Page 90 of A Kingdom of Fire and Fury
It took everything I had not to hunch my shoulders. “Whatever. Is that all for today?”
Kieran met my gaze and frowned. “I want to check on your progress. Let’s spar. First without weapons, and then with them.”
Kieran was merciless. Each strike, each blow was made to take me down. But this time, instead of my thighs and arms quivering when he connected, I blocked or dodged his strikes with strength. I couldn’t help but feel proud at how long I managed to hold on. After several months of training, I wasn’t a weakling anymore.
Still, it ended with me face down on the mat. I tried to ignore the rush of heat that swelled between my legs as he slotted between them. He had my hands locked behind my back in an iron grip.Only one hand too.Months ago, I would’ve been pissed. Now, I wanted to arch against his touch.
“So…” Ben trailed off. “Kieran wins.”
I flushed, realizing that we’d stayed in that positionlonger than necessary.
Kieran pulled back, and I bit back a cry of protest. “Get your blade,” he ordered, his voice harsh.
Fuck.That tone shouldn’t do things to me. Heaving a sigh, I grabbed my blade from my pack and raised it defensively. Kieran used a dulled weapon against me, but insisted I used a sharpened one. We both knew he could handle himself. I met his gaze. “I’m going to get you on your back.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I’d like to see you try. I expect you to put up a good fight and not let Ben’s hard work go to waste. Though if he’s found lacking, I’ll personally make him run laps until he passes out.”
“That’s not fair!” Ben protested from the sidelines. “Don’t punish the teacher. It’s not my fault she’s mediocre.”
“Thanks, asshole. I—” I let out a strangled cry when Kieran charged forward. I barely managed to dodge the swish of his knife. “Cheater!”
He let out a low chuckle. “Is it cheating or were you unprepared?”
“It was definitely cheating!” Ben chimed in.
I smiled and straightened my posture. As much as I tried to ignore it, I wanted to impress him. The problem was, Kieran wasfast.Overcoming that wouldn’t be easy. Still, I wasn’t going to back down from a challenge.
This time, I went on the offensive. In a real fight, all I needed to do was get in one solid strike. I aimed for the lethal spots. His neck, his thigh, his heart. Even hisballs, though that wasn’t necessarily lethal, it’d give me an advantage. There was no honor in fighting, and ‘dishonorable’ fighting was the main reason I got to come home to Clara whenever I was in a tough spot.
Every strike, every blow, heat crackled under my skin. His heavy gaze stayed on me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what his thoughts were. Was he impressed? Had I improved enough?
I made the mistake of trying to slice his neck, leaving my torso wide open for his boot. He kicked the air out of my lungs, and I stumbled backward. Kieran used that to end the fight, sweeping my legs and sending me on my back.
Kieran was on me in an instant, using his body weight to subdue me. He pinned my hands above my head in one hand. His other pressed a blade to my throat. I hissed at the slight pain as blood dripped down my neck. “What was that you said about getting me on my back?” He grinned wickedly.
“S-shut up.” My cheeks burned. “I did better though, didn’t I?”
“Hell yeah she did!” Ben cheered. “Don’t take it out on me if you think otherwise.”
Kieran snorted and stood up. “You did good, little thief.”
I smiled. “Damn right I did.”
While the others practiced sparring, Ben pulled me to the side. “I, uh, I thought I should warn you.”
I rolled my eyes but felt no real irritation. “That you’re willing to throw me under the carriage to saveyour own skin? Yeah, I got that.”
He grinned. “You should’ve expected that from the beginning. Kieran’s one scary asshole. He doesn’t go easy onyouof all people. I truly believe he’d make me cry.” He shook his head. “But that wasn’t it. I, um, I wanted to warn you about my family. They’ll be at the festival.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “You don’t have to worry. I know their reputation.” And even without the stories giving me pause, the fact that they were nobles was enough to make me dislike them. None of the nobles gave a shit about the people under their watch struggling to make ends meet.
“It’s a deserved one,” Ben said bitterly.
I winced. Markos Province was a terrible place for a woman to live. The current Lord and Ben’s father, Taro Markos, was known for producing bastards, and he’d never once married. All those mothers never received any sort of status for birthing his heirs. “Is it true he only legitimizes boys?”
Ben’s expression darkened. “I’m fourth in line, his fourth son, but he has fifteen kids in total.”
“Asshole.”
