Prince of Fire | Dragonfire Book One

Capítulo Nueve

First, Harker determined Dracula's weakness. Then, he schemed. But as he hunted, he remembered to never underestimate the dragon.

~ History of the Order

Chapter Nine

Elena stared at Dante from the wall and wondered if she had acted too impulsively earlier when she had volunteered to spar against him. Not even three hours into guarding - no, babysitting - Evelyn, she had been driven to boredom. And when the opportunity came around, she snatched it at first thought. But she couldn't quite leave Evelyn alone, so she brought her along to be secure in the base. There were other people around to keep a watch on her. Also, if Dante passed, he would be able to talk to Evelyn like he had asked.

She watched Dante's eyes flicker between hesitation and annoyance, causing her to narrow her own eyes. What was he so annoyed about? Even yesterday he had been surly and aloof around her, but not around Evelyn. He just seemed to run her the wrong way. Also, why did he look so hesitant? Was it because he was afraid to fight a woman, or in his mind, hurt her? Elena wasn't daunted by sparring. She had trained and fought for years now and could tolerate the pain.

"The spar is until one of us restrains the other for fifteen seconds. Now, are you ready?" Elena asked instead, crossing her arms. While she waited for his reply, she took the time to analyze her opponent. Even from the wall, she could clearly see his toned and lean physique, which indicated strength and balance. The sturdy and balanced position of his feet and legs emitted a predatory sense. Elena could tell that he was a type of fighter that was more likely to attack, but would also use careful planning concurrently with those watchful eyes of his.

"I suppose I am," Dante replied passively, although his stance was anything but. If Elena thought he had been aggressive before, it was nothing compared to the sudden shift in his body language. His eyes seemed observant of her own stance, probably examining strategy beforehand.

Elena knew how she looked like to other people, as Colton had frequently reminded her during training. She was rather short and sturdy, but lean and strong as well, especially her legs. She knew that she may seem like less of a threat to some, but, combined with endurance and speed, she could definitely be lethal to her opponent.

She uncrossed her arms and sailed across the arena floor to meet Dante in the middle, realizing the major height difference between them, with Dante appearing to tower over her. She was, perhaps, at the same height of Dante's upper arm at arms-length away. And even at that time, she could see a hint of reluctance in his amber eyes as they stared at each other.

Deciding to make it easier for him to relinquish his hesitation, Elena attacked first.

She straightened her hand, which acted like a blade, and slashed her arm to the side, aiming at his stomach. Dante finally snapped out of his state of mind and instinctively reacted to her attack, bringing his arm down to block her arm. The collision of their arms sent a jolt through Elena's arm, stopping her momentum. As soon as it occurred, Elena leaped back, keeping her balance while observing Dante move forward and come towards her.

He darted to her, lifting his arm before striking down. Elena threw her elbow up to deflect the attack and took the chance to strike at his abdomen, which was level to her other elbow. Dante must have pivoted because her elbow barely grazed his shirt, missing the target. Thrown off by her offensive momentum, Elena wasn't able to avoid the smooth motion of Dante's free leg as he pivoted and swung it around to knock her off her feet.

Elena felt a pit in her stomach as she entered a temporary realm of free fall. Then, she felt gravity finally pulling her to the ground with a blunt collision between her knees and hands on the floor, which elicited a harsh grunt from the back of her throat. Damn, she thought. He was strong and fast. From the corner of her eye, she saw movement darting from above, causing her to instinctively roll away sideways and scramble to a squatting position before jumping back up to her feet.