From Ash and Flame

16

KAEUS DIDN'T LET his eyes leave her once as Aeress nocked another arrow in place, aiming high at the target hoisted into the air by two wooden beams. Four had already made their mark in the foam and straw, less than half an inch from the bullseye. Aeress sucked in a breath, locking her arm in place like Corvina required of every one of her assassins, right arm not in line with the other, but just a little higher to give the perfect drive needed when the arrow would embed itself in its goal.

She breathed again, and with her eyes totally shut, she set the arrow free, feathers of her own white flames tailing after as the tip speared through the air soundlessly. And with a satisfying thump, it struck the target.

Right in the center.

With her bow moving to her hip and a quiver of arrows bouncing between her shoulder blades, Aeress rotated around to look at her tutor, who was dressed as modestly as always. Even though Iledonian autumns were chilly, it shouldn't force him to wear such heavy clothes all the time.

"Not bad," he commented, his arms over his chest. She rolled her eyes.

"What does it take to impress you?" Aeress scowled, moving to bolt another arrow over the string. It slid smoothly over the arrow rest, her fingers wrapping tightly below as her muscles grew taut with the force.

Kaeus watched her, mildly amused. "That's your problem," he observed, eyes hovering over her with an emotion that Aeress couldn't decipher. "You care too much about the opinions of those around you that in the end, you can't even distinguish good from bad yourself."

At those words, the arrow in Aeress's hold slipped, veering far too much to the left and puncturing the outermost ring. She cursed loudly, whirling with a bitter expression inscribing her face.

"Maybe it's because you keep distracting me." Her tone was clipped, but that only made a ghost of a smile appear on Kaeus's lips. She paused, inclining her head back so their eyes were level with one another.

"Carry on," he urged, enjoying himself as he leaned against the wall of the courtyard.

There were no Magic Wielders around except the two of them, but Aeress hadn't really expected anyone else to join them after the last session of training she'd experienced. Kaeus didn't want her discovering anything else about the King's soon-to-be elite army.

Sneering, she redirected her next arrow to a second target floating farther back compared to the first one, one of her weapons already penetrating the material after Kaeus had incessantly taunted her for not having the guts to accomplish it. The Shadow Wielder's russet eyes flashed in her peripheral vision, and with a nimble turn that she thought not even he had time to respond to, Aeress faced him, the arrow sailing across the courtyard and toward the area just above his chest.

With the agility only someone who had survived countless wars and battles possessed, Kaeus dodged to the right, time slowing down as his fingers curled over the wooden shaft, the muscles in his arms contracting. His gaze connected with hers, the corner of his lips pulling up in a rare smirk Aeress hardly saw, apart from when he found something she did particularly entertaining.

And with a single, firm step, he whipped forward with a spin, flinging the arrow back at her with brusque strength, his shadows leaping out from his fingertips to wind around the weapon as it rocketed toward her.

Normally Aeress would have pounced away to evade it, or if it wasn't coming at her this fast, knocked it harmlessly to the side.

But this time, instead of doing any of those that would've undeniably saved her life, she fixed her feet to the solid stone slabs under her boots before dropping her bow to the ground, everything blurring together in a riotous surge of dark blue and white.