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"And why wouldn't I be able to use magic?"
She chuckles, palming her blade tightly in her left hand and pointing it at me. "Maybe you tried, and nothing worked. Maybe their magic is stronger than yours. Or maybe you just prefer the power that comes with defeating someone with your bare hands." Her grin is wicked, her stormy eyes flashing.
Today, Viola has braided her white hair in three sections and is wearing a cropped black shirt, leaving her abdomen bare with a pair of tight black trousers and bare feet. Shadow is wrapped around her wrist, but she flicks him off, and he disappears intothe shade of one of the homes.
As I'm distracted by my perusal of her strong, fit body, Viola sweeps my legs with her own, and I land back first on the grass with a huff.
"Rule one," she says loudly for the benefit of those gathered, "is to focus on your opponent's movements. If they get you on the ground, you need to get up as soon as possible because once you're pinned, it will be much more difficult to gain the upper hand."
I tuck my legs to my chest and kick out, jumping to my feet. I realize now that Viola isn't here to play, so I swing my blade forward toward her side. She dodges my attack easily and lands a fist on my ribs, knocking the air out of me. It takes me a second too long to recover from the blow because I quickly find myself on my knees in the grass in front of her.
"You know, numen," I say, panting, "if you wanted me on my knees, you just had to ask."
Viola rolls her eyes, "I think you've said that before." My words have the intended effect, though, because she takes her eyes off of me, and I sweep my leg out and drop her to the ground. I lunge on top of her, squeezing her hips with my thighs, as I throw a punch towards her nose, pulling it at the last minute to reduce impact. Despite the pull, I still make contact, and blood drips from her rapidly swelling nose.
"I said no pulling punches," she growls, swinging a free hand out and knocking me in the side of the head. "We can Heal for a reason!"
It appears that pulling my punch truly pissed Viola off because the force with which she flips me off cracks my back, and I moan with the pain. Still, I manage to rise to my feet at the same time she does, pulling her blade. She charges me, and I throw out a leg, catching her firmly in the chest. She falls backward, getting on her feet before I can even reach her.
The fury in her eyes lights me up until I am on the receiving end of it.
A well-placed jab to my kidneys is followed by my arm getting wrenched behind my back and my blade falling on the ground. I try to kick back, but Viola is nimble, able to dodge my awkward leg movements while still keeping my arm firmly restrained with just one hand.
She kicks out the back of my knees, knocking me to them on the ground, and pushes me face forward into the grass. My free arm, which until this point has been desperately trying to reach her as I thrash my body in the hopes of dislodging her, joins my other arm wedged under Viola's thighs as I fight to knock her from my back.
Her hand feeds into my hair and yanks, pulling my face out of the grass to where I can see all of our friends watching my humiliation. The cool metal of a blade kisses the skin of my throat.
"You see," she says to the gathered crowd. "My weight on his back, with my knees rooted in the ground, makes it difficult for him to push me off, especially hands-free. With my knife on his throat tightly," she presses it into my skin just enough thatit doesn't break the flesh, even though the threat is there, "his movement is restricted unless he wants to cut himself. As an Autumn fae, there is not much magic he could use at this point to try to get me off of him."
"I could Influence you to let me go," I say through gritted teeth.
"Only if there is a part of me that wants to, right?"
"Right," I say reluctantly. "I could use Lightning to cause damage to you."
"I'm on top of you. How confident are you that you'll only hit me and not yourself?"
I cannot believe I am having a conversation with the woman I love while her knife is at my throat. Though, if I'm honest, I'm surprised this is the first time.
"Not entirely," I respond begrudgingly.
"So what does that leave you?" she implores, looking down at me. When I don't answer, she turns to the crowd. "Anyone have any ideas what to do when you end up in a situation like this?"
Ideas get thrown out, and Viola discusses the merits of them as if I'm not underneath her in a compromising position. Eventually, she removes the blade and leans over, kissing me on the cheek before climbing off my back and helping me to my feet.
"Being a good fighter is not enough. You have to be resourceful, creative, and able to think on your feet," Viola lectures, arms behind her back as she looks at the motley crew of people who have made Rainworth their temporary home. "We do not know what to expect when all of the Gods return, and we work to overthrow Himureal.What I do know is that regardless, knowing how to fight and how to predict the moves your opponent will make is never a wasted skill."
"What if it never gets used?" says a younger man who worked on Jaz's ship. "Won't you forget it?"
"That's why we spar," Jaz says, turning towards him. "It's important to practice so you don't get rusty, and it's a great way to work out disputes. I have heard the bullshit you lot get into when we're out on the water. This is an easy way to handle it. Spar, get it over with, and then move on."
Viola nods, clapping Jaz on the shoulder. "How many times do you think Jaz here kicked my ass growing up?"
"Uh, none?" Tulip says, twirling her own blade in an imitation of Viola.
"Loads," Jaz says with a laugh. "I do have a few years on Viola, though, so I was ahead of her in skill there for a bit."
"You stopped sparring with me after I started consistently besting you," Viola says with a laugh.
