A Court of Horizon and Shadows

45.

Auriella and Emerie spar with one another, the metal of their swords echoing throughout the room.

Sweat streamed down their skin from their previous battle, dripping onto the mat. Auriella had won the first match, but she was willing to give the Illyrian female another try.

The Daughter of Dawn fought with Soulender, gripping the blade with confidence and control. Emerie fought with Cassian's sword, which he named Nightblade not too recently. The female wielded it perfectly, letting her lover train her in the last few months.

This was the fifth time the two women had spared in the last three months, wanting to see how the other performed. At first, Auriella was hesitant to go up against Emerie, but the Illyrian didn't hold back. She wanted to see the battle to its full potential.

After that, the two women only got fiercer in their fights.

Emerie swung her sword over Auriella's head, which she blocked immediately. She went behind the female, trying to catch her by surprise, but Emerie was quick, colliding swords once more.

"Alright! You both have been at this for hours! Let's get some food in those stomachs!" Cassian bellows, but neither female yields.

The women don't tear their eyes from one another's, keeping the same fury on their faces as the fight escalates. Emerie flips her sword into a back-handed grip, raising her left fist for defense.

Auriella makes the first move, but Emerie blocks it, colliding her sword once more and gripping onto the Daughter of Dawn. Auriella gets out of her grip, but Emerie retakes it again, the metal ringing in their ears. She swipes the sword close to Auriella's face, making her move away before Emerie disarms her completely.

In a blink of an eye, Auriella's sword is on the floor, but Nightblade is against her neck.

The two women stare at each other in the silence, their breathing heavy and sweat pooling onto the floor with each passing second.

"Look at you," Auriella breathes, impressed with her performance.

Emerie smirks, taking the sword away from her throat, "You are not the only one who has been practicing these last few months. I wasn't stopping until I beat you in at least one of our sparring matches." She tells her.

"And now that you have, how do you feel?" Auriella asked, walking off the mat.

The Illyrian female hands the sword back to her lover, "I feel like I am going to vomit because of how quick you move. I barely blocked your movements. At least now, I am able to predict some of them." She says.

Cassian kisses her cheek, "You were phenomenal. I had full faith in you the entire time, my love." He says to her with a guilty grin, making Emerie roll her eyes.

Auriella chuckled, "You know, General, you never called in our rematch. I'm surprised that it was your lover who beat me before you did." She tells him.

Cassian clears his throat, "I went easy on you last time, Daughter of Dawn. I could have knocked you on your ass if I wanted to, but I didn't because I am a very kind and generous person." He says with a mock tone.

"Plus," he continues, "you have been busy throwing daggers and hiding in the darkness with your mate. I didn't want to come into this room to ask you to fight when those flying knives could have come towards my face and take out one of my eyes." He finishes.

Auriella feels her cheeks heat up, remembering that she had spent the last three months training herself and her shadows with Azriel. As he was healing in the first few days, Auriella made sure to listen to his every word, wanting to get nothing wrong or make his wounds more severe than they already were.