After Bragda had pulled some strings, the Ministry allowed her to train with Peter, Marcus, Alicia, and me. Marcus refused to come without Alicia, and Peter insisted on staying by my side.
After a month of basic training, we could move on to wielding specialist weapons and perfecting our individual skill sets.
Bragda surpassed all of us in combat training, but her best skill was melee combat with her battle ax. How in Hades could she wield a hundred-pound weapon with pinpoint accuracy?
Even her imprisonment didn't seem to hold her back. The woman was made of cast iron.
As for me, I picked up a battle hammer of equal size and weight, brandished it, and threw it into the air. Every time I aimed at a target, though, I never hit it.
I had my sister's strength, but none of her dexterity or precision.
"Come on, sis! Focus!" she yelled.
"I am focused, damn it!"
When I threw the giant weapon, it smashed clean through the wall even though the target was twenty feet away. Bragda groaned, smacking her forehead with her palm.
Peter chuckled under his breath and sauntered over towards the mound of broken plaster. Chanting in guttural Diabolan, he called on his dark magic to fix my blunder. With a powerful gust of wind, a hazy, black fog swirled over the rubble and repaired the surface.
After his magical touch, there wasn't a scratch.
"Whoa," Alicia muttered under her breath. "I need to study Wizardry."
Bragda crossed her arms. "If that's focused, Liselle, I don't want to see unfocused. What d'ya wanna do? Tear down the entire building? If an enemy charges at you, you have to hit him."
"Surely I could do better than that," Alicia said with a snarl.
"Then do it if you're so clever," I retorted.
When Peter handed Alicia the battle hammer, it fell to the ground with a heavy thud, taking her down with it. Heaving with all her might, Alicia hardly lifted it off the ground with two hands.
"What the fuck?"
It still sounded strange every time she swore. None of us were the same after the Fireborn treatment. Not even perfect Miss Alicia.
Clenching her teeth, she strained to heave it to waist-height before she dropped it with a loud clang, barely missing Marcus' foot in the process.
"Damn it, Alicia!" he growled. "Watch it!"
"How in Hades do we throw this thing?"
I strolled over and lifted the hammer one-handed as though it were a feather. "Are you done?" I asked, giving Alicia a pointed look.
"Bitch."
Bragda stepped out on the raised wooden dais in the middle of the arena. A shrill, high-pitched whistle caught my attention. And everyone else's. We all froze on the spot, grimacing in pain thanks to our sensitive hearing.
"I want all this stupid bickering to stop right now."
Alicia scoffed. Bragda gave her a murderous look that made her slink back.
"You all gotta stop thinking you're perfect just because you're Fireborn." She pointed at each of us. "You all got strengths and weaknesses, just like me."
We all exchanged glances.
"You are all smart as Hades, but you got other problems." Bragda pointed at Alicia. "Take you, Alicia. You're weak as fuck."
"I'm working on it."
"Cut the whining. We don't have time for that crap."
Alicia stared agape at Bragda.
My sister turned to me. "You're strong, but you can't aim for shit. If you don't fix that crap, you're gonna die in the first wave."
I gave her a curt nod.
"You're only good without weapons," Bragda said, looking at Marcus, "which is no fucking good on the battlefield. Our enemy is going to have broadswords, arrows, and axes. Not fists."
"I know," he muttered in reply. "I practice every night."
"Good. Keep it that way." Bragda gestured at Peter. "You technically know how everything works, but your body hasn't caught up with your brain."
Peter jutted his chin. "I'm making steady progress."
"Yes, but you need to be better, faster, stronger." Bragda paced back and forth. "We all do. Even me. When we leave here, we are going to be the Terror of Teufelwald. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!" we shouted in unison.
"All right, then." Bragda handed out our assignments. "I want Alicia on weights. Marcus on target practice. Peter and Liselle in hand-to-hand. I'm going to be rotating between all the stations."
"Yes, ma'am!"
She dismissed us to our stations. As Bragda passed me, she whispered, "You're welcome."
I gave her a puzzled look, and she gave me a wink in reply. Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
You little rascal.
Peter tossed me a pugil stick, which I failed to catch. With a growl, I picked it up and strode towards the padded mat, but Peter shook his head.
"Uh-uh. We're not fighting until you can catch that thing with your eyes closed."
"It's unwieldy and weighs a hundred pounds!"
"I don't care," he said, his face a foot away from mine. His hot breath fanned my cheeks. "You're going to learn the basics before we duel."
"Yes, sir!" I growled, baring my fangs.
"Don't get feisty," he retorted in a faint whisper, grabbing the massive pugil stick from me.
For half an hour, Peter and I practiced catching and throwing the stick to each other until we both caught it ten times in a row.
"Well done," Bragda said, joining our group. "Let's practice with the three of us."
Even though she was over three feet shorter than us, Bragda caught that damned thing every time, starting with the first go. She wobbled slightly on her feet at first. By the end, she could catch it and throw it to me with one deft swing.
"How in Hades--?" I said, astounded by her skill.
"Welcome to my world, sis!"
After she'd caught the pugil stick for the last time, she faked the throw before pulling back and laughing. Peter hid a smile under his hand, feigning a thoughtful expression.
"Gotcha."
"What in Hades are you doing, sis?"
"Now you fight," she said, handing me a metal helmet.
After I'd donned the helmet, Bragda threw the stick when I wasn't looking. But I whipped around and caught it one-handed.
"Good job," she whispered, clasping my arm. "Now get 'im!"
We stood back to back before the first duel, our helmets clanging, we were so close. Through our combat fatigues, I could feel our joined Risan energy crackling between us.
"Don't hold back, Liselle," he growled in a deep rumble that made my insides pool.
"Never."
"That's what I admire about you."
Bragda whistled through her teeth. "Ready? Three...two...one..."
We strode away from each other seven paces. When Bragda whistled, we whipped around and faced one another. With a roar, I sprinted towards him and swung the stick with all my might. Peter parried my blow with a casual shove and pushed me away.
What in Hades?
He stared at me from under his eyelashes. "You can exert great force with minimal effort," he explained. "Remember our lessons."
Boom! His pugil stick knocked my head.
"Mark!" Bragda said. "Focus, Liselle."
Again, we stood back to back. With a deep breath, I ignored the crackling energy between us. At the sound of Bragda's whistle, I didn't rush to attack. I bounced on the balls of my feet, judging his moves.
When he attacked, I parried his blow.
"Good," he drawled. "You learn fast."
We exchanged a few blows until I memorized his pattern. At his weak point, I knocked his helmet with my pugil stick.
"Mark!" Bragda said. "Too predictable, Peter. Shake it up a bit."
For the final round, we prepared for the duel. Peter pressed his shoulder blades against mine with a firmer touch than required. I drew a sharp intake of air at the invisible lightning that buzzed between us.
"Stop distracting me, Peter."
"Stop distracting me with your enticing pheromones, and I'll call it even."
"I'm not doing it on purpose."
"Neither am I."
"Liar!"
At Bragda's whistle, we turned and faced one another, panting even though we hadn't begun the fight. The scent of mint reeled me in, insisting I come nearer.
Shaking my head, I cleared my thoughts. No, fight it.
"You're strong, Liselle," Peter said with a disarming smile. "I'm proud of you."
"That's cheating."
"No, that's war."
After a flurry of blows with the sticks, we knocked each other to the ground. Bragda whistled for a timeout, but both of us were too caught up in the moment to hear it. We wrestled each other on the ground, a jumbled, snarling, growling mass of limbs.
Finally, I straddled him, pinning his arms above his head.
"Yield!" I commanded.
"I yield," he said, curling his lip.
When I let go of his hands, his eyes flashed with that passionate gaze I knew so well. He grabbed my hips and for a moment pressed me closer to him. My heart thudded in my ears.
"Guys!" Alicia shouted, pulling us out of our reverie. Peter's hands fell to his sides. "Save it, for the love of the gods!"
And she's back. Prudish as ever.
I leaped off of Peter, and he slowly rose to his feet and cleared his throat. Bragda gave us a sly smile even though her eyes were narrowed.
"During training, I expect you to be professional," she grumbled. "No funny business."
"Sorry," we muttered in unison.
But I knew my sister. Inwardly, Bragda was loving it.