“Sorasa, it’s still dark,” she protested, scrubbing at her face. “I’m not on watch—”
But the assassin took her by the shoulder, hauling her to her feet. The night air bit cold when her cloak fell away.
“Hurry up. We don’t have much time until they come back,” Sorasa said, half marching her toward the fire, where Sigil loomed. Corayne stumbled along, trying to get her bearings as sleep faded away. “I should’ve done this a long time ago.”
Done what? Corayne wondered, her mind snapping awake. She opened her eyes fully to Sigil, whose attention shifted from the fugitive priest to Corayne’s own face. Doubt bled through her, its edges tinged with fear. With a jolt, she realized Dom and Andry were gone, their sleeping spaces empty.
“Where’s Dom?” she asked, uneasy and wary. As much as her protectors chafed, she felt bare without them, too vulnerable. “And Andry?”
Sorasa let go of her arm, planting them both in the center of the camp. She crossed her arms over her chest and settled back, tapping one boot. “The walking scowl and the noble squire are hunting for breakfast.”
Corayne nearly jumped when Sigil began circling her like she was a horse at auction. With a gulp, Corayne shifted to keep her in sight, turning steadily. “Can I help you with something, Sigil?”
“The Spindleblade is too big for her to ever use properly,” Sigil finally said, taking Corayne by the shoulders. She balked, surprised, as the bounty hunter gave her a shake. “She doesn’t have enough heft for an ax either. What about finger blades?”
It took Corayne a second to realize Sigil wasn’t speaking to her at all.
“She’s too slow,” Sorasa answered, also sizing her up. “Archery is out of the question too.”
Corayne squinted between them, at a loss for once. Then the pieces slotted together, all at once. “Are—are you going to teach me to fight?”
Firelight gleamed on Sorasa’s teeth. “If I had a year, yes. I could make you passable,” she answered, smirking. Then she shook her head, looking Corayne up and down. “If I ever meet your mother, I’ll certainly have words for her. What a lesson to neglect.”
My fighting skills are not the only thing she neglected, Corayne thought bitterly.
“Even when it isn’t the end of the world, the realm is a dangerous place for women,” Sorasa added, gesturing between herself and the bounty hunter.
Sigil grinned broadly. “And so we became dangerous.”
“Care to dance with us?” Sorasa extended a hand, gesturing like a partner at a ball. “We who belong nowhere?”
Any anxiety or annoyance over her disrupted sleep quickly faded. Corayne nodded eagerly, thinking of the Spindleblade in its sheath, and the long dagger from Adira. We who belong nowhere.
“Teach me,” she said, breathless.
She tasted dirt before she knew what was happening, knocked over without so much as a warning. “What the f—” she wheezed, fighting to her feet.
Only to get knocked down again, the assassin moving in a blur of limbs.
Corayne fell, flat on her back, sputtering as the air rushed from her lungs. Huddled in his cloak, she heard Charlie laugh beneath his breath. Sigil did not join them, content to watch in silence.
Sorasa bent over her, as she had some minutes before, a shit-eating grin on her face. With a wriggle of tattooed fingers, she put out her hand, offering it.
“This is the easy way?” Corayne forced out, gasping for her lost breath.
Pulling hard, Sorasa hauled her to her feet. “Absolutely,” she said. “Now shift your weight. Balls of your feet. You’ll balance better and have an easier time changing direction.”
The assassin demonstrated, transitioning from a flat-footed stance to her toes, both knees bending slightly. She swayed back and forth, her shoulders square to her knees. Corayne did the same, mimicking Sorasa’s body as best she could. This time, when Sorasa lunged, she managed to keep standing for three whole seconds, until the assassin dropped her again.
Corayne winced, her back beginning to ache. “Sorry,” she gritted out, feeling the embarrassed sting of failure.
“Better” was all Sorasa said, tugging her up again.
“Maybe I should just go back to sleep,” Corayne said, massaging her shoulder. Still, she kept on her toes, ready should Sorasa try her again. “Leave the fighting to the people who know how?”
Sorasa pretended not to hear her.
“I don’t think we have a sword light enough for her.” Sigil began to circle again. She wasn’t wearing her armor yet but seemed no less gigantic. “Unless you want to give her yours?”