I groaned, barely able to stand. I bent like she had and groaned again, my entire body protesting the movement. Blood and earth, this felt awful. Why did anyone subject themselves to this?
“Touch your toes,” she commanded as she hinged over, her fingertips grazing the ground.
“I... can’t...” I gasped between the words, my hands only able to reach down to my knees.
“Go as far as you can right now,” she said.
That wasn’t very far. My legs felt tight, too tight, like they might snap if I bent any further.
“The more you practice, the easier it will be. You’re going to want to stretch before and after every training session, and make sure you’re bathing in the springs. The warm water will help your aching muscles.”
Unable to stand the tension in my body any longer, I shot up just as Shadow straightened.
Her brown skin was just as dewy as it had been when we’d begun. Not a single drop of sweat on her, while I had no doubt my pale skin was blotchy and red. “Okay, are you ready?”
“I can’t go on that rope again.” I looked at my reddened palms, wincing at the forming blisters.
“I know.” She jogged in place. “We’re going for a run.”
“A—”
Before I could finish, she’d already bounded off. Had this woman lost her mind? I could barely stand, let alone run.
“Let’s go,” she called over her shoulder. “Penn has been known to force those who quit their training sessions early to run laps around the village for everyone to see.”
I snorted. Of course he did. The tyrant.
It was bad enough I had to run at all. I certainly didn’t need an audience. I forced myself to move my legs, wincing at the aches and pains shooting through my body.
I ducked under branches and dodged trees. Leaves tickled my head as I focused all my attention on just putting one foot in front of the other. Blood and earth, I was barely an hour into my first training session, and I already wanted to quit. I had no idea how I was going to make it through this.
Jasper’s face flashed in my mind, then Driscoll’s, and finally, Jillian’s. I gritted my teeth. I would do this. For them. I didn’t have to be the best. I just had to survive and make everyone think I was willing to participate in their little plan.
A stitch formed in my side, sharp and jabbing. My lungs burned as I sucked in air, and still, we ran through the forest. Leaves and branches crunched underfoot, each sound like a splinter in my ear. I wanted to fall down and not move again for a very, very long time.
Shadow continued her steady pace while I fell further behind, finally dropping to my knees, wheezing while clutching my sides. My vision went blurry, and I fell to the ground.
A face appeared over me. “I might’ve pushed you too hard.”
Water. I needed water. And air, though Shadow probably couldn’t help with that part. I felt her hand gripping my shoulder, and she pulled me to a seated position. My stomach turned, all the contents rising up, burning through my throat, before I retched it out.
Shadow rubbed my back. “It will get easier. I promise.”
I wiped my mouth, tears stinging my eyes. I just wanted to go home. I didn’t want to put my body through this, didn’t want to be surrounded by these criminals, these awful people who couldn’t even manage to lift so much as a finger while my courtsuffered. And now they’d taken me away just so they could use me for some twisted scheme. I wanted no part of this.
“Here.” Shadow helped me to my feet. “Let’s get you back to the barracks.”
I nodded, feeling numb, both inside and out. If this was how my first day went, I wasn’t sure I was going to survive long enough to figure out an escape plan.
I walkedinto the clearing where the barracks were. The barracks up in the trees. Apparently now that I was apart of the academy, I had to sleep where the other thieves slept.
I groaned. Why did everything have to be difficult here?
Shadow gestured to the ropes. “We normally use those to climb, but we have notches in the trees that you can use today?—”
“No,” a gruff voice interrupted, and I would’ve whirled around, but my aching body only allowed me to turn very slowly.
Penn stood there, those piercing green eyes assessing me.
