their first training together

Kiera felt the shock go up her entire arm as their swords clashed against each other. Metal bounced off metal and made a sound that reverberated into her ears.

"You have been well trained." Her lips picked up into a smile though her eyes remained focused on his stance and the sword in his hands. She imagined he had flashed her another one of his smiles.

"Has your love for me grown even more?" There was no doubt in her mind that he was showing the same boyish grin of his as he teased her.

She wanted to roll her eyes but instead deflected another blow, her arm shaking as the force of the hit traveled throughout her arm. Kiera started their fight with the least amount of strength she could, then she progressively increased the strength behind her attacks as she assessed his ability.

"Your technique is different from Sir Pavel's." She noted his footing, the force he applied each attack with, and even his stance. She found similarities in their foundation, the basics that everyone who has ever wielded a sword must master.

"My swordsmanship instructor was the sort to enjoy traveling." He said as he went in to attack her again, "His teaching methods were greatly influenced by all the countries he visited." Without her even blinking, his attack was deflected by her for another time.

"And so you picked up these different techniques and made them your own?"

"Yes. Though I mostly remember the techniques that are more suited to my fighting style." As if emphasizing his point, he placed two hands on the grip of his sword and rotated the blade, raising the whole sword up but keeping it parallel to the ground.

She had never seen someone hold a sword in that manner and she was taken by surprise when he lunged forth. His attack was a lot more powerful than before. She barely managed to defend against it and was still pushed one step back.

"From what region was that technique from?" She couldn't help but ask for the sake of satiating her curiosity.

"It's a technique from a huge desert country from across the eastern sea. This technique is better suited for their interesting swords as the blades of their swords are wide and long. I would say their strength almost matches that of the Beast's."

She scoffed. "I don't think so."

His green eyes flickered over to her. The corners of his lips lifted a smidge. "You are right. My apologies. The strength of the Beasts is incomparable."

Her face twitched slightly, her hands were itching to wipe the smirk off his face. "Should I show you my true strength?" Lowering her eyelashes, she said haughtily.

Just as she had thought, his smirk dropped from his face almost instantly.

"There's no need for that." Sam dropped his sword to his side. He looked nervously at her.

"Calm down." She pursed her lips together to keep from laughing. "I gave you my word that I wouldn't hurt you and I intend to keep that promise."

He released a breath of relief and Kiera did laugh.

"Shall we take a small break?" He offered. Kiera thought for a moment before giving a firm nod of her head.

She watched him as he buried the tip of his sword into the ground before walking in her direction. Her eyes followed his figure as he came closer, dipping his head forward to kiss her lips in a quick romantic gesture and her stomach did little flips as he pulled away.

"How was I?" He murmured, and at first, she thought he was referring to the kiss he gave her but she then ascertained he had probably meant his swordsmanship.

"You are better than I thought you would be." Kiera found that she was being sincere. The prince really could hold his own with a blade. She was sure he could fight against some Beasts as well, maybe he could even win.

She liked the way his face visibly brightened as a smile took over his lips.

"Is that so?" She nodded her head. "I can't wait to tell Kepler then. Did you know that man was already placing bets against me? He said you would lose all interest in me once you realized how weak I am."

She raised an eyebrow, picturing the monocle-eyed man collecting money for a wager.

"What do you think?" She asked mirthfully, peering into his emerald eyes. "Do you think your skills warrant me losing all interest in you?"

"Of course not. I'm confident that your feelings have stayed the same." In the way he has done so many times before, he took her hand in his. His lips swept across her knuckles.

"Even if you do lose interest, I will work hard to gain it back. Now that I've gotten a taste of your affection there's no way I can ever go back to the way things were."

Kiera remembered the words of her King. 'You never know how a desperate person might react if they have to part with their loved one.'

The memory was too scathing for her that she abruptly removed her hand from the prince's grasp. She looked away when his smile diminished slightly.

"You should have more confidence in your skills. The way you had talked about your own strength, I thought you were terribly weaker than I but that was not the case at all." She shook her head.

"Were you purposefully giving me the impression that you were weak?"

"I swear to you I had no intention of tricking you. I genuinely believe that I am no match against you."

Kiera sheathed her sword, giving him a look of skepticism.

"I admit that I also wanted to spend more time with you," he finally admitted to her.

"You didn't have to lie to me to get me to spend time with you. You could have just asked or you could have sent an invitation to my quarters like the other time." The letter she received from him previously had worked wonderfully, as she had gone and visited him the same day she received the letter.

"I did not lie to you Kiera. I did worry that I would be a hindrance to you in a fight."

"You have done away with that worry then?"

His golden head shook, "Yes. I feel better now that you have personally seen my skills. If you say I am well trained then I will believe it. You are, after all, a mighty Beast General."

They shared a smile while their eyes locked together.

"While we are resting, I want to know more about how you were taught." Sam pointed to her sword. "Were you taught at the Academy?"

"No, I was taught by my mentor, then she recommended me to the Academy." She explained as Sam went to grab a washcloth that was left by one of his servants. "She was the first to teach me the basics. How to hold a sword, how far apart my feet had to be, all the basics. She was the first one to show me it all." He began dabbing at the sweat that had accumulated on his brow. Her eyes followed his hand as he wiped the cloth on his neck, slightly going underneath the collar of his shirt.

"Kiera?"

"Yes?" Her eyes bounced back to his face. His emerald eyes looked at her with worry as his eyebrows knitted together.

"You were saying something when you suddenly stopped."

She cursed inside her mind, trying to remember desperately where she had left off.

"My mentor is an incredibly strong Beast. She was strict when teaching me but she was fair. From the very first day of our training she said she would push me to my absolute limit every day, and true to her word, she did. I would leave training with aching bones and bloody palms from open calluses."

"Despite the heavy training she put me through, she was still kind to me. She would dress my wounds, messaging my legs with a medicinal ointment. If my legs gave out after training she would carry me to my bed."

"She sounds like she was good to you."

"She was. When she had no reason to be." Kiera was a commoner, and her mentor was none other than a Beast held in the highest regard throughout her homeland. Not even Bryan's father, the Grand Duke Quinton, Beast Flayer, could escape unscathed from her if they fought. To Kiera, her mentor was the epitome of strength. A person Kiera could only hope to become more like.

"Do you remember when I told you that a Beast General was the one who found me at the orphanage after a report of what had happened with the Deranged Panther Beast made its way to her?"

"I do."

"Although at the time she was at the end of her career as a Beast General. One of the last things she did was to use her influence to support me at the Academy. She was the one who bought me everything I needed for class. From my swords to my armor, she purchased it all without ever expecting me to pay her back."

"That was the sort of person my mentor was." Warmth oozed from her tone, remembering fondly the woman that shaped her beginning years.

"What Beast General was she?"

"Eleventh." She blinked her eyes when an image of Philippa appeared. The red-headed woman with golden eyes replaced the image of her stern mentor. "She was replaced with a Fox Beast. Philippa. She's a good friend of mine."

For whatever reason, her words caused the prince to blink.

"What is it?"

"I have never heard you refer to someone else as your friend."

"Did you think I wouldn't have any friends?"

He hurriedly shook his head to keep her from misunderstanding him. "Not at all. I was trying to remember if you had ever spoken about her before."

"Phillippa wasn't able to come to Solomon on account of her newborn baby. If she wasn't too preoccupied with taking care of her child she would have volunteered to come. Her Mate misses some of the commodities that can only be found outside of the Forest."

He became more interested when she mentioned Phillippa's Mate.

"Is her Mate human?"

"Yes. I don't quite remember where he is from, but it could be he is from one of the small villages in Solomon. He did mention he did not come from far away." Solomon was only a couple of days North of the Forest, so it could be Philippa's Mate was from Solomon.

"And Philippa recently gave birth, to her first child?"

"Not her first child. She had two already when her newborn was forming in her stomach. Thomas and Reich. They are twins, and quite the handful if I might add. Their favorite thing to do is to have me chase after them."

Sam's eyes closed as he laughed when she told him about her friend's boisterous children. The way they pulled at her hair when they were younger.

"They love to play outside, even when I tell them not to get their clothes dirty they still don't listen. I almost think they want me to get in trouble with Philippa."

"I take it you take care of them often then?"

"Not very often, only when Philippa and her Mate need a break from the twins. I don't mind at all because they have picked me to be the twins' Moon Mother."