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I let my sword drop to the ground and winced as a hiss scratched the edges of my mind.
What the heck?
I filed that away to deal with later, picked up one of my daggers, and stepped toward Josh.
“First, getting into a fighting stance. Loosen your body and spread your feet slightly, allow your body to have the option to move at a moment’s notice,” he directed. “Dominant leg forward, so when the moment comes for you to thrust your weapon forward, you have that capability on more stable footing.”
I righted my stance, hobbling in the process. “Okay, now what?” Josh stepped in close, his hand light on my waist then thigh guiding my body into a more precise position. Heat rushed to my cheeks at the touch.
Okay. Head out of the gutter.
Come on, now.
He stepped back. “Bring your dagger upward, elbow pointing outward, pinky faced outward, and following the direction of your blade. Shoulders back.” Josh once again adjusted my body, moving my arm, weighted by my dagger, into a prime position that he approved of.
“Okay. Thrust your arm downward. Your dagger should make contact with your opponent, if not stabbing them straight through. The blade will slide down their front, causing seriousdamage and blood loss, buying you a few extra moments,” his eyes dropped to mine and whispered, “you will not harm me, Miss Snow.”
I averted my eyes from his, closed them, and thrust my arm out and downward as I braced myself for the twang of the impact. Nothing. I squinted one eye open. Josh hadn’t moved an inch. I wholly missed my target. I gaped while Josh wore the same neutral expression, unsurprised by my failed attempt.
“As I stated, you will not harm me.”
My jaw dropped. “You knew I’d miss?”
“Even the most revered soldiers begin with the weakest combat skills. If you’d made contact with myself, it would’ve been deliberate on my part,” he added as he nonchalantly dusted off a feather that floated onto his shoulder.
My eye twitched in time with my upper lip. “Freaking Prick.”
“Call me what you wish, Miss Snow. However, it is best to see this as a learning experience. As well as an excellent gauge for where you’ve begun and exactly how far you have to go,” his lips formed a thin line. “Go again. This time, eyes open.”
Josh guided me through various basic fighting movements, rather what he considered basic movements, I considered them forms of torture. The training continued well into the morning, the sun rose above us as it broke on the tree line. There were several times where I fell, misplaced my feet, being ‘too ambitious‘ with my blade as Josh had said.
Too ambitious my ass.
I finally collapsed onto the grass, panting, and cussing up a storm. The grass behind us rustled. “If someone’s going to kill me, just do it now. Please. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“Where is the fun in that, Princess? I kinda like seeing you all sweaty.”
I groaned and closed my eyes as I threw my arms out to the side. Sweat dripped down my face, coated my armpits, and soaked my thighs. “It’s too early, Derik. Please go flirt with someone else. Someone more willing.”
“You wound me, Erin. Truly.”
“Yeah, right.”
Liquid sloshed from where Derik stood near the house. “Would coffee help?”
I shot my hand straight up, flexing and waving in his direction. “Yes. Please. For the love of all things holy. That and water if you got any.” My throat was on fire.
Footsteps neared my head; I kept my arm extended, fingers splayed, awaited the roasted deliciousness. A thump sounded next to my ear, chilling it. Then a cup was placed delicately into the palm of my hand. I blinked to find Derik bent over me, staring down with a shit eating grin plastered on his face. His blonde untamed locks fell forward, his chocolate-brown eyes lit with amusement. His white shirt wrinkled from sleep.
“I aim to please, Princess.” Derik winked. I restrained myself from rolling my eyes as I sat up and gulped the entirety of the coffee down.
I choked as the last of it hit my tongue. “Ugh, this is disgusting. What did you do to it?”
He shrugged. “Nothing, actually. That’s straight coffee with a triple shot of espresso. Thought the added sugar and milk might slow ya down, Snow.”
“Gross. Thanks, but next time, I’ll take the damn risk.” I washed the bitter taste down with the water that he’d dropped next to my head.
“Unfortunately, I must agree with Miss Snow. Based solely off of her training session this morning, the added sugar and dairy wouldn’t have slowed her down by much.”
