You up for another round?

The demon soldier's cough echoed in my ears like a hammer to an anvil. I pushed myself off Aeliana, rolling my eyes at the intrusion. The soldier was doing a poor job of hiding his grin, and I shot him a glare sharp enough to slice through iron.

"What?" I snapped, annoyed that he'd interrupted… whatever the hell that moment was.

"Apologies, Lady Ciara," he said, his tone dripping with forced innocence, "but the rest of us were beginning to wonder if we'd ever see you get off the ground."

The other soldiers snickered, and I felt the heat rise in my face not from embarrassment, but from the sudden flare of irritation. "Watch it, or you'll be doing laps until your demon feet bleed," I warned, my voice low and threatening.

A few of them laughed, and one particularly bold soldier, a wiry demon with a scar running down his cheek, dared to raise an eyebrow. "No need to be jealous, Lady Ciara," he said with a mock bow. "Not everyone can handle the Aeliana."