shadows don't lie

Chapter Fourteen

She threw a jab for his left side before switching mid-blow and twisting in the chill air, her leg whistling through the air, aimed for his face.

She was slicked in sweat despite the piles of snow atop the House of Wind, her opponent, Cassian, not pulling his punches against her.

It had been almost five months now since her foolish venture down to the forsaken Hewn City, and she had worked hard to make sure that what she had endured would not happen again.

When she had started training with Azriel she had found it difficult to imitate the complex forms that she remembered flowing through with much ease, but once she had begun to build up muscle, it all quickly came back to her.

She often only trained with Azriel, his quiet yet firm lessons a steady thing to look forward to on her ever-busying days, but more recently she had been looking for a new challenge.

Even dispite this, it seemed she would not find that challenge in Valaris.

Cassian lurched backwards as her foot barely grazed his cheek and he gave her a feral grin. “Getting better, but you’re too easy to read-”

She pivoted back and before he could finish his sentence she punched him directly in the gut. He swore, doubling over and she stepped back giving him a second to catch his breath.

“What was that?” She said sweetly. “You didn’t finish.”

He looked up at her and snarled halfheartedly and she only bared her teeth back at him.

Within seconds they locked fists once more.

Inei relaxed into the fight, using her shadows to obscure and silence the unwanted tells of her body, and in moments she landed a kick directly in the center of his chest, causing Cassian to fly backwards and land flat on his wings.

The air rushed out of his chest as he hit the ground and he groaned.

“That’s not fair," He said in a whiny voice. "You cheated.”

Inei suppressed a smile as she walked over to him and offered him a hand.

“At this rate boy, Rhysand will just hire a new general if you keep getting your ass kicked.” Amren called over from her lounge chair near the stairwell, a feline smile on her face, and Cassian winced as Inei pulled him up.

Inei glanced around the rooftop and realized that Azriel had left at some point during their sparring, and she silently frowned, disappointed for not noticing it.

She had been practicing trying to know everything at all times as Azriel seemed to, but she had found the task more difficult than she had originally thought.

Cassian walked over to an especially large snowdrift and plunged his hands in the snow, sighing in relief.

Amren stood up from her chair, her large fur coat almost swallowing the small female up save for her small hands that were exposed and holding a mug of some steaming liquid.

Amren looked over Inei with a serious eye and smiled wickedly.

“It’s not often that someone bests the Night Court General in battle, girl. Be proud of your achievement.”

Inei dipped her head politely but a part of her wasn’t listening.

“Where did you fly off to in a hurry?” His shadow danced around her playfully and she watched it as Azriel replied somewhat darkly, “Nowhere, I’ll be back soon.”

She frowned at the unspoken words, but still turned back towards Cassian. “I’m going inside where it's warm. Keep playing in the snow if you want.”