“Good,” he said after I’d done a number of strikes. “Now go to the bag and show me the kicks I taught you.”

I demonstrated the front kick, back kick, and round kick several times. Then he began calling out strikes and kicks, forcing me to change positions quickly to perform each one. A fine sheen of sweat covered my body by the time we stopped twenty minutes later.

“Very good. You remembered everything.”

“I had a good teacher,” I said, absurdly happy that he was pleased.

His trainer expression slipped and a small smile appeared. “All right, I think you are ready to learn a new strike. This one is called an elbow strike.” He proceeded to demonstrate it for me then had me try it. We worked on it for ten minutes before he switched to a vertical front kick. Once I had that technique down, he made me alternate between the two. I was panting by the time he was satisfied I had them down.

Dread filled me when he said we were done with the bag, because I knew what came next. This was when he would work me with the weights and skipping rope until I could barely stand. He called it conditioning. I called it torture.

He surprised me by heading for the door instead of the weights.

“We’re done?”

“No, we’re going to add something new to your training.” He opened the door and waved me through it.

I couldn’t imagine what it could be, but if it got me out of weight training, I was all for it.

We went outdoors and around the side of the house where three wooden targets had been set up. On the grass near them was an assortment of knives, crossbows, and swords. I chewed my lip nervously at the sight of the swords, hoping he wasn’t going to ask me to use one. The deadliest weapon I’d held was a knife, and I didn’t think I was ready for anything bigger than that.

“What would you like to start with?” Nikolas asked, surprising me again.

I didn’t need to think about it; I immediately went for one of the crossbows. It was a lot bigger and heavier than the one I’d used in Los Angeles, and it felt awkward in my hands. “How do you use this thing?”

Nikolas took it and explained all the parts to me. “This is a recurve bow,” he said as he put it to the ground and cocked it. “It’s a little harder to load, but it has more power than a compound bow. It’s a great weapon once you get a feel for it.”

“I’ve never seen you use a bow,” I said as he brought the bow up and faced the first target.

“I prefer a sword.” He released the bolt and it whistled through the air to sink into the center of the target. “But I’m proficient with most weapons.”

“Of course you are,” I said dryly, earning a smile from him.

“Want to give it a go?”

“Sure, as soon as I grow enough muscles to cock it.”

He chuckled and showed me how to put my foot in the stirrup and where to place my hands on the string. I pulled the string back and settled it in the locking mechanism.

“Okay, what now?”

“Now, you aim.” Stepping behind me, he turned me to face the target. Then he showed me how to position the bow and aim. His warm breath on the back of my neck was more than a little distracting, and I had trouble paying attention to his instructions. That was probably why my bolt missed the target by a good three feet.

He picked up another bolt and handed it to me. “It’ll take a while to get used to.”

“They make it look so easy in the movies.” I grunted as I cocked the bow again. Then I lifted it and aimed at the target. It was a lot easier to concentrate without Nikolas standing so close, and I let out a slow breath as I peered through the scope and lined up the target. I knew my aim was good as soon as the bolt left the bow, and I whooped when it embedded itself in the target next to Nikolas’s.

Someone whistled, and I looked around as Chris approached us. He went to the target and examined the two bolts in the center. “Very nice, Sara. Now let’s see you do that again.”

I loaded another bolt and took aim. Chris put a good distance between himself and the target, but it wasn’t necessary. My bolt hit so close to the center that it left a long gouge in the one Nikolas had put there. I shot two more and they lined up beside the others.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Chris exclaimed when Nikolas and I walked over to examine the target. The three of us stared at the five bolts embedded in the center. They were so close it was difficult to pull them out.

“I told you she was a natural.” Jordan jogged over to join us. “Freaky, isn’t it? It must be some faerie thing.”

I frowned. “Hey, maybe I’m just good at something.”

Chris let out a laugh. “Sara, I’m not that good, and I’ve been doing this for a long time.”

“Right.” I rolled my eyes at him. “I saw you practicing at Westhorne, and no one is as good as you with a bow.”

Nikolas studied the target. “There is another way to test your aim. Let’s try you on the knives.”

“Knives?” That didn’t sound as safe as the crossbow.

“Throwing knives.” He went to the pile of weapons and picked up a leather harness containing six silver knives like the ones I’d seen him use before. “These are different from the dagger I gave you. They are a little smaller and heavier, and balanced in the center.” He laid one of the knives across his forefinger to show me. Then his hand blurred as he grasped the knife and sent it flying into the center of the second target.