Chapter Ten
Bittersweet
I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow and, like so many other nights, scenes of the past played out in my head like some sort of real-life theater?
"Get up."
The voice was soft but insistent. There was a world of steel in those two words, and in the eyes that stared impassively down at me.
My fingers flexed in the dirt I'd just had the displeasure of tasting when I'd landed flat on my face for the tenth time that day. Eleventh? I had stopped counting after taking my fourth header into the dust. For one thing, it was hard enough to remain focused and alert. Besides, keeping vigilant track of how many times I'd been knocked down in one afternoon would have done absolutely nothing for my morale.
"Get up," Aranu repeated, injecting a little more force into the words.
When I dragged myself to my knees, the world swayed before my eyes. "I?can't," I gasped. All morning Aranu had been taking me through defensive maneuvering, and the way I figured, I could thank my lucky stars it was him rather than a guard standing over me or I would have been dead hours ago.
Every muscle in my body was screaming in protest and the only thing that burned worse than my legs were my lungs. Catching a breath seemed impossible and when I did, the air felt thin and insufficient. My head swam. "I can't." I forced the words through my teeth, hating what it cost to say them out loud.
Aranu took a step closer and planted his feet mere inches from where I knelt in the dirt. I lifted my head to stare at him, for all the good it did. His face was unreadable, as usual. But then something flickered in the burnished gold depths of his eyes and for a split second I wondered if he was about to reach down and grab me, haul me to my feet. My fingers clenched into tight fists as the dust settled around me. I used my hands to shove off of the ground and, slowly, painfully, climbed to my feet. I thought I saw something that looked like approval flash in Aranu's eyes, but all too soon the moment was gone.
"Ready?"
No. "Yes." I gave a brief, terse nod and concentrated on remaining upright without swaying.
Aranu backed up a pace and reclaimed the long, smooth stick he'd been using for most of our training session. I was fast beginning to hate that stick, even if it was extraordinarily beautiful. Exquisite blackened symbols had been carved into the ends of the five-foot-long weapon and the wood had been polished and lacquered until it shone like molten honey in the bright high-noon sun that spilled over the surrounding trees and into the clearing. The brilliant light caught the spun gold veins of the leaves in the forest around us and the woods looked glittery, alive.
Breath. In. Out. Steady. The burn in my arms and legs and back began to ease into a dull, persistent ache and I lowered my body into a slight crouch, feet apart, arms going loose and limber. I was prepared, or at least, as ready as I was going to get. Bring it on, I thought, pulling energy from some hidden place deep within and locking my eyes on Aranu.
His own stance shifted and instinctively I tensed, despite Aranu's previously repeated instructions to remain fluid and limber. A second later, he sprang into action, swinging wide and low this time, toward my legs, his face settling into a grim mask when I didn't quite manage to jump completely out of the way. The side of the weapon clipped my knee and I stumbled but managed to stay on my feet this time.
"You're freezing up, Ari, move, move!" Aranu growled, advancing on me and lifting his arm to strike again.
I moved. Feigning right, I twisted my body left at the last second, avoiding the stick on the downswing this time.
"Come on, Ari, you're a nymph-you can jump higher than that. Get up in the trees!" His voice lashed at me as he jabbed the stick forward, the polished wood coming precariously close to my midsection.
The trees. He was right. I could jump much higher. I could swing across the trees so fast it was nearly flight. Why hadn't I thought of that before now? Oh well, it didn't matter, not really, because I was too sore and tired to get up into the trees that rimmed the meadow. Still, I couldn't help but glance longingly at the leafy green canopy. That was a mistake. The blow wasn't a glancing one this time, but a jarring impact on my left shoulder. With a broken, hoarse cry, I dropped to the ground, this time going down on one knee instead of sprawling flat.
The stick thudded into the dirt. Out of the corner of one eye, I saw it bounce, then roll to land carelessly against a short, orange blossom-laden bush. When he reached me, Aranu exhaled sharply before crouching to my level and lifting my head with one finger placed beneath my chin. His eyes searched my face and his fingers moved over my shoulder in a cool, light touch before he nodded and stood, pulling me up with him. Without a word, he lifted me carefully into his arms and carried me out of the meadow, heading west, toward camp.
Training was over for the day. I winced, not even thinking of demanding that Aranu put me down. Well, at least I hadn't ended the day by falling on my ass. Progress?