Terramancer

Chapter Seven

Ece and I were released from the infirmary a day later. The nurse had told us to be cautious and avoid any more hand-to-hand combat, but Ece had just responded with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"That's no fun, miss," he had said. The nurse had simply smiled. I could tell Ece was always like this. He would probably be back in one of the beds in the infirmary fairly soon.

We had gotten changed back into our training clothes. Even though the material of the clothes was loose, I could still somehow see Ece's muscles. Perhaps it was just the way he carried himself.

We got to the Training Room, and he dropped me off.

"I need to take Imryll," he said. "You have training with Izasior." He used the disgusted tone he always had when he spoke about Iza.

When I walked into the room, Iza was there waiting for me. He took a step towards me.

"It's good to see you made a speedy recovery," he said, sounding genuinely happy.

"Yeah," I replied. "Hopefully I never have to spar with Tannatar again."

"About that," Iza began, scratching his neck, sounding guilty. "I probably shouldn't have made you fight Tannatar in your second training session. I just figured that since you did so well in your first session you might be ready for me to ramp up the difficulty."

"I was not ready," I replied.

"I know." Iza still sounded guilty. "That's why you'll be fighting me today. No contact, obviously, seeing as you need to recover from...Tannatar."

I let out a little laugh. "Okay. So are you going to tell me what to do?"

"Yeah," he said. "Just follow my directions and you should be alright. Show me how you would punch someone."

I held my arm out and thrusted my fist forward. Iza studied it.

"Hmm," he said. He grabbed my hand, and pulled my thumb out from inside my palm. "Untuck your thumb, otherwise you'll break it."

I reeled my arm back again and untucked my thumb this time.

"Better," he said, moving behind me. He placed both of his hands on my shoulders, his touch making me shudder. "Square your shoulders. It puts more power in your punches." He moved my shoulders slightly so they were square. He walked around to face me again.

"Almost perfect," he said. "Except for one thing." He raised a hand to my face, his touches light as a feather. "Make sure your head is straight." He cupped my cheek and pushed my head gently so that it was upright.

"I thought you said no contact," I said somewhat breathlessly.

"Did I?" he asked. "I don't recall."

His face was mere inches away from mine. His green eyes gazed into mine. They were gleaming with something new. Was it...desire?

Slowly, he moved closer toward me. I closed my eyes. I had heard the girls in my village talk about kissing boys. They had always said to close your eyes. Then the boy would lean in and kiss you, and it would feel like everything else was melting away until the only thing in the world was your lips on his.

I had always dreamed about being kissed by a boy. During late nights when I could not sleep, I had imagined what it would feel like. And, now, it seemed as though I would finally find out.

My lips parted in anticipation. I could feel Iza's warm breaths on my mouth as he got closer. He smelled of the ocean, clean and crisp. He inched closer and closer to me until—