Page 23 of The Kiss Of Death
“If you have another question about my sex life, askmenext time. Who knows, I might even provide a live demonstration,” Levi shot back at Sylas, which made him gulp before he eyed me up from head to toe. “Fencing. Interesting.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Oh, and I did get yourcutelittle gift,” he sneered. “It was delightful, but I’m afraid I don’t accept your apologies. You’ll have to do worse than that to impress me.”
He joined his fencing partner. Grandma’s recipe didn’t even give him a pimple on his way-too-perfect face, and worse, it was all amusing to him. I was naive. The only language he understood was ruthlessness, and I clearly wasn’t on his level. I needed a new strategy.
“Gift?” Sylas asked.
“It’s nothing,” I said.
“Greetings, all!” The teacher walked into the room, devoid of fencing gear. “Tara will lead the introductory class since I must attend a meeting. I have complete faith in her expertise. You’re in capable hands.”
The girl from earlier, Amelia, widened her eyes in recognition. Sylas couldn’t suppress a chuckle, and a hushed murmur swept through the class.
“Looks like we have a couple of new students here this year.” Tara’s gaze fixated on me, a smirk playing on her lips. “Let’s see what you’re all worth.”
An inexplicable unease washed over me as if I were adrift in a sea teeming with predatory sharks.
My little doll was like a stubborn glitch in the code, constantly looping and refusing to be resolved. Her technique was average, and her supports weren’t solid, yet that moron Sylas always found something to encourage her about by lying to her, pretending that this display of mediocrity was satisfying.
The light switched green, and my opponent scored her first point, thanks to my lack of attention.
I cracked my neck and let her attack while counterattacking, scoring a point on her foot. The red light switched on.Too predictable.I had entertained this duel and all the previous duels because my next opponent would be Dalia. When we’d switch, in about thirty seconds, she’d come to me.
I’d saved her for last.
I surprised myself with how poetic I was with her. The red light flickered again. Each combat sport was all about tactics and knowing your adversary’s weaker points, which was my thing. Fencing was Pantheon’s golden sport for people of our “pedigrees.”
“You’re weak, Amelia. Levi, finish her.” Tara arrived by our side at the last five seconds, her arms crossed.
“As you wish.”
I made Amelia, Tara’s pet, lose her balance and fall backward. The light flickered red, and I pulled my mask off.Now, Dalia, where are—
“Get up!” Tara’s scream echoed across the room.
The girl took off her mask. “He won. The fight is over.”
“Let’s just switch adversaries,” I said, my patience thinning.
But Tara aimed her foil in the direction of her face. “It’s over when I say it is.” Tara shifted her attention to me. “I’m taking your place.”
“Let it go,” I told her, not out of sympathy but because I had my own adversary to get to.
The girl struggled to get up while someone kneeled beside her and, with a failed whisper, said, “If she underestimates you, she won’t defend her guard. You got this.”
There she was, Dalia Mercier, her absurd braid framing her determination to alienate the very cream of our school’s crop. That Unifier’s mentality would only lead her sooner to her grave.
“You’re saying I have weaknesses?” Tara screamed in a high-pitched tone. Dalia had touched a nerve. I breathed loudly.Here we go again. “Please enlighten me, newbie.”
“You’re one of the best here, and I’m sure your technique is nearly perfect, but no one is invincible,” Dalia’s frail voice said as she held her sword in both hands. “If you teach us how to improve instead of just gloating, maybe we’ll stand a chance against you.”
“Amelia, do you have a chance to win against me?”
“No,” the girl groaned.
“Get up and move before I change my mind,” Tara ordered the girl off and advanced toward Dalia. “You want to give advice, so please show me what you’re worth.”
