Heart of Fire

Chapter Four

While walking to the training area, I have to fight to keep my eyes open. I couldn't sleep last night being back in this place. I would jump at every sound, expecting someone to barrel through my door to murder me. I eventually gave up trying to sleep at all, getting out of bed at dawn.

I get to the training room at exactly 8am, instantly spotting Kenton waiting for me. I take in his attire, which catches me off guard. He wears a pair of black, loose fitting pants along with a tight fitted shirt, also in black. As much as I hate to say this, he looks good. Too good for how much I dislike him.

I never thought I would see him in anything other than formal attire, this was definitely something I'd have to get used to. I have no idea what to expect for training today, though I can assume it isn't going to be fun. Unfortunately, Kenton seems to be the only one present, besides the guards that stand just outside of the doors.

"8:00am on the dot," Kenton starts with a sigh, "At least you aren't late."

I walk over to where he is standing next to a few buckets of water. I look at them, then bring my gaze back to Kenton, tilting my head slightly in confusion.

"You have fire abilities seeping through your veins, better safe than sorry." He shrugs.

Right, I forgot that I may very well light this entire castle on fire.

"Alright then. What are we doing first?" I ask.

Since I have no idea if we are going to be focusing solely on my powers or if we are going to do combat, I opted for clothes I can easily move in when I got dressed this morning.

"We'll start with hand-to-hand combat. I know first hand that you can hold a dagger to someone's throat, but I want to see if you can hold your own in a fight with no weapons." He explains to me, walking into what looks like a sparring rink.

I refrain from laughing in his face. He may have known me when I was a girl, but he never saw me truly fight someone.

This will be entertaining.

Kenton stands in the middle of the rink, where I stand in front of him with my arms crossed. He shifts his feet into a fighting stance, smirking. His cocky composure only fuels my will to kick his ass.

"Let's see what you got, sweetheart. Oh, and don't expect me to go easy on you." He taunts, giving me a wink.

I roll my eyes, still standing straight up. He's underestimating me, an awful mistake on his part.

He makes a move to grab me, but I swiftly dodge him, turning my body to the side. I grab his arm that was reaching for me, but he uses his strength to flip me, causing me to land harshly on my back. The contact leaves me gasping for air, but I don't let go of the hold I still have on his arm and yank him down with me.

Moving too quickly for him to get up, I put one leg on the arm I'm not holding, pinning it to the ground as I push my knee onto his chest, keeping him from moving. I hover over him, grinning at his shocked state.

"That was fun." I chime, still holding him in place.

I know his tactics. They are the same ones my father taught me to outsmart. I let him out of my hold, getting off of him.

"I can think of far more fun activities that involve a woman on top of me." He grunts, slowly getting off of the floor. I roll my eyes at his remark.

"Well, I think you've proved you're able to handle yourself in combat." He starts, "Let's see what you can do with those powers."

I've only been able to summon or even feel the powers when I'm angry or upset. I've never actually done anything with them, I only push them down, not setting them free.