Page 69 of Blood and Fate

A spark shot through her hand and up her arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake. She felt the breath that Kais blew out as he, no doubt, noticed it as well. She turned her head slightly, peeking out of the corner of her eye. He was watching her, his eyes running over the side of her face. Then he seemed to shake himself and remember what he was doing.

His rough skin coasted over the back of her hand, and her breath caught in her throat. More heat crept into her face, though she barely noticed, all her attention focused on where their skin made contact.

Kais cleared his throat. “Like this,” he repeated, but his voice had grown lower and quieter. His hand closed around hers.

Shala, she couldn’t think. What was she doing again? Kais lifted her hand. Right, the whip.

Slowly he bent her arm up and down. “Loosen your elbow, lock your wrist.”

She did as he said, allowing her arm to become pliable in his grasp.

“Good,” he purred the word into her ear and the goosebumps returned. “Now, relax. Don’t do anything, let me have control right now.”

Helias! Was he kidding? She closed her eyes momentarily, pushing away the inappropriate thoughts dancing around inside her head. She nodded.

Behind her, she thought he huffed a small laugh but wasn’t sure. His grasp became more secure over her hand and the whip. He lifted her arm until it was pointed in front of her, then he lifted her hand, bending her elbow.

“This is what you want.” He let her arm back down and then repeated the motions as he explained them. “Arm up. Bend elbow. Whip pointed up.”

“Okay,” she hadn’t meant to whisper, but her voice just would not work.

“Okay,” he repeated with a smile in his words. “When you swing, make sure the end goes all the way up in the air, pointed up and unfurled. Then bring the whip back, let it fall, and pull it back around. You want a little loop. Then when the loop hits the end of the braid, you get the crack.”

He moved her arm through the motions slowly twice before releasing his hold on her hand and stepping farther to her left. “Your turn.”

She was unsure at first as she brought the whip up in front of her, the way Kais had explained. She did it slowly a few times to get the rhythm, then tried for real.

“Ow!” When she brought her arm back around, the leather braid snapped her in the back.

Kais was back at her side. He reached out and straightened her wrist. “Make sure it’s pointed slightly away so it doesn’t hit you when it comes around.”

“Now you tell me,” she teased as he stepped away.

She raised the whip again, being careful to angle her arm slightly away. She started over, speeding her movements. The first time did nothing. There was no crack, but she also didn’t hit herself.

The next time also produced no crack.

“Make sure you get the extension above your head,” Kais said from her side.

She nodded, concentrating on the whip. She extended her arm, bent her elbow, and pulled the whip up. It stretched far above her head, falling behind her. She waited for a moment and then quickly pulled the braid back forward. A small loop formed and unfurled to the end of the whip, making a small cracking sound.

She couldn’t help the excited shout that burst from her lips or the small hop she did where she stood. “I did it!”

When she turned to Kais, he was grinning at her, a full face smile that lit his eyes. And it was for her. She felt the blush and quickly returned her attention to the whip. She tried repeatedly, getting it to crack on at least half of the attempts.

“Me next! Me next!” Adalyn had returned with her child-sized whip in hand.

“Absolutely. I’m here to teach today,” Kais said as he motioned Adalyn to him and proceeded to show her the same movements he had shown Satori.

Adalyn’s first attempt resulted in a satisfying crack of the whip, and Kais picked the girl up and tossed her easily into the air. “I knew you could do it!”

Satori came to Adalyn’s side. “Well done! It took me a couple of tries.” She bent to speak conspiratorially with the girl, “He didn’t toss me in the air, though. That looked like fun.”

Kais stepped up beside them and placed his hands on his hips. “Well, if you’d like me to throw you in the air, you need only ask.”

“Do it!” Adalyn squealed, and Kais and Satori both laughed.

“I think I might be a bit big for your uncle to be lifting me like that,” Satori said.

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