Without a King (Greatest Thief 1, mxm)

Chapter Seven

"I was thinking we could go over close combat fighting with the daggers, now that you finally have yours with you." Tannix nudged me. "What do you think?"

"Yes, sure," I agreed distractedly. "You're in charge when it comes to the fighting. I thought we had established that by now. Wait... what?" I paused, breaking out of my thoughts to glance at him. "The daggers are sharp."

Tannix nodded. "Yes."

"The practice swords aren't sharp."

"Of course not." He took a couple steps away from me and drew his dagger. "They're made of wood."

"You want to attack me with something sharp?"

"I'm not going to hurt you. The point of training is not to hack each other to pieces. I'm sure you know that."

"Do you even notice how often you hit me with the swords? If they were real, I would be dead by now. Why should I believe that you won't hit me with the dagger?"

"Maybe because I'm not out to kill you," Tannix replied simply. "If I was, you'd be dead by now." He grinned, taunting me. "Let's see what you can do. That trick where you rolled past me won't work this time."

I grumbled under my breath and reached for my dagger. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to have the other boys see it. It had, after all, only been a few days since I'd stolen it. Then there was the part of me that wanted to show off that I owned it. It was pretty, maybe not as fancy as Tannix's, but still impressive. I drew it with my left hand so I would at least have a chance at defending myself.

Tannix rolled his eyes, but didn't complain. "So remember. Fighting with these is different from fighting with the swords. Not only because these are sharp," he added, before I could make the point myself. "But because we'll be closer together. When we're practicing, we'll just go slowly. I'll make a good fighter out of you eventually."

"I doubt that," I muttered, but I walked a little closer to him and resigned myself to the next few hours. For all my complaining, I knew that Tannix wouldn't hurt me. He was too skilled to do so by accident.

He was already unsatisfied with something. His eyes flickered over my left hand. "You're not even... Here." He cut himself off, apparently finding it easier to show me than to explain. He adjusted the way I was holding the dagger, and then nodded. "Much better, now I can teach you something."

I was distracted by movement nearby, and I glanced up to see that Malte was walking towards us. "Um... Tannix? Malte's coming."

"What?" He sounded a little startled, likely because he had been thinking about what he should teach me first. He looked up and followed my gaze. "Oh, he's just coming to see what we're practicing." 

I knew that wasn't true. Malte's expression, though usually grumpy and disdainful, had taken on a look of anger. I knew it was directed at me. Only Tannix's light grip on my left arm kept me from bolting, even though he wasn't trying to trap me. Instead I froze, without really meaning to.

Tannix noticed. "Finn? What's wrong?"

I couldn't reply because Malte had reached us, and stood looming over us both. "Come with me," he ordered.

"Why?" Tannix asked. "Are we going to the lower city again?"

"Not you. Finagale," Malte replied dismissively. He grabbed my right forearm and tugged me away. I barely managed to slip my dagger back into its sheath, hoping that maybe it would be useful later.

"Lord Malte," Tannix argued. "I find this highly—"

"You may outrank me by birth, Lord Tandrix," Malte grumbled, "but within this Order, I am your superior. There are things that go on in this kingdom that you have yet to learn about." He left that as his only explanation before dragging me away across the courtyard. There was no point in putting up a fight, so I trailed along dejectedly, hoping he would lower his guard and give me a chance to climb away.