Page 36 of When Storms Ruin

“I’m not sure you want to be embarrassed in front of your friends,” Warrick replied, his jaw tight.

“Me? Embarrassed? Never.” Nik grinned at Warrick in challenge, his eyebrow raised.

I had seen Warrick spar with, and best, everyone in our group. Including Liss. But never Nik. He had laid Puck out in under a minute and Puck had complained for days that he was out of practice, and that was the only reason he had lost so easily.

Nik wasn’t going to back down. “Are you afraid, Warrick? Afraid someone might be able to teachthe teachera thing or two?”

Warrick stepped forwards, unsheathing his own sword. We collectively backed towards the edges of the mat, waiting for the match to begin.

“Enjoy the show, ladies,” Kenna murmured with a raised eyebrow and a knowing glint in her eye. She tossed her long black hair over her shoulder with a laugh.

“I’m only going to shut you up once,Kolya.” Warrick’s words dripped with scorn. “Then enough of this.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what had transpired between them, and why they hated each other so much. Warrick had at least a few inches of height on Nik, and while Nik was all lean muscle, Warrick was bulky. Nik had the agility in this fight, but Warrick had the brute strength.

Nik made the first move, his blade moving in a downward arc towards Warrick. He quickly parried, the steel clanking together and sending a shiver running down my spine.

Sparring with a sword was always different from sparring with a dagger. There was something so…primal about it. Nik and Warrick wielded their swords with expertise, and I was surprised to see the supposed sword master of the resistance meet his match in Nik.

As I watched Nik move, I couldn’t help but admire the way he moved, his blond hair slicked back from his face, his tunic riding up to reveal the tattoos on his abdomen. I shook my head, trying to shake those thoughts loose.

Nik had betrayed me…end of story. I couldn’t be thinking about his hair, his tattoos, oranythingelse. We had a civil dinner together the other night, but I had gone right back to pushing him away, keeping him at a distance.

My head moved back and forth quickly, watching Warrick and Nik move across the mat.

Nik wasfast.

By the time Warrick could bring his sword around Nik was already onto the next move, forcing Warrick back further and further.

“Have you had enough yet?” Nik asked through gritted teeth as their swords collided again.

“In your dreams,” Warrick spit out, hitting back hard enough that Nik had to take a step back, his eyes wide.

Nik was always crouched, ready to spring. He was light on his feet, and he moved with his sword as if it weighed nothing. As if it was simply an extension of himself.

He swung quickly, but Warrick managed to duck the blade, hitting Nik with the blunt end of his sword and splitting the skin on his forehead. Blood trickled down, but that didn’t stop him. He spun out of Warrick’s grasp and was almost able to hit him from behind, but Warrick ducked at the last minute, barely missing Nik’s strike.

Nik used his tunic to wipe the blood that dripped down his face, revealing his toned abdomen for only a moment. Tess coughed not-so-quietly beside me, and I shot her a glare that had her shrinking back, but not without a smile on her face.

Warrick had first blood, but it had ignited a fire within Nik. He was moving even faster now, slicing out with such speed Warrick wasn’t able to move out of the way in time. The slash to his thigh dropped him to his knees. Nik knocked the sword from Warrick’s grip and pressed his sword to his throatequally as quickly, skimming the skin light enough to make Warrick wince.

“Do you yield, cousin?” Despite the effort from the fight, Nik’s voice came out smooth, as if he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

Cousin? Is that what this was about…more family drama? When we had spoken about his family the other night in the townhouse, he hadn’t mentioned his cousin being a part of the resistance, let alone the one training me.

“Yield,” Warrick spit out.

He rose to his feet, shoulders hunched. Nik was officially the one to beat, he had yet to lose a sparring match. He grinned as Puck clapped him on the back, and I could all but feel Saanvi and Kenna rolling their eyes next to us. They knew this would feed Nik’s already inflated ego, and they never hesitated to remind him of it.

“Who’s next to face me?” Nik asked, searching our faces.

I wasn’t sure any of us would want to take him on at this point. We had been sparring all day, and we weren’t at our full strength. I didn’t think any of us could beat him, even on a good day.

“How about you, firecracker?” His eyes landed on me, his sword leveled in my direction.

I had yet to spar with Nik, and for good reason. I had been avoiding him ever since our dinner in the townhouse the other night, and I was doing everything in my power to keep my distance from him.

“I’m not sure I want to challenge someone who just beat the teacher,” I pointed out, crossing my arms over my chest. “And besides, I haven’t been training with a sword. I’m playing to my strengths, remember?”

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