Zahra woke early, far earlier than she was accustomed to. The tent was still pitch-black, but the moon’s glow had vanished. The overwhelming fear of her nightmare gripped her chest, and she wiped the resulting sweat from her brow.

  Sanrai continued to haunt her dreams nearly every night, killing their mother or killing Zahra. The Ejderha succeeding in their pincer beneath the final wall of Rājadhānī and Sanrai slaying them all. Her smile was sharp and twisted as she cut them down one by one.

  Zahra dwelled on her sister’s intentions without reprieve. What had brought Sanrai to such violence? She was Krethik’s daughter, just as Zahra was, and yet…

  A stirring outside of their tent called her attention. Kirti still slept soundly beneath her pile of blankets, but Cailu was nowhere to be seen. Zahra’s ears twitched toward the disturbance. Swift footsteps cut through grass, and sharp exhales followed.

  Zahra stood and whispered, “[Combat Mode].” Her sleeping clothes vanished, replaced with the familiar weight of her silks and armor. She summoned her katana to her hand and tip-toed over Kirti to leave the tent. If it was trouble that would greet her, she refused to arrive unprepared.

  Instead, she found Cailu’s shadow mirroring his body in the gentle light of a nearby lantern. He’d left his shield behind in favor of wielding his sword with both hands, and he moved through a series of forms that Zahra didn’t recognize. She watched, entranced, as he positioned his feet with the assuredness of a warrior and the grace of a dancer.

  Ishani, her mother, had once told her about stances that Krethik would practice each morning. Naeemah often joined him, she said, but Ishani herself had never learned them. Zahra wondered if all men practiced the same movements.

  Cailu halted mid-step and dropped his elbows so his sword was at the ready. He whipped toward Zahra with a frown; his stance prepared for combat. She sheathed her sword and tucked her tail between her legs.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I couldn’t sleep,” Zahra admitted.

  “Mm. Nor could I.” Cailu paused to fish a waterskin from his [Cat Pack].

  Zahra struggled to find what to say next. She wanted to be more open with Cailu, but the man was so very intimidating. She still had an achingly long journey ahead if she hoped to fill Naeemah’s shoes.

  “I don’t think I’ve had the chance to see you train outside of combat before.” Zahra approached where he stood, keeping her voice low so as not to wake the others. “Do all men know such formations?”

  Cailu finished his drink. “From my experience in Nyarlea, there are those who may practice similar routines, but each depends on where they come from.” He shook his head. “It seems there are many other worlds beyond my own.”

  Zahra had guessed as much after seeing Cailu, Magni, Tristan, and Matt in one room together. Tristan and Matt had shared a previous world, but Cailu and Magni looked very different from either of them. “I know my father had a morning routine with martial formations, but I never had the chance to learn.”

  Cailu replaced the waterskin in his [Cat Pack], then studied her face. Zahra feared she’d said the wrong thing and was about to excuse herself back to the tent when Cailu said, “Would you like to learn?”

  Zahra swallowed the excitement that blossomed in her chest and threatened to overcome her like a sandstorm. She brought her fist to her chest and bowed. “That would be an honor.”

  “Draw your blade,” Cailu instructed. Once she had, he pointed to the ground at his left. “Stand there. Alright. Now, position your feet like mine. Straighten your back. Chin up. Good. Watch me first, then move as I explain.”

  All remaining thoughts of sleep vanished as Zahra carefully followed Cailu’s movements. He explained the four openings of the drill, and each direction called for a separate striking pattern. It seemed simple at first but grew in complexity as he added additional strikes to each corner.

  “Now alternate between strikes with the flat of the blade,” he said. “Knowing when to parry is just as important as knowing when to strike.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Sweat trickled down Zahra’s back, and her arms ached with the constant movements. But the tension in her muscles was a welcome reprieve to the tension in her mind.

  Cailu’s directions were short but easy to follow. Zahra could picture him as the head of a command like the Ejderha. He exuded the same authority and layers of experience as Lady Naeemah, and his patience in teaching her was a surprise. More than once, he stopped his own stances to help correct Zahra’s posture or help adjust the grip on her sword.

  The sun crested the horizon, and the caravan’s attendants rose with it. They continued to train until Zahra had memorized the striking patterns in all four directions.

  “I believe this would be a good place to stop.” Cailu paused and retrieved his water. “You learn quickly. That is well.” His nod of approval made Zahra’s heart skip.

  “Thank you, sir.” Zahra searched out her own waterskin in her [Cat Pack] and slowed her breathing as she stole a drink.

  “If I recall, you wish to train for [Samurai], correct?”

  Another jolt of glee ran from the tips of Zahra’s ears to her tail. She assumed her musings were beyond his notice while they were still on Ichi. “Yes, it is.”

  “You will need to reach Level 50 of [Myrmidon], then. Appear, iPaw.” The enchanted device Zahra had witnessed only a handful of times appeared in Cailu’s hand. He brushed his finger against its screen, then hummed. “You are currently Level 22. We should expedite this process.” He asked the iPaw something, but his words were a jumble that Zahra couldn’t comprehend.

  A different language? Zahra wanted to ask but didn’t want to interrupt him.

  “Hm. That settles things. It seems I can be the one to train you, and then appraise your skill to deem you worthy of [Samurai].” The iPaw vanished from Cailu’s hand.

  Zahra’s eyes widened. “You can?”

  “If the woman in that device is to be believed, yes.” He crossed his arms. “However, my training regimen will likely be far more difficult than a traditional catgirl—”

  “I accept.” Zahra clasped her hands at her waist and bowed deeply. “There can be no greater honor in Nyarlea. Please, allow me to be your student, sir.”

  He made a sound Zahra had never heard from him before. Did he chuckle? When she straightened her back, he was smiling. “Consider it done.”

  Matt and Ceres emerged from their tent, and Cailu’s gaze snapped toward them, his smile wiped clean from his face. It was a shame; it was an expression she would prefer to see him wear more often.

  “Will Ceres be permanently residing on Shi Island when we return?” Cailu asked Matt.

  Matt looked from Ceres to Cailu and blinked. “What? No. We’ll meet up again once I’ve hit [Battleguard]. That hasn’t changed.”

  Cailu rolled his shoulders. “You disrupted our sleep and Ceres is not with child?”

  Zahra felt her face burn as fiercely as Matt and Ceres’s cheeks. She had heard them but assumed it was impolite to question a man’s…activities.

  “S-Sir Cailu, my sincerest apologies!” Ceres clapped her hands together and bowed until her braid dropped over her shoulder and nearly touched the ground. “I did not mean— W-we did not wish to impede on your rest! Please, if there is anything we can do—”

  “See that it does not happen again.” Cailu waved at the lead of the caravan. “Break your fast, and let us be on our way.”

  Matt ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Okay, yeah. Sure.” He touched Ceres’s shoulder, pinched the fabric of her dress, and tugged her back to standing. “Come on. Let’s grab something to eat.”

  “Of course,” Ceres squeaked, her face in her palms, and followed in Matt’s footsteps.

  Cailu shook his head and turned back to Zahra. “We will continue to rise before the sun and train together. There are Encroachers closer to Ronona that will suit your Level, and we will hunt them as we travel. In the next three days, should you maintain your enthusiasm, you should reach [Myrmidon] Class Level 25.”

  “Three Levels in three days?” Zahra breathed. It had taken her over a week to reach her last one.

  “Yes. Though, as I said, this will not be a simple task.”

  She shook her head and grinned. “I promise. I will not disappoint you.”

  “Good.” A fragment of Cailu’s previous smile returned and he glanced over his shoulder. “I have enough of that to deal with.”

  “Have you ever considered not being so hard on the boy?” Kirti appeared at Zahra’s shoulder, toying with a glimmering stone between her fingers. Magni’s stone.

  “Not until he’s a man,” Cailu snapped.

  “You judge him too harshly, Cailu. But this is nothing new.” Kirti shrugged, then snaked one arm around Zahra’s elbow. “Shall we fetch breakfast, precious one? I believe you’ve earned it.”

  Zahra wasn’t sure if she’d ever be accustomed to Kirti’s otherworldly knowledge, but the grumbling of her stomach urged that now wasn’t the time to comment. “Yes. Please.”

  “Consider joining us, Cailu. It may raise your spirits,” Kirti suggested.

  Cailu replied with a tepid grunt and then followed Kirti and Zahra back to the tent.

  Zahra glanced behind her, smitten by Cailu’s offer. She would fall on her own sword before she disappointed him.

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