“You’re late,” Tamoe said as Ki entered the new training grounds. The room used to be a minor hall for smaller gatherings. It was now empty save for a rack of weapons off toward one side and a large tub of water next to it.

“The sun’s just risen,” Ki responded. She stretched her shoulder that she had been sleeping on trying to get the stiffness out.

Tamoe strode toward Ki and slapped her across the cheek with an earth-assisted blow. Ki took the full force of the hit, caught unaware. She stumbled to the floor and felt the warm metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She spit and with it came two teeth in a pool of red.

“I said at dawn. Maybe they don’t teach you well enough here, but dawn means when the sun is first starting to rise. Not after the sun has risen. When I give you an order, I expect you to follow it. Now go over to the tub and fix yourself.” Tamoe stood over her on the floor. No smile this morning. Instead, he frowned. A disgusted look on his face like he’d just eaten something that had spoiled.

Ki grabbed her teeth and stood up, swaying to the side as she did so. She made her way over to the tub and with her other hand, she cupped the water and brought it to her mouth. She rinsed some of the blood and spit out pinkish-red. She grabbed another handful of water and this time put her teeth in her mouth with it. Putting her hand to her cheek, she carefully knit the teeth back into her gums. Some of the pain eased, but a dull ache remained. She rinsed her mouth once more and washed her hands.

Turning around, Ki looked at Tamoe with a vehement stare. Tamoe returned her stare with the same dissatisfied look he had standing over her. “Emika has been too gentle with you. She makes a terrible teacher I’m afraid.” Tamoe shook his head before continuing, “Alas, here I am to remedy that.”

“Emika was a fantastic teacher. That’s why she was sent instead of you,” Ki retorted.

Tamoe laughed, “Where is your fantastic Emika now? What do you have to show for the last ten years?”

“She is protecting the King, something he thought you were incapable of doing,” Ki threw back at him.

He cocked his head to the side, smiling at her, “Is that what Emika told you? Yezzu, save that woman. My brother is thoroughly upset with her. You are the first non-royal aircrafter in centuries. The biggest weapon we have here in Kantillion and you’re being squandered. You would be a shock to other nations, propelling Kantillion as the strongest nation of the three.”

Ki never thought about why she was being taught by such a powerful crafter before. Surely they would have better things to do than be the teacher of a Duke’s niece. Even the King’s kids would need a crafting tutor. Emika would have been invaluable to them. But it made sense now. Ki was a weapon.

“No,” she muttered. Ki shook her head in disbelief. She’s being used by these people. Just a blade for them to swing.

“Oh that is good,” Tamoe laughed again. “You’re just now learning why my sister and I are wasting our time in this city. It’s to ensure our weapon is ready when we need it. Don’t feel bad though. You are special. Think of all that we can accomplish with you. A secret blade kept in the shadows. A powerful killer we can unleash. Aircrafters after all make the best assassins.”

He paused, letting the words sink in, “Don’t worry though, I’ll teach you everything you need to know. Now, why don’t you show me what you’ve learned from Emika? Let's start with your kata.”

Emika warned Ki about him, but even so, she was surprised by how cruel he could be. She wouldn’t let him get to her. She began her kata, making it through the first five motions before the flat of Tamoe’s katana slapped her arm.

“Keep your arm in,” he scolded.

Her arm throbbed, but she continued. A few motions later Tamoe hit her leg, causing her to stumble.

“You need a solid base.” He struck her in the back. “And a straight back.”

She finished her kata, receiving multiple more strikes and instructions from Tamoe. He shook his head as he walked in a circle around her.

“Again,” he demanded.

“What?” asked Ki.

He hit her on the back with the flat of his blade. “I said again!”

Tamoe made Ki repeat the kata four more times, finding things wrong with each subsequent pass. By the end, Ki was sweating and breathing hard. She was covered in bruises from where Tamoe had hit her.

“That’s as good as it will get today I’m guessing. Go get some water,” Tamoe said, dismissing Ki.

Ki plodded over to the tub of water, each step labored. She splashed water on her face and washed away some of the sweat.

Tamoe laughed. “This is what ten years with Emika has earned you. You are just as weak and pathetic as her.”

Ki growled, reaching out in front of her she pulled the water from the tub and formed three spears. She hurled them at Tamoe who stood in the center of the room laughing. The spears sped toward him. He raised his hand out toward one of the braziers to the side. Sweeping his arm across his body, the flame lept and met the spears just before him, causing them to erupt into steam. He pushed out in front of him using both hands, forming a sphere of air that shot into the steam pushing it directly toward Ki.

A wall of steam was approaching rapidly. Ki reached out using firecrafting to pull at the heat in the air. She felt the warmth enter her. The steam turned back into water which splashed onto the floor in front of her. Ki realized too late that the steam was a distraction. Tamoe’s fist slammed into her stomach causing her to double over and collapse to the floor again. She couldn’t breathe.

“There are a few things you need to understand,” Tamoe said in a low voice.

Ki looked up and saw eyes filled with rage. He had a hand formed in a fist in front of him. She started clawing at her throat as she struggled to take in a breath. He was holding back her air.

“First, never attack me like that again. I will not be so lenient next time.” He hit her on the side of the head, causing Ki to stumble again.

“Second, Emika is no longer your teacher. She failed you. She failed Kantillion. She does not deserve your respect.” He kicked her.

“Third, I am your Dominus. You will address me as such and you will do as I command.” Tamoe released his hand and strode toward the exit. Ki wheezed, now able to breathe again.

He paused in the doorway and looked back. “Take the rest of this week off and reflect on what you’ve learned today. Be here at dawn on Vasimer.”

***

Ki lay on the ground for some time, a small pool of blood sat around her head. The sound of footsteps brought her back to consciousness.

Tamira stood in the doorway. She gasped upon seeing Ki on the floor. Ki tried to get up but faltered. Tamira ran to her on the floor and laid a hand on Ki to steady her. Ki leaned into Tamira.

“Ki! What happened? Are you alright?” Tamira asked.

Ki looked at Tamira. The young girl’s eyebrows were knit with concern, fear openly displayed upon her face. Tamira loved her. With watercrafting, Ki could sense it. Despite the pain, Ki smiled. “I’m fine, just training with my new Dominus.” Ki spit the last words out with disgust. “Could you help me to a bathtub? I need to heal myself.”

The two glanced at the tub in the room that was lacking water. It would be of no use to them now. Ki stood with Tamira’s help. She winced with sudden pain in her chest. She pushed gently on it. A spider web of piercing pain shot out from where she pressed causing her breath to catch. Broken ribs.

Ki leaned into Tamira for support. Not because it lessened the agony, her chest even hurt more with the action. Ki leaned into her because she was craving the closeness of a loved one. Each step was labored on the way to her rooms. This wasn’t the first time she had broken something, but this time somehow felt worse. Ki cursed herself, she shouldn’t have let her emotions get the better of her. She could imagine Emika scolding her for letting her rage build up. “Once your feelings control you, the fight is over,” she would often say.

The state of Ki scared a few of the servants they passed in the hall, the first of such Tamira sent to fetch water for Ki to heal. They could have sent for a healer as well, but Ki was considered one of the best in Soru.

They arrived at Ki's rooms just as a group of servants were pouring water into her tub. The servants left, leaving Ki and Tamira alone. Ki could already hear them whispering about how Tamoe had beat her. The entire castle staff would soon know.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tamira asked. Ki was a few years her senior, but somehow Tamira always seemed the older of the two. She took after her mother in both her beauty and her quick mind. She was everything Ki was not. Where Ki was built strong and muscular from her intensive training, Tamira was slender and gentle. It often caused people to underestimate her. She was still a daughter of a Duke and a powerful crafter. She spent most of her time with other women of the court, practicing the more feminine arts. She had a way with people, another thing Ki seemed to lack.

Ki eased herself in the tub and got to work repairing the most severe of her wounds. She sighed with relief as her bones melded back together. The sharp pressure in her chest eased to a dull ache. Light pink skin replaced the cut next to her eye where Tamoe slammed his fist. The swelling subsided to a light purple bruise.

Ki laid back in her tub exhausted from the crafting. “I don’t know if I can do it, Tamira. Everyone has this grand idea of what I’m supposed to be, but I feel like I don’t even know who I am. I just seem to let everyone down.”

Tamira brought a chair over behind the tub and sat behind Ki. She took a brush and started going through Ki’s hair, smoothing the knots out. “When I was younger I envied you, you know. ‘The first non-royal aircrafter in almost a millennia.’ You are the most important person of all of Soru, maybe even all of Kantillion. They told stories of people like you, blessed by the gods, powerful crafters that shaped the world to their will. But you aren’t a story. I got to see you every day. I lived in your shadow. Even in the eyes of my father, I could never live up to you.” Ki turned around and saw tears streaming down Tamira’s face.

“There is nothing to envy, Tamira. Look at me.” Ki gestured to the bruises that covered her body, scars that even crafting couldn’t heal fully. “This is what I get for being a powerful crafter. I never asked for this. I would give it all up for a simple life.” Ki slunk down further into her bath, deflated.

“Oh Ki, I didn’t mean it like that. Seeing everything that they put you through, the impossible standards they make you live up to. I quickly realized that I could never accomplish all that you have.” Tamira paused briefly, taking a lighter tone. Ki could hear the smile in her voice. “You inspire me, Ki. You inspire me to keep pushing forward no matter how great the task. How difficult the journey. To keep pushing until I get there.”

Tamira set down the brush and headed for the door. She stood there for a moment before turning around. “I’m sorry you had to go through this today, but know you don’t have to go through it alone. I’m always here if you need me.” She gave Ki a warm smile before leaving.

Ki rested her head against the back of the tub. Tamira didn’t know. She couldn’t. Ki was watercrafting the entire time, looking for any deception she could from Tamira. There was none. Her words were genuine. Ki wasn’t the only one being lied to.

Ki left the tub and dried off before heading to bed. The aches in her body were numerous, but she felt better than she had the past few days. A weight being lifted from her. There were still some people she could trust, and Volenden was fast approaching. She would get more answers then.