soon.”
“Pretty sure that’s what I’m supposed to be saying to you,” I tell him on a chuckle.
“Fine, we’ll keep saying it to each other until it’s over,” he relents, a grunt stealing the end of his words.
I brush loose strands of hair out of his face. “How did I get so lucky?” I tell him, parroting his earlier sentiments. And that’s all I can think as I watch him go through hell. Bastien comes tearing into the room, takes one look at us, and smiles, relief filling his eyes. He kneels down and takes Valen’s hand and starts reciting poems as Valen and I take turns telling each other that it’s okay and that it’ll be over soon.
9
“That was a cheap fucking shot!” Bastien bellows.
Kallan looks unfazed by Bastien’s outrage and readies himself for another attack. “Oh come on, aren’t you some big bad Sentinel now? You think everyone is going to fight fair?” he taunts.
“We’re training, not fighting right now, but if you want to stop pulling punches, I’m perfectly happy to oblige,” Bastien tells him through clenched teeth.
When Kallan yawns, I slam a hand over my mouth to keep hidden the smile that flashes into place.
“Are you done monologuing, or should I take a seat?” Kallan asks, his tone bored.
Bastien curses and does something with his Defensive magic that has Kallan choking. “That’s enough bullshit out of you,” Bastien goads.
Kallan counteracts Bastien’s cast and gulps down air as he flings maroon-tinted magic in return. Bastien rolls to avoid it, but it catches his heel. His hands slam down and stick to his sides, and his legs seem to seal together. He looks like he’s doing his best impression of a falling log or some kind of fish out of water as he struggles on the ground.
“Motherfucker!” Kallan shouts out and starts scrubbing at his eyes. “Really, you’re going to Magic Mace me? Who’s taking cheap shots now?”
I attempt to shove the laugh that’s trying to crawl out of my mouth back in, but it just comes out more high-pitched and obvious. Both Bastien and Kallan were doing well with the previous training. I’ve just paired them up, which based on the banter that’s happening, was a genius move.
“Oh, you poor baby, did you think everyone is going to fight fair?” Bastien mocks, and I completely lose it.
Both of their heads snap in my direction, and judging by the scowls on both of their faces, neither of them find my obvious entertainment very amusing. That just makes me laugh even harder. I’ve been watching them for about an hour, and I’m learning so much as I do. I’ve read a lot about Offensive and Defensive magic, but reading lines in a book and seeing it with my own eyes are two very different things. So far, with Enoch and his coven, we’ve focused on Defensive magic and Elemental magic. We were just starting to dip more into the other branches when I had my awakening, so it’s been awesome to see these two go at it. I get to see some of the things that I’ve learned, used against a branch of magic I haven’t tapped much into and it’s incredible.
Offensive magic and its casts primarily mess with an opponent’s senses or body in some way. Casters do this by either overloading their opponent with pain or nulling them and stealing their senses. Kallan hasn’t tapped into the pain aspect too much, but everything else has been fair game. They’re both so creative in how they attack and defend, it’s mesmerizing, but the commentary is what’s been keeping me glued to this spot. I don’t think I’ve laughed this hard in who knows how long. I have tears streaming down my face from the hilarious bickering they’ve been doing back and forth.
“Is she laughing at us?” Kallan asks.
“She certainly is,” Bastien confirms.
I wipe tears from my eyes and look up to see that they’re both on their feet now and staring at me, the look in both of their eyes incredulous.
“Don’t mind me, carry on,” I manage to squeak out between peals of laughter.
“Do we amuse you, Bruiser?” Bastien asks me, but I know that tone.
He’s going to try and come for me, and the way he’s moved his weight to the balls of his feet confirms my suspicions. Good. They’re using too much magic and not enough of the weapons they’re supposed to be calling and using against each other. I know Kallan doesn’t want to talk about