She turned around to face him. “Where are your people? Your attendants? Your nobles?”
“In other parts of the castle,” he said. “Most parts are restricted only to me.”
Grim was free, but he seemed almost as enclosed as she was. “How often do you see them?”
“Whenever I command it.” He motioned behind her. “Close your eyes.” She did. He took a step forward. He was so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Focus.”
It was hard to focus on anything with him this close to her, but she tried. She made a map in her mind of all the places she had mistakenly portaled to. The distance between her and the training room became clearer. She kept her eyes closed as she reached for her starstick and formed her puddle. She fell through.
“Good,” Grim said, her only indication that she had done it. She opened her eyes. She was in the center of the training room. “I was beginning to think you were incapable of being trained.”
Isla glared at him.
“Now,” he said. He made a motion, and one of her favorite swords fell through the air. She caught it. “You are tolerable at swordplay, but your defense needs work.”
She scowled at him. “My guardian is an excellent teacher.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Has she seen war? Has she encountered creatures who could swallow her whole?”
Isla flattened her mouth into a line. Terra and Poppy had both been born after the curses were spun. As far as she knew, they had never left the Wildling newland. “No,” she said through her teeth.
“Then it seems I have a few more lessons to teach you,” he said. In an instant, he had his own blade in his hand and he was on her, sword moving so rapidly, she could barely keep track of it. He grunted commands while he fought, criticizing her technique, chastising her every move.
“Dead,” he said, slicing the thinnest of lines across her chest with his sword. It cut through the fabric of her shirt but did not pierce skin. That kind of control was extraordinary. One inch off, and her insides would be spilling out. She reached out to block him again.
His blade sliced against her stomach, forming another slash in her clothing. “Dead,” he said again.
She tried her best to cuthim, but no matter how hard she fought, how much she tried to trick him, his blade was always there, sending hers away.
Isla gasped as his sword swept across her throat. This time, hedidcut her. The smallest drop of blood dripped down her neck. “Very dead,” he said, his voice just a whisper, far too close.
A growl sounded deep in her chest. The demon could have killed her by accident. Enraged, she fought harder, advancing, cutting the air between them to pieces. She wanted to cuthimto pieces.
He blocked every blow, but there was an opening. She saw it, and took it, and cut the smallest rip in his shirt.
Isla grinned and was unceremoniously knocked on her back. He had kicked her feet out from under her.
She made an awful sound as she fought for breath. Grim leaned over her. “Another lesson. Sometimes your opponent will let you get a hit in, as a distraction.” His blade traveled up her chest, right to the center of her breast. He tapped once and said, “Dead.”
Isla glared at him. “I get it. You could kill me any number of ways, including with a sword. Teach me to be better.”
He did. They spent the rest of the night dueling in that room. He taught her moves that were ingenious. He taught her how to fight without a sword as well.
“Always go for the nose,” he said.
By the time the sun came up, and Isla was due in her quarters for even more training, she was dripping in sweat. “Thank you,” she said, even though she knew he wasn’t training her for any other reason than because he needed her to find the sword.You’re no good to me dead, he had said.
“The celebration on Creetan’s Crag is in three days,” he said. He stepped close, narrowing his eyes. “Before then, do me a favor, and don’t die.”
CREATURES IN THE WOODS
Grim had taught her to defend herself. She blinked away tears as she wondered if he would ever guess he would become her greatest threat. In the future, he killed her. She saw it clearly.
Why would he hurt her, after taking such pains to keep her safe? It was counter to everything she knew about him.
Though, perhaps she had never truly known him at all.
When Isla crossed the Star Isle bridge, the air felt taut with energy. It smelled faintly of metal. Just like when Celeste used to get worried and upset.
