Ferrean sprouted scales, and his body began morphing into the tube-like shape of his anaconda form. Dacias fell forward, ready to rip this fucker to shreds, but Klorin leaped up, positioning himself between them.

“Hey! Both of you, knock it off! We’re brothers. We’re on the same team. Remember?”

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