Ruthless Divinity

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Atlas

Atlas throws his daggers mindlessly in the air as he sits underneath a willow tree. The two golden daggers fly high and he only snatches them right before they reach his face. Theodon is in the ring right now practicing his sword stances with his instructor while Atlas watches idly, enjoying the shade of the tree. He's starting to get bored with his daggers so he sets them aside to rest his eyes. At the crack of dawn, Theodon had bursted into Atlas' room and dragged him out to fly. He never got the chance to go back to sleep since they've been training since. Atlas has no idea why he befriended the heir of the kingdom—truly the greatest mistake he's ever made.

"Atlas? Atlas, don't you dare be sleeping! Get your butt in the ring. Atlas?" Theodon calls from the middle of the ring, sweat dripping off his skin.

Atlas peeks open one eye, looks at his sweaty friend, and goes back to resting. Soon enough, he hears Theodon's light footsteps and a shadow covers him.

"Seriously? I swear you nap more than a newborn baby."

Atlas can hear the smirk in his friend's voice. He sighs heavily, opening his eyes to look into wide green ones. A tan hand reaches out to pull him up.

"Let's spar for like one more hour. I promise we'll be done after that." Theodon pulls Atlas to his feet, giving his friend a chance to stretch out his limbs.

"How much sparring does one person truly need? We've done this for hours already Theo." Atlas groans but reaches for his daggers anyways.

"One more hour. I promise."

They stumble into the ring, Theodon's instructor waving at Atlas as he goes to refresh himself.

Atlas shrugs out of his dark black shirt and stretches his wings to full capacity. Theodon's shirt follows, both guys pulling off the weapons strapped underneath their shirts.

"Swords only? Or hand to hand?" Atlas asks as he sets his daggers on a table nearby.

"Not even going to ask for daggers this time? You must be taking this seriously. Let's do hand to hand. I think we're a little rusty at it." Theodon drops the rest of his weapons on the table.

The boys don't actually need to be armed with weapons at all times, the kingdom is perfectly safe, but they find it comforting knowing they can defend themselves from any sources of harm. Plus, if a war ever comes, they must be used to wearing all sorts of weapons.

Atlas picks up a chest plate, wrapping it around his torso before tying it. He forgoes any other armor pieces and helps Theo put on his own chest plate. Once they're ready, they circle one another in the ring. While Theo is sturdy and built like a rock, Atlas is lanky and quick. He's always struggled with not being able to carry muscle on his body so he must rely on his swiftness to win battles. Theo on the other hand can pummel Atlas so far into the ground that he would land in the human realm. Definitely should avoid getting hit by him.

Theo attacks first, swiping for Atlas' legs. Atlas jumps, his wings flaring out bringing him into the air. He somersaults over Theo, landing in a crouch. Unfortunately, Theo expected this. Whirling around on one foot, Theo flings himself forward onto Atlas. They hit the ground with a grunt, Atlas' wings being pinned underneath him. They tumble around until Atlas is on top, Theo's wings pinned now. Atlas throws a punch, almost breaking his hand in the process, before Theo throws him off. Atlas slides back, balancing on the soles of his feet before he launches at Theo. Swiping his legs low, he knocks Theo off balance but Theo's wings flare out, launching himself off the ground. Theo circles around him before trying to kick Atlas in the head.