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The wind. Heartbeats. Water running. Something dripping— which ended up being a cave. Animal footsteps. A massive snake slithering.
Nothing exciting, although it all somehow ended up being really helpful.
I was able to find us a water source, I helped Zilon hunt food, and I acted as another level of security against anyone or anything approaching us. That was the one I was most proud of, I still couldn’t fight, but at least I wasn’t dragging them down anymore.
Too bad my super hearing didn’t stop me from tripping and stumbling over the foliage.
Philit kept pushing me to practice right up until we stopped for the night. We would usually hike for another hour or two, but Philit was adamant that we make our camp there if only because there was flat ground and a rock wall there.
“Perfect for sparing.” I might have squealed when he said that. This was what I had been waiting for.
“So how much experience do you have exactly?” Philit asked as we cleared some of the bigger rocks and sticks out of the way.
“None,” I replied, my voice straining as I rolled a larger boulder to the edge. All three of them stared at me.
“You say that, but you just pushed that over like it was made of hay.” Landers snorted, earning a glare from both Philit and Zilon.
I rolled my eyes, “Hay is not light when it’s baled together, which is what I have spent the majority of my life doing. Baling hay and tossing it.”
I gave the rock another heave. It flopped over with an ominous thud. Landers barely stopped his jaw from dropping.
“I guess we’ll have to see how you do against a dragon. I wanna see you throw Philit.” I couldn’t tell if Landers was taunting me or begging me.
“The man not willing to join us doesn’t get to voice his opinion,” Philit said, his voice firm even though I could have sworn that I saw the corner of his mouth twitch.
Well, color me surprised. I got the surly ‘play by the rules’ dragon to smile.
Landers scoffed as he crossed his arms and leaned back against a tree. The Fae he claimed to be watching over was tied up a few feet away. For once he wasn’t talking, he just sat there, his eyes wide as he watched me. I really wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, but thankfully Zilon had noticed, and he moved one tree closer to him.
“Okay. Well, we have to start somewhere. Since Rayna doesn’t know how to fight at all and Zilon can learn more, I’ll be training both of you.”
“Wait. What?” Zilon pushed off the tree. “I can fight. Train Landers, he knows nothing more than how to throw drunken punches in brothels.”
“It’s served me well so far,” Landers was grinning as he toasted his imaginary glass to the now furious green dragon. Zilon’s wings twitched and he moved into the ring to face me.
He stood more than a head a shoulders above me, and was two of me wide with the wings that were now shifting and flexing alongside the muscles in his chest.
I swallowed. What in the world had I gotten myself into?
“Do not worry, Rayna, I will not hurt you,” Zilon was being completely honest, I could only nod numbly in reply.
“Perfect,” Philit began, drawing a line in the dirt between us as if either of us was going to cross it. “Now I want you to both take a fighting stance. We are going to start with punches and blocks.”
He demonstrated five quick moves, three jabs and two uppercuts. As ominous as they were, my stomach flipped in excitement.
“How do you know how to fight so well?” I asked, my motions stumbling as I tried to mimic what he had just done.
Philit shrugged and stepped beside me, showing me the punches again. “I am from Xrotte, remember. We are no stranger to Fae attacks. If you want to survive, you have to learn to defend yourselves. We start training nearly as soon as we can walk.” He punched again, and I tried to mimic him. I thought I was doing fine, but he stepped behind me, his hands warm and encompassing as he grabbed my wrists to showcase the movement.
“Once I was old enough, I signed up to be on the front lines,” he whispered in my ear, his chest pressed against my back as he led my hands into one punch after another.
And another.
With every forward thrust of my hands he moved closer into me, his hips against my back as he jabbed forward.
The mountain had been dropping in temperature a minute ago, now I was sweating.
“I’ve taken down a few Fae, and now that I’ve shifted as a dragon, I’ll be able to take down more.”
