The last challenger was a woman. Tall and agile, she wielded a long wooden staff. Ari called it a bow. She held her own against Valek, and their sparring lasted longer than any of the previous six fights. With a loud crack, her bow snapped in two, ending the match. As the crowd dispersed, Valek spoke with the woman.
“That’s Maren,” Ari said. “If she doesn’t disappear into Valek’s corps, you should ask her to teach you the bow. With your smaller size, it would extend your reach against a taller attacker.”
“But you can’t conceal a bow,” I said.
“Not around the castle. But if you’re hiking through the woods, you wouldn’t look out of place holding a walking stick.”
I looked at Maren and considered the possibilities. Would she agree to help me? Probably not. What would she stand to gain?
As if reading my thoughts, Ari said, “Maren’s aggressive and encouraging. Every new female recruit gets her personal attention whether they want it or not. Since so many women fail due to the rigors of training, she tries to coach them through. We’ve more women in the guard now than ever because of her. We tried to get her to teach us—a bow would make a good weapon for a scout—but she has no interest in training men.”
“But I’m not a new recruit, I’m the food taster. Why would she waste her time with me? I might be dead by tomorrow.”
“Aren’t we grumpy today,” Janco said cheerfully. “Too much exercise this morning?”
“Shut up,” I said. Unfazed, his grin only widened.
“All right, that’s enough. Let’s get started,” Ari said.
I spent the rest of the afternoon learning to punch someone without breaking my hand and practicing the proper technique of kicking. The first two knuckles of both hands turned bright red as I punched into a training bag over and over. Mastering the front kick was a challenge since my stiff thigh muscles hindered my flexibility.
When Ari finally dismissed me, I aimed my battered body toward the castle.
“See you in the morning,” Janco said with a gleeful sound in his voice.
I turned to tell him where to stick it and came face-to-face with Valek. I held my breath. He had been watching us. I felt self-conscious.
“Your punches are slow,” he said. Taking my hand, he examined the bruises, which were starting to purple. “At least your technique is good. If you hold weights in your hands while you train, your punches will be much quicker without them.”
“I can continue?” I asked in disbelief.
He still held on to my hand, and I couldn’t summon the willpower to pull it back. The warmth of his touch coursed through my body, temporarily vanquishing my aches and pains.
With the memory of his stunning physical display fresh in my mind, I gazed at his strong face. His flashing and dangerous blue eyes had always taken my attention. I had learned to read his facial expressions as a survival tactic but I had never really looked at him in this way before. He was a study in contradiction. The man who carved delicate statues was also capable of disarming seven opponents without breaking a sweat. My interactions with Valek resembled a performance on the tightrope. One minute I was confident and balanced, and the next insecure and unstable.
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” he said. “How did you get the power twins to agree to teach you?”
“Power twins?”
“Combine Ari’s strength with Janco’s speed, and they would be unbeatable. But, so far, I haven’t had to test my theory since they haven’t tried to fight me together. No one said I couldn’t have more than one second-in-command. You’re not going to give me away, are you?”
“No.”
Valek gave my hand a small squeeze, and then released his grip. “Good. They’re probably the best instructors at the castle. How did you meet them?”
“They were the men who found me in the forest. The Commander promoted them, and I took advantage of their gratitude.” My hand tingled where he had touched it.
“Opportunistic and underhanded, I love it.” Valek laughed. He was in a good mood as he walked beside me to the castle. Probably a rush from beating so many opponents. Before we reached the east entrance, he stopped. “There’s one problem.”
My heartbeat increased to double time. “What?”
“You shouldn’t train so visibly. Word spreads quickly. If Brazell finds out and makes a fuss, the Commander will order you to stop. And it’ll make the Commander suspicious.”
We entered the cool, dark air of the castle. It was a relief to be out of the hot sun.
“Why don’t you make use of all those empty storerooms in the lower level of the castle? You can still run laps in the morning for exercise,” Valek said.
Great, I thought sarcastically, jogging was the one aspect of training I would have been willing to give up. However, Valek was right, working with Ari and Janco in the middle of the yard had already attracted negative attention. Mainly Nix, whose scowls and nasty glares burned on my skin.
Valek was quiet as we traveled through the castle. I was headed to the Commander’s office to taste his dinner. He walked with me.
“Mentioning Brazell reminds me that I’ve been wanting to ask you about that Criollo that the Commander enjoys. Do you like the taste of it?”
I chose my words with care. “Yes, it’s an excellent dessert.”
“If you stopped eating it, how would you feel?”
“Well…” I hesitated, unsure where this conversation was leading. “Truthfully, I would be disappointed. I look forward to eating a piece every morning.”
“Have you ever craved the Criollo?” Valek inquired.
I finally understood where his pointed questions were leading. “Like an addiction?”
He nodded.
“I don’t think so, but…”
“But what?”
“I only eat it once a day. The Commander has a piece after every meal, including his evening snack. Why this sudden concern?” I asked.
“Just a feeling. It might be nothing.” Valek was silent during the rest of the trip.
“Well, Valek, any new promotions?” the Commander asked as we entered his office.
“No. But Maren shows promise. Unfortunately she doesn’t want to be in my corps or even be my second. She just wants to beat me.” Valek grinned, delighted by the challenge.
“And can she?” the Commander inquired. His eyebrows rose.
“With time and the proper training. She’s deadly with her bow; it’s just her tactics that need work.”
“Then what do we do with her?”
“Promote her to General and retire some of those old windbags. We could use some fresh blood in the upper ranks.”
“Valek, you never had a good grasp of military structure.”
“Then promote her to First Lieutenant today, Captain tomorrow, Major the next day, Colonel the day after, and General the day after that.”
“I’ll take it under advisement.” The Commander flashed me an annoyed glance. I was dawdling, and he had noticed.
“Anything else?” he asked Valek.
I finished tasting, placed the Commander’s tray on the desk, and headed for the door.
Valek grabbed my arm. “I’d like to try an experiment. I want Yelena