Ella’s POV
Gosh, this was hard, harder than I thought. Who was I kidding? I knew this was going to be hard before I signed up for it. The real war was probably going to be harder than this. They were rogues I would be fighting against. They were strong, brutal and violent. I couldn’t afford to be weak.
I was getting tired already from all the cuts and blows I had endured and the energy my body had lost from trying to repair it all. I was grateful I wasn’t getting dizzy yet.
I stole a glance at Kevin and winced, hating how wrecked he looked. I was the one getting beaten up by his men but he was the one suffering the pain. I needed to win this to put his heart at rest and put a smile on his face.
I tuned in to the battle again, focusing on my two opponents who seemed to be enjoying this than they should be. Maybe I was tired and didn’t seem right. They were probably too far gone in their characters and acting like they were having fun from this when they weren’t. I was probably reading too much meaning into this when I shouldn’t be.
I thought I saw a smirk on Loki’s lips and roared as I charged at him in anger, imagining him as a rogue smirking at him that way.
I smiled in satisfaction as my fists made contact with his ribs and heard the crunch of his bones. I forced myself to calm down and release the anger I felt, remembering that I wasn’t supposed to fight with emotions.
Emotions were the death of a warrior. I couldn’t help it that I was always able to channel more strength with them but I didn’t forget dad’s words during the trainings that I could be manipulated with them into fighting to my own grave.
I forced myself to calm down and continue fighting with logic and calm, knowing that dad wasn’t ever going to declare me ready for the war if I won this with emotions.
I adjusted my legs and evaded Damien when he charged at me. My position allowed me to slash at his eyes with my claws and I dodged when I felt Loki coming towards me at the same time Damien was rising up.
I needed to end this quickly and bit my lips, wondering how I was going to take the two of them down at the same time.
I smiled as an idea got to me. I wondered how I could have forgotten it. It was one of the tricks dad had taught me when we first began our training. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off because I had sucked at it then but I was ready to give it a go.
I ran forward, away from the two men and smiled when they ran after me. That was exactly what I needed to do. I stopped running suddenly and faced them, smiling as their faces covered with confusion, wondering what I was about to do.
I bent low just as they were about to reach me, sliding forward as if I was on ice and used my hands to support myself, ignoring how hot the ground was. I flexed my legs, pulling them wide apart and kicked the men with each of it. The movement was so fast that I surprised myself more than it surprised the men.
I grinned as they fell down, losing their balance. They had not been expecting that.
“Whoa!” I heard a loud roar as I jumped to my feet, dusting the sand off my hands and smiled when I realized that Kevin had been the one to shout.
I chuckled as he ran towards me. As expected of him.
“I’m proud of you.” He beamed as he kissed me full on the lips, tracing his hands all over the cuts on my face and body.
“You should trust me more.” I said when I could speak.
“I do.” He smiled. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t lose more years of my life as I watch you train.”
I giggled at his words. “What will then be left of your years for us to spend together if you keep losing years during each training that I have? Be sure that I have many more trainings after this so don’t keep losing your years, my lord.” I said and kissed him.
He groaned at my words but he kissed me back.
Dad walked up to us. “I’m sorry to break this sweet love moment but I need to speak to my student. If you don’t mind unwrapping your arms from around her waist, I will appreciate that, your highness.”
I rolled my eyes and chuckled silently. Dad with his wrong timing.
Kevin groaned as he raised his head up from mine. “You suck at timing, Zeke.” He told dad with a sigh.
Dad chuckled. “I know. You will get her back soon.”
Kevin blew a kiss at me and left us alone.
I turned to dad. “I did it.” I beamed.
He nodded. “I’m proud of you as a father and as a mentor. You did well today but you can do better next time.”
“Next time?” I echoed, my eyes widening. I didn’t think I heard him right.
He nodded. “Yes. Your trainings aren’t over. You beat the men but you sustained injuries and it took you a long time to end the fight. You won’t have that much time during the real war.”
I sighed as he spoke, each word sinking into my brain. I should have expected that lecture.
“Yes, dad.”
“Good.” He patted me on the shoulder. “Be prepared to fight off three men during your next training.” He said and walked away, leaving me reeling with the shocking news.
Three men? How was he expecting me to fight off three men when I could barely fight off two men? Who was I kidding? That was my cue to get better and stronger. How did I expect myself to fight off a whole army of rogues if I was afraid of fighting off three men now? I might as well call it quits if I didn’t want to and that was the last thing I wanted to do even if the men decided to tie me up that day.