Dawn of Fog and Glass

Chapter Twenty-Two (Part Two)

Draco catches Dominic's fist and yanks towards himself. The momentum pulls Dominic too far forwards, sending him stumbling to his knees with a grunt. The thud of Dominic crashing against the mats reverberates throughout the cavernous gymnasium.

From the nearest wall, Chantelle, Kora, and Ozul watch the demonstration I taught Draco in awe.

For a significant pause, Dom stays on his knees, staring at the floor, heaving long breaths.

Draco grins at me, satisfied with his little performance. The tall shadows echoing around the room make his slender body appear like a stick.

I give him a thumbs-up and turn my attention to the three against the wall. "Just like that. Then—"

"No offense," Kora interrupts. "But shouldn't we be learning to hurt someone?" She's wedged between Ozul and Chantelle, her prosthetic leg gleaming under the lights.

"No offense," I return, a smirk on my face, "but we are." I clear my throat, my voice still sore, and nod to Draco.

He understands and continues, repeating what I told him in our one-on-one lessons. "The most important thing to learn is how to protect yourself. Then you can do some damage later. I have the advantage now: Dom is on the ground, so I can either run and get a head start, or attack Dom from above."

"And you were saying we'd learn how to use weapons, too, right?" Ozul asks, nodding over to the weapons unit at the back of the gym.

I shrug and pull the elastic around my ponytail taut. "Yes, but not today. As long as we can keep doing these sessions."

Draco extends a hand to Dom, who's still panting on the floor, and helps him to his feet.

Draco pats Dominic on the shoulder sympathetically. "Can I do the next demonstration with someone else? Dom is kinda...pathetic."

Dom narrows his eyes. His lips flatten into a line. "I do books, not brawls."

"Yes, I completely agree." Draco nods his head fervently. "Which is why I need another demonstration partner."

"Actually, let's practice in pairs before moving on," I reply, giving Draco a warm smile. "I was thinking we could work on two attack and two defense techniques, and then at the end we can have matches where partners use all four of them together." I reach behind me to grab the list of plans I made, and point to the list of pairs. "Can you read these out for me?"

"Yeah, I got it." Draco squints down at my messy handwriting, then addresses the rest of the group. "Kora and Chanty, Dom and Arden, and...the other two," he finishes, face flushing pink. Chantelle shakes her head in amusement.

Ozul furrows his eyebrows, running a hand through his hair. "Wait, that's you and me, right?"

"I guess...yeah, I guess so." Draco glances at the sheet again, as if checking to make sure he read it correctly. "Yeah, that's what it says."

Draco opens his mouth to say something else, but closes it, makes eye contact with me, and grabs my shoulder to pull me away from them. I raise my eyebrows innocently.

"You put Ozul and me together?" He asks, distraught. He hunches over, folding his arms over themselves uncomfortably.

"Oh, did I? I didn't notice," I lie.

"Arden," he hisses.

"Come on, life around here is so boring. Can't I do a little matchmaking?"

"No. And Barrett almost killed you, like, three days ago. I don't see how that's boring."

Dominic taps Draco on the shoulder and joins the conversation. "Actually, can we get going? I need to talk to Arden."