She narrowed her eyes. His mocking tone only made her angrier.
She tried again. Again, she missed.
"If your plan is to wear me out long enough for me to stop, then congratulations," she said after missing yet again.
"You're not thinking about it the way you're supposed to. You're just trying to get a hit in when you really should be thinking about my position once I've dodged it. You should be looking for open spots. If you continue trying to connect your fist and my face, you'll lose. Even if your opponent isn't nearly as skilled as I am," he said.
She thought about what he said. If she went for it, he'd move to the right, just as he'd been doing. That'd be the best moment to strike again.
So she did. And this time, when he dodged her hand and moved to the right, her right foot shot out, and she kicked him. Not strong enough to do any damage, but enough for him to narrow his eyes at her.
She smiled, feeling a lot better now that she'd finally hit him.
"Ah, so you do listen," he said.
They went on like that for a while. Lex didn't try to strike back; mostly, he focused on defense, allowing her to practice her attack strategy. She grew sweaty and restless, kind of wishing he'd try to hit her back so she would feel like she was in an actual fight. If she ever had to fight anyone, she was pretty sure they'd be fighting right back.
"Stop that! I'm never going to learn how to protect myself if you just keep dodging me. Fight back," she yelled.
"Trust me, you're nowhere near ready for that," he said, smirking at her.
"Oh, really? Or maybe you're just all talk? Because based on what I've seen, Grace could beat you in minutes," she yelled, going for another hit. Mostly because she wanted to slap the hell out of him.
But after she missed, he grabbed her hand, twisting it behind her back, and came up behind her. He brought his other hand down to her heart like he was holding a knife.
"Dead," he whispered from behind her.
She could feel his chest against her back, her hand still stuck between the two of them. A chill ran down her spine. Goosebumps rose on her skin. But she wasn’t afraid. She was aroused, much to her annoyance.
She yanked her arm free and turned to face him, her anger propelling her forward. She kicked at him, but he grabbed her foot and pulled it forward, making her lose her balance and land on her ass with a loud thud.
He laughed.
She clenched her hands and got up, embarrassed. The asshole was actually laughing at her.
"Have I upset you," he asked, his voice sounding innocent.
He dodged the punch she threw at him and grabbed her by the shoulder. He pushed her, and she lost her footing but remained upright.
At the last second, he came up behind her again.
This time one hand went to her jaw, tilting it up. The other hand went to her neck, his thumb making a line across it like he was slitting it.
"Dead," he whispered again, his breath tickling her ear.
This time, she could feel his entire body pressed up against hers. She was tempted to lean back into it, but he pushed her away a second later.
"I think that's enough for tonight," he said, grabbing his jacket from off the ground. "If it's any consolation, you're not nearly as bad as I thought you'd be. Perhaps with a few more weeks of practice, you could beat one of the 10-year-olds we have training," he said, fighting a smile.
"Screw you, Lex," she said, rolling her eyes. Angry at him for mocking her.
"One more thing," he said, walking towards her. She stood by the doors with her arms crossed. He came to her side, and before she knew it, swept his right leg under her calves. She felt her legs being knocked out from under her. She let out a little gasp and prepared to land on her ass again when he caught her by the arms at the last second. "Never let your guard down," he whispered, pulling her back up.
She was so angry she didn't even think about what she was doing when she stomped her right foot down on his toes.
"Ah," he yelled, pulling his foot out from under hers.
"I thought you said to never let your guard down," she asked, raising an eyebrow.
His eyes widened a little, and she swore that for a second, they dropped to her lips. But she turned and walked out, going towards her room.
She could feel his eyes on her, watching her walk away.
Chapter 10
Her tailbone felt a little sore the next day, but the look on his face after she'd stomped on his foot the night before made it worth it.
She made her way down to the throne room for breakfast in good spirits.
After eating, she noticed Grace walking towards her.
"Are you ready to go," she asked, looking at Mara.
"Yeah," Mara said, getting up. "We're gonna go into town for a bit, wanna join," she asked, looking at Aria.
"Sure," Aria said.
Once they got to the village, they walked around for a bit. Grace bought a few things from some of the vendors.
Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. One woman offered them some food, and they each took a little. Aria felt terrible; she didn't have any money or anything to give the woman in return. But she saw Grace handing her coins.
Eventually, they made it to a vendor who sold various toiletries and what looked like perfume. They were tiny glass bottles full of clear liquid. Some smelled floral, others were woodsy scents. Aria was reminded vaguely of the king.
"Pick one," Grace said. "Both of you. And don't give me shit about not needing anything."
Aria picked one that smelled like amber and vanilla. It was ridiculous, but she felt a little giddy just to have something so lovely.
After a couple
