Page 41 of #Resort Love
Walking us through the passage, the soldiers eyed mesuspiciously, their bodies rigid. Keeping my eyes forward, I tried not to notice when they bent their heads close to one another, whispering something, probably about my appearance or some other quality I lacked. At the end of the passage, we entered a massive room that was filled with different types of weapons. Swords, daggers, and spears lined the walls. Barrels of arrows were gathered in a far corner with bows stacked on the tables beside them.
“This is our weapons room. Most of us have our own weapons that we carry; however, soldiers still in training use the weapons from here. They are blunted to avoid any serious injuries while they are learning. You may carry a dagger if you wish, but leave it when you come to the training grounds.” Stepping beside me, Ezra leaned down close to my ear, my pulse spiking. “I’m almost eight feet, by the way,” he whispered before laughing and clapping me on the shoulder with his giant hand.
Grunting, pain laced through my arm, and I fell forward a step, Samian’s chuckle following me. Catching myself before I face-planted, I winced, massaging the pain away. Frowning at Samian, Ezra moved away, studying the wall of weapons before finding one he deemed suitable. Plucking it off the wall, he strode back to me, dropping it into my hands. My eyes widened when my hands dipped at the weight of the small sword which was heavier than I expected.
“I think this one will suit you well enough,” Ezra said. “It’s shorter and lighter than the other blades, so it will be a good starter weapon for you, especially since humans stopped using swords—from what I’ve heard.”
Snorting, I gave the sword a slight wave toward Samian. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, but I caught the faint curve on his lips whenhe looked away, a fleeting expression that made my own lips twitch as I fought against a grin. Catching the moment, Ezra gave me a weak smile before murmuring something too soft for me to hear, to Samian.
Samian’s mouth tightened, his eyes cutting to mine when Ezra straightened. Ezra patted Samian on the shoulder before moving to the back of the room, making himself look busy.
I watched Ezra sift through the bows with narrowed eyes. When I glanced at Samian, his face was tight with worry. He hesitated, his thumb stroking the ring on his other hand before coming to my side, his eyes still on Ezra
“It seems I have been called away,” Samian finally said, his voice hard.
“What?” I rasped. “You’re leaving me here alone?” My chest twisted, my uneasiness morphing into dread.
Guilt shone in his eyes. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to keep an eye on you during your training. But Ezra will be here to help you. He will make sure nothing happens while I’m away. But I will try my best to join tomorrow’s training, okay?”
I stood there silent, not knowing what to say when Ezra stepped up beside me. He placed his large hand on top of my head, giving it a small pat, like I was a child in need of consoling. I scowled, swatting his hand away. This man, so teasingly comfortable in my presence, felt different compared to the first day, when he looked so surly and unwelcoming. I didn’t know what to make of it.
“I’ll be sure she makes it back in one piece,” Ezra grinned.
Samian narrowed his eyes at the poor attempt at reassurance but gave Ezra a slight nod before leaving us alone in the weapons room. We stood there, the silence making my chest tight, and I fought the urge to rub at the ache. Instead, I clenched my hands. They felt clammy and the prickling feelingstarted making its way down my arm, warning me that my power was threatening to lash out. As if he could feel my magic building, Ezra cleared his throat and asked me to follow him to the training area.
The sandy pit was large enough that we didn’t interfere with those training on the other side. Their calls and whoops filled the air as two soldiers fought, their swords clashing loudly together. I looked at Ezra, my eyes wide. I had never been in a real fight. Even as kids, Micah and I would pick up sticks, treating them as swords. We choreographed pretend fight scenes from movies or shows we had watched. There was never any authenticity in it, not in the way these soldiers moved now, with a quickness my eyes could barely keep up with.
Ezra’s eyes softened and he released a small laugh. “It’s not as scary as it seems. You won’t be starting off in that type of training just yet. First, we will go over the correct way to hold a sword and your positioning. Though you look sturdy enough, you’ll be using muscles you’re not used to using, so we will take time to build up your strength before I throw you in the ring with someone.”
Releasing a shaky breath, I nodded, my hands tightening on the hilt of my sword. I glanced back at the others, swallowing when someone lost their weapon, losing the fight. I flinched when Ezra put his hand on my back, urging me to the spot he cleared for us.
“Lift your sword in front of you like you are preparing for a fight,” he said, slipping into the mask of a war general. All the teasing and smiles forgotten. He circled me then, adjusting my hands and my feet until my positioning looked correct before he unsheathed his sword and stood beside me. “We are going to keep it simple. I just want you to raise your sword, then drop it in a slashing motion as you take a step forward.”
Ezra demonstrated and I copied his movement while he watched. His eyes tracked every move in my arms, legs, even my feet, adjusting them as I went. Easing into a nice flow, Ezra nodded his approval before telling me to repeat that motion fifty more times.
I gaped at him, half expecting to hear his booming laugh like it was a joke. It wasn’t. His face remained serious while he waited with an arched brow for me to start. Blinking, I exhaled, my shoulders dipping when I looked back to my sword. Groaning, I repositioned myself and got to work.
At first, the task seemed easy enough, but after the thirteenth swing, my arms and shoulders screamed at me, trembling while sweat dripped from my face, falling to the sand. Ezra wasn’t lying when he said I would be using muscles I wasn’t used to using. I was so exhausted that by the time I reached fifty, I dropped to the ground, panting. My body felt heavy as I set the sword aside to massage my shoulders and catch my breath.
Kneeling beside me, Ezra handed me some water as he frowned. “I was worried about your strength. It seems my worries were right.” He eyed the trembling in my fingers when I took the water, his mouth tight.
“I mean, there’s not much happening in Mide that would call for me to be battle ready,” I huffed, rolling my eyes.
Ezra took a breath, about to say something when his eyes moved to someone behind me and scowled. Turning to see what he was looking at, I fought a groan when I spotted Arianna walking toward us. Her bright golden hair was tied up, her eyes burned like an icy fire, and one side of those full lips of hers rose in her usual snide, arrogant smirk.
“Tired already, little girl?” Arianna laughed, twisting to the soldiers behind her.
Their laughs mirrored Arianna’s, sounding cold and cruel as Arianna turned back to me. She looked as if she had just finished readying for the day, not like she was in the middle of a training session. Her face was soft, her cheeks were tinged with pink, and her hair looked so smooth and flattering. My face heated when a bead of sweat dripped down my temple into the sand below. I must have looked almost feral compared to her.
Pushing the loose strands of hair from my eyes, I picked up my sword and stood. My muscles screamed, begging for more rest, but I pushed it down, not wanting to show Arianna just how weak I felt. Disregarding her, I turned my back on her, moving to stand closer to Ezra.
Ezra grimaced while a few soldiers gasped, whispering excitedly to each other. Understanding that I somehow made a mistake dawned too late when Arianna gripped the end of my braid and pulled me back. Tripping over my feet, my breath caught in my throat when I landed on the ground hard, my bones aching from the impact. Hissing, my gaze jerked to Arianna, narrowing on her face, which was pinched with anger.
“Never turn your back on me,girl,” Arianna seethed, her veins glowing a crimson red that webbed down her neck and arms. “You may be new here, but I am still your commander.”
“You’re not my anything,” I scoffed, standing and brushing off the sand from my leathers. “I’m here to learn how to protect myself, not to join some army.” Hurting someone wasn’t something I could do, at least not with intention. I sure as hell wasn’t going to letherforce me into joining an army to do just that.
Arianna stalked closer to me, those graceful steps taking their time until she was a mere inch away. Unmoving, I looked up at her, meeting her fiery glare with one of my own. “As long as you are on these grounds, you belong to me.” Her voice wasunnaturally calm, and she continued to hold my stare, daring me to respond.
