Page 24 of Keeping Freya
“I will teach you anything you want.”
Blushing, I step back and take a sip of my now cold tea. “Let’s start with basic self-defense, okay? But maybe we should wait until after breakfast.”
He laughs. Not a full-out belly laugh, but a small laugh. It’s sincere, though, and I don’t think I’ve heard him laugh before. Mesmerized by the sound, I look up at him.
He takes my hand and grumbles something unintelligible before he leads me back towards Command, where he plants me on a chair and starts fixing us breakfast.
I’m too shocked to do or say anything about it, so we eat together, in silence. When we’re finished, he hands me another cup of tea while he walks over to the chair. He checks some things on the computer before he returns to me and holds out a hand.
“Come,” he grunts. “Time for your first lesson.
CHAPTER 15
Freya
“Hit me,” T’Rak says, and I arch a brow.
“Hit you?”
“Yes, hit me. I need to know what you are already capable of.”
That is easier said than done. I know what I’m capable of when fighting for my life, but I don’t think he means that. So, I ball my fists and raise them in a boxer’s stance. I step forward with one foot and hit him in the chest as hard as I can.
Agony explodes through my hand. “AUW! Mother FUCKER!” I try to wave the pain away, but that fucking hurts!
“Is that all you got? “ T’Rak looks down at me, smirking, and anger rises. He wants to see what I’ve got? I will show him.
I stalk forward and push at his chest. He doesn’t move an inch, and I begin pummeling him with my fists. My best efforts do not even make him flinch a little bit, anddesperation makes me start yelling at him. “I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT I GOT! YOU DO NOT GET TO TREAT ME LIKE THIS!”
Just when I think all is hopeless and I am going to give up, he grabs me by the shoulders, spins me around, and pulls me towards him. “That is enough, Fr’Ya.”
I huff, puff, and stomp my feet, but he holds on tight. “If I let you go, do you promise to stop exhausting yourself?”
“Yes.”
He lets go, and I pivot, anger and shame coloring my face. “Why do you let me embarrass myself like that?!”
“To see what I have to teach you,” he shrugs. “Which is a lot, but we are certainly not going to focus on how you need to start a fight.”
I blink, feeling stunned. I open my mouth to speak, but he raises his eyebrows, and I snap it shut, crossing my arms.
“We will focus on self-defense and target practice. Can you tell me how you killed the Sternotheri that held you?”
Sighing, I yield. The asshole has a point after all. So I tell him the entire story of how we killed our captors. I leave out the abuse, not feeling ready to go there yet. I can tell by the way he looks that he has questions, but he lets it slide.
“So, what do you think of my expert enemies-killing skills?”
He gives me a rare smile. “I was already impressed by what I saw yesterday, but I think what you did on the ship defied all odds, and that is fucking amazing. You are strong, and I can see why the other humans made you captain.”
My cheeks heat, and I feel the blush creep up through my neck.
“However, we will work on some techniques so your body will hopefully snap into action the next time you are in a dangerous situation.” He pauses for a heartbeat. “Althoughrunning away from dangerous situations will always have to be your first instinct.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Yeah, yeah. What else can you teach me?”
“Target practice,” he grunts.
Target practice turns out to be quite fun. Apparently, it’s something I have a natural talent for. Who would have thought that? We train until my muscles ache and I flop down on the mat. Exhausted. “I can’t go on anymore.”
