A Court of Distrust and Darkness

Meeting of Courts

Nyx's point of view:

I stumbled back after a solid kick to the chest. My sternum heated in pain, and I could feel the bruise forming. Despite the discomfort, I recovered quickly, much to the disappointment of my opponent. Karyan's wings flung towards me in a vain attempt to knock me to the ground. However, because of the movement, she was off balance. I was able to grab the bone of the wing before it smacked my side and twisted her backward. Her momentum was all she needed to tumble backward, and I would have smiled if I hadn't been tired from our fight.

Karyan's alarmed expression as she hit the ground was priceless, and while she tried to stand, I quickly put my foot down on her wing. She struggled against my weight, but it was pointless. I wasn't even using my total weight to press her down as I knew how sensitive our wings were. My wings were pulled tight against my back to ensure they weren't used against me, but the thought of them being stepped on by a lot of weight made me cringe.

Karyan sighed from where she lay on the ground, and despite her sword still being in her hand, she conceded to me. I removed my sword from where it was pointed at her neck and lifted my foot. She pushed back the sweaty red hair from her eyes and bit out a scowling retort, "You know that almost worked if only I were a little quicker." I shook my head as I offered her a hand. She gracefully accepted as I said, "You could be as fast as light, and still, that move wouldn't work. You don't have the mass. Davina has more mass than you, and it doesn't even work on me most of the time."

Karyan nodded as she stood from the dirt, dusting herself off with a sour expression. Despite her loss, she quickly smiled as she said, "Noted, I won't use that move in battle." I shook my head at her change in attitude and whipped the sweat from my forehead as I said, "Not unless you want to end up with a sword in the gut." Karyan seemed to consider it like it was an option before she said, "Cassian had that happen once, but I don't think I feel like repeating that particular experience." I shook my head before leading us to the water station.

The group of us were at the training rings behind Azriel and Gwyn's home. Built along the river's edge, the cabin was secluded enough for the shadowsinger and his family. Plus, it was only a short flight to the ocean, so it was useful on a day like today when our allies were coming to visit.

While Davina was with her father today to review her work with the Illyrian women, the rest of us were here to train. Lorćan and Rainer were fighting in a separate ring, their moves blinding even to me. The two of them knew each other's fighting styles like it was their own, so rarely they could best one another without trickery. I had been training with Asteria and Karyan simultaneously to create a multiple-opponent scenario for me and a partner session for them.

Karyan had survived longer, only because I didn't give Asteria enough time to form a strategy. Asteria was a great player of the game, but a fighter she was not. And while they did work together, which almost allowed Karyan to beat me, they faltered when I changed my focus to Asteria. Karyan's attempts to protect others end up being the cause of her losing in fights.

Karyan dropped into the dirt unceremoniously beside me as she sipped on her water. Asteria was sitting on the bench with narrowed eyes. Her face was stern and was an uncanny replica of our father's cold expression. It chilled me slightly to see his face only used with the Court of Nightmares on her, but I knew it was only her expression when she was analyzing something. I assumed she was analyzing both my fight and the boys.

Karyan, unbothered by Asteria's cold expression, chirped up from my feet and said to her, "You know it won't matter how well you know our fighting style if you can't get out of your head enough to defeat us." Asteria took a moment to realize the comment was directed toward her. Though her eyes blinked away the unfocused cloudiness, she looked down her nose at Asteria from her place on the bench. Karyan gave me a pleading look to back her up, but I refused to get in between the argument when she was the one who started it.