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"But, all the blood…" Ree looked down at the floor and frowned There was red splattering a good bit of thedeal We bleed a lot e’re training" Weylin walked over to a closet that had brooether and she bit her lip

"No one’s going to make you bleed, Ree" Paden stood next to the practice dummy, his arodling She needs to learn just like you all did" Roland looked at Paden with steady eyes There was so between the two, but Ree couldn’t be sure what It really wasn’t her place to try and understand it either

"There’s no reason for her to get hurt" Paden stood up straight and frowned at Roland

"Paden, don’tto hurt Bryce just to hurt hi Ree needs She’ll be stronger for it" Melanie threw a towel over her shoulder and broke the seal on a bottle of water

"I was too trying to hurt Bryce!" Weylin groaned "I just didn’t do as well as I would have liked"

"She’s right, Pay I need to train, and I need to do it fast" Ree pulled off her jacket and threw it on a bench "So, what first?"

"Katas and learning your new strength" Roland pulled off his shirt, revealing a white tank top He threw it near her jacket and pointed at the h the katas you already know"

Chapter Eleven

"When do I get to use weapons?" Hours after they had started, Ree bounced on her toes and smiled at Roland in the mirrors She had picked up all of the katas easily, reuys are always so eager for the weapons The real power coths and weaknesses" Roland threw Ree some water and shook his head "No We start with hand-to-hand sparring Then we ood so fast?" Ree looked over at Paden and Weylin They were sitting on the floor and sharpening some of the weapons

"I was born this way, baby" Weylin winked at Ree

"Sadly, he’s right" Paden rolled his eyes and smiled at Ree She was thankful to see hi so much time with Roland Hopefully this new calm would last while she sparred as well She smiled at Paden, but it didn’t last A brick wall slaround

She shook her head but jumped to her feet quickly Her eyes jerked around the room, while she tried to shake the shock Roland stood back on the other side of the traininghis lips Ree dropped into an open stance, and lifted her hands into defensive positions

Roland’sacross the open space between them He reached for her left arht and swung her ar when she ed to use her momentum to spin behind him instead Deftly she slammed the side of her foot into the back of his knee and sent hi She jumped on his back and slarunted, but didn’t move

She looked down at him suspiciously, not convinced she had actually beaten hiame She looked up when soh She looked back down at Roland and frowned When he runt of frustration, she hopped off him and took a few steps backward

Paden squatted down next to Roland and smiled "I think she won"

"She broke my bloody neck" Roland lifted himself up onto his foreare! Like, wohed She stood there shocked, her eyes going back and forth from Roland and Paden to Weylin

"Weylin, wo eyes" Roland rolled over onto his back and moved his head to pop his neck

"They don’t?" Weylin looked at Roland and frowned "Are you sure?"

"I’ist, Wey I’m a Dark One But even I knoombat has little eyes" Roland looked over at Ree and se"

"Are you okay? I don’t knohat I was thinking" Ree rubbed her palms on her pants

"Don’t worry, Ree" Paden held his hand out to Roland to help him stand Roland took it and nodded his head in thanks "That wasn’t going to kill hihed when Roland jerked his neck to the side "You certainly surprised all of us though"

"I… I… I just reacted" Ree looked at her friends and felt a laugh bubble up and out of her throat "I totally kicked your ass" She pointed at Roland and continued to laugh

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and gave her a crooked grin "Well, I wasn’t expecting you to be so damned proficient"

"She looked a lot like Sophie I wonder what else you got frorabbed a sword off the wall and tossed it at Ree She caught the handle deftly and looked at the blade in question

"That was kind of hot, you know" Weylin winked at Ree "I like a wohed at hiuy

"Weylin" Paden and Roland both said his nahtfully

"C’estured at Ree "Well, go ahead Do one of the Katas with the sword"

Ree looked down at the sword in her hand and enjoyed the glea as the broadswords hanging along the wall Giving a few practice flicks of her wrist, she gauged the weight and noticed it felt longer than it should

"This was made for Sophie?" She shifted her feet into the first position and held the blade in a pointed angle toward the ground She slid her right foot forward and shifted the blade angle as if deflecting a lower slash

"Yes" Roland’s voice was quiet and thoughtful

Ree slid into another stance, sweeping the sword through a more complicated maneuver She closed her eyes and let the er when I hold it" Ree tried to keep herIt ive her this, but it also strengthened her resolve to use it Increasing her speed, she slid through thethe sharper movements When she finished the kata, it ith her sword held high and her breathing caluys watching her

Paden cleared his throat and looked sheepishly at Ree "Well, Sophie was taller"