Valkyrie Rising ✓

Chapter Thirteen

He smiles a little. "I hope so" is his only response.

Kiira and Shark's sessions are review, but the workouts are more intense than last week. By the time we crawl up the stairs for Briar's session, I'm exhausted. Beside me, Kaz doesn't speak. I know he trained for joining the Kuzabn, but he even seems wiped out.

When we get to Briar's gym, round targets are set up in the upstairs shooting range. Briar introduces us to archery.

This is more difficult for me than throwing knives. I can't seem to get my stance just right; my arrows don't fly very far at all. Briar tries to spend some time coaching me, but I'm not the only one having difficulties. By the end of the session, my shoulders are screaming and tense. I haven't hit my target once.

I did manage to hit Kaz's towards the end of the session. Kaz told me it didn't count.

It is with a heavy sigh I sink into the couch in the lounge when we get free session.

"Today felt as brutal as our first day." I rub my neck, but no tension leaves the rock-hard knots.

They're probably kicking it up a gear, preparing us for first rankings." Kaz sits next to me and rests his head on the back of the couch. "Briar took his time helping you; I bet he wants you on his team."

I laugh. "Yeah, if he doesn't mind my aim taking out a bystander or two."

"Ah, you'll catch on soon enough. I barely hit my board at the end."

"I think you're counting my arrow as your own."

He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. "My target, my arrow."

I laugh again. "Maybe we should come as a team. I'll take out your targets, you take the credit."

"Perfect." His eyes drift close. I take the opportunity to study him. His jaw is stubbled with hair, like he forgot to shave this morning.

The Viry have their hair removed once they hit puberty. Excess hair is seen as unsightly. Even the men, their faces, chests, backs, legs. Everywhere but the tops of our heads and eyebrows. Smoothness is next to godliness.

This is just another reminder of how far from Viry Kaz is. His neck is strong, his chest muscles pronounced through his t-shirt. His biceps stretch the edges of his sleeves.

He's too strong to be Viry. Too dark. Too different.

Yet I can't stop admiring him.

He squints an eye open, peering over at me. "What do you want to do?"

"What?" I'm startled, afraid he caught me staring, wondering what he's implying.

His grin is too mischievous for him not to have caught how flustered I've gotten, but he responds innocently. "Want to just sit here, or play that stupid guitar game Eveia was talking about at lunch, or what?"

"I don't really want to move."

He nods and closes his eyes again, folding his hands across his chest. "Agreed."

                                                                                              *

It's raining on Tuesday morning. This time I can see the fat raindrops rolling down the windows of the glass-enclosed lounge, since there are only about twenty of us milling around this free session.

"Feel bad for whoever has to swim in this rain." I laugh. "Wick."

Wick talked through breakfast about not wanting to be too heavy for his all-morning swim session.