Gigi paced back and forth in her room as she chewed on her fingernails. Time was creeping into the dead of night. Her fight with Jörg was tomorrow. Anxiety was running roughshod over her.

“Gigi, please come to bed,” Drake invited, patting the space beside him. “Sleeping is going to help you win way more than worrying.”

“But what do I do if I fall for one of his stupid tricks?” she responded as if she hadn’t heard him. “If I get poisoned…that’s it, he’ll kill me,” she said with mounting panic.

“All of his ‘tricks’ come with risks. Gigi, there is no such thing as a free move in combat.”

“Free enough,” she said to herself. “I already know he’s going to try to shake my damn hand,” she stopped pacing and turned to Drake, “mocking me.”

Drake sat up. “If he’s dumb enough to give you his hand, Gigi, by the old ones, take it and pull it until you rip his arm off.”

She had to admit, it wasn’t the worst idea. “But what if I get poisoned?” she countered.

“Then you have to win the fight in the time you have left,” Drake said and shrugged. “Ariana said the poison takes five to ten minutes to work its way through your system. How long did that fight with Mai last? Less than a minute?” Drake slid his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He went to her, wrapped his arms around her muscular green shoulders, and brought her close.

“Gigi, you can’t prepare for everything, but you are strong and can do this. I need you to promise me when you’re in the pit with Jörg tomorrow, you won’t give up. No matter how bad it looks, you won’t yield because you think you can’t win.”

She looked up at him with eyes full of worry and didn’t say anything. “Drake, what if I lose?”

“What if you win?”

“I’m serious!”

“So am I, Gigi. If you look for defeat, you will find it.” He tightened his hug. “There may be a thousand ways to lose that fight tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find a way to win.”

“Drake…” she wanted to be inspired but felt overwhelmed. A familiar urge began to creep into her thoughts. Perhaps if she just had a small drink to take the edge off, then she would feel better. Just a tiny break from all of this stress was exactly what she needed. What time is it? I bet the tavern is still open! She desperately ran through excuses to escape his loving embrace and into the sudsy kiss of a drink.

A spoonful of shame stirred within her. Maybe she had all she needed in his arms. Her desire to drink waned for a moment. However, tendrils of need began to worm under her skin until it felt itchy. Just one! The need to be free burst within her. She pushed off of him.

“I need some air. I think I’m going to go on a short walk,” she lied. Guilt congealed in her as soon as the words left her mouth. “To clear my head,” she added weakly.

A frown creased Drake’s face. “Would that walk happen to take you to the tavern?” he asked knowingly.

A wave of shock hit her. She did her best to hide it but was sure she failed. Gigi cast her face down in shame, unable to meet his gaze. He had seen right through her. Is it that obvious? Embarrassment flowed through her veins until she wanted to cry. The desire to drink had not gone anywhere. It was merely joined by remorse and anger at herself for being so weak.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Drake shook his head. “If you want to go to the tavern, I won’t stop you. Please, Gigi, don’t hide it from me, though.”

His words put her over the edge. His being understanding was somehow far worse than if he had gotten angry. Tears began to cascade down her cheeks. She buried her face into him. She sobbed a muffled, “I’m sorry.”

She felt him embrace her, and then his lips kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay, hey, if you’re feeling up for it, why don’t we go on an actual walk? Maybe it will settle your nerves?”

She gave him an affirmative squeeze.

***

For the first time she could remember, Drake led Gigi. He took her by the hand gently and pulled her forward. Under the black sky and chill of night, he brought her to the forest where they had spent the last month training—the same wood that sat beside the river she had saved him from. During the day, it was a beautiful showcase of autumn, stunning yellows, reds, and oranges. Now, though, it was all darkness above them. Her night vision robbed the world of most of its color. Still, this place felt familiar. It felt safe.

Drake brought them to the clearing they had trained in for the last few weeks. She noticed how ragged they had run the training drill and that large chunks of former meadow had been converted back to dirt. She wondered how many times they had run the drill with the snake—the snake she had never once managed to hit in her training. Fear began to seize her heart once more.

“We’re here,” Drake said, letting her hand go and stepping into the middle of the clearing as he did in practice.

“What are we doing?” she asked in confusion. “Aren’t you going to give me a pep talk?”

Drake snorted and shook his head. “We tried that, and maybe we will again, but I think you need to hear from your fists.”

“What in the seven hells does that mean?” She asked, ears twitching.

“You never hit the snake, right? In any of the drills,” it was not a question.

“No,” she said with irritation, “thank you for reminding me.” She crossed her arms. “This pep talk sucks so far.”

“Well, you never hit them because I intentionally made them too fast at their size to hit,” he explained. “They were big snakes, sure, but Jorg was huge. He was much bigger than any of the snakes we practiced with.”

Gigi wasn’t following. “Yeah, and?”

“Gigi, Jorg is a much easier target than any snakes you sparred with. He physically won’t be able to move his frame out of how tight your punches became trying to hit the smaller ones,” Drake said, then he began to whisper into the darkness around him.

The night obeyed and began to fly to the space before him. Creating an ever-growing form of writhing blackness. A few moments later, the form of her nemesis loomed over her once again. Drake was right. Jorg was gigantic compared to the snakes she had fought. His body was easily four times as thick as the largest she had contended with.

“I wanted you to realize that at the fight, but maybe that was bad coaching? I’m still trying to figure it out.”

Gigi walked up to the replica of Jorg and placed her hand where she knew the sac was supposed to be. She nodded. “Let’s run it again,” she said, no trace of fear in her words.

Drake grinned. “I thought you would say that.”

Gigi took her spot up several paces from the hulking monster before her. She raised her fists and slid her foot back. She was ready. This time, it would be different. She felt it in her bones. The beast before her exploded forward; so did she. The shadow Jorg slashed at the air in front of it. Gigi juked out of the way. In a flash, she saw her opening and dove in. She cocked her fist back and stamped on the soil, finding her stance.

With a cry, she drove her knuckles forward. This time, for the first time, the ropey body couldn’t evade her strike. Her fist sunk deep into its target. The blow rippled the inky skin of the puppet. Her fist pushed through and kept going as the shadowy creature dissolved around her. All that remained in her line of sight was Drake’s proud, smiling face.

For a moment, their gaze just stayed fixed on one another. “I did it!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down. She ran to him and crashed into him in a hug.

“Never doubted you for a second.”