Queen of the Darkness

want to wiggle out of this training by telling me that, no matter how much she knows, a woman can't hold her own against a male. Right?" Looking at the other practice circle, he roared, "CAT! Get over here!"
    Wondering why he'd want a feline, Surreal looked toward the circle. Her breath came out in a hiss as the woman talking to Karla, Morghann, and Gabrielle turned around. "Jaenelle," she whispered.
    She focused on Daemon again. He didn't look shocked to see Jaenelle. Maybe they'd already had a chance to talk. Maybe... No, it was probably way too early to think about those maybes.
    The other women strode toward the practice circle. Jaenelle came more slowly, her eyes fixed on Lucivar while she whipped the stick around her waist with enough force to sting the air.
    Lucivar sidestepped to the middle of the circle, always watching her. "Come play with me, Cat," he said, giving her an arrogant smile.
    She snarled at him and began to circle.
    "Hallevar," Lucivar said as he circled with her. "Call the time."
    Surreal felt Falonar tense beside her.
    "What's time?" she asked, nudging him when he didn't answer.
    "Ten minutes," Falonar replied grimly. "He'll beat her into the ground long before that."
    Surreal slashed a look at Daemon and started to sweat. If that happened, what would Sadi do? Easy answer. The hard question was, what could any of them do to stop him from tearing Lucivar apart?
    The first clash of the sticks had her heart jumping into her throat. After that she wasn't aware of anything except Jaenelle and Lucivar moving gracefully through a savage dance.
    Seconds passed into minutes.
    "Mother Night," Falonar whispered. "She's making him work for it."
    Lucivar's chest glistened with sweat. Surreal could hear his deep, harsh breathing. Her own sweat chilled her skin when she saw the wild look in Jaenelle's eyes.
    She didn't know how much time had passed when, after half a dozen lightning-fast moves, Jaenelle lost her balance for a split second. Lucivar danced back just long enough to let her get her feet solidly under her before attacking again.
    "He could have put her on the ground right then and ended it," Falonar said softly.
    "He wants to work her, not get her mad enough to really go after him," Chaosti replied just as softly, stepping up behind Surreal.
    Finally, Hallevar yelled, "TIME!"
    Lucivar and Jaenelle circled, thrust, clashed.
    "DAMN YOU BOTH, I SAID TIME!"
    They broke apart, backed away.
    Hallevar strode into the circle and took the stick away from Lucivar. He looked at Jaenelle, hesitated, then backed off when Lucivar shook his head.
    "Come on, Cat," Lucivar gasped as he moved toward her. "We've got to walk to cool down."
    Her head snapped up. She braced her feet in a fighting stance.
    Lucivar held up his hands and kept moving forward.
    The wild look in her eyes faded. "Water."
    "Walk first," he said, taking the stick away from her.
    "Prick," she snarled halfheartedly, but she walked with him.
    "If you don't give me a hard time about it, you can even have breakfast." Lucivar handed the stick to Falonar as he and Jaenelle walked past. He took a couple of towels from Aaron, draped one over Jaenelle's neck, and began to rub himself down with the other.
    Looking around, Surreal noticed that Khardeen was also in the crowd, watching and alert. And she noticed, with a sigh of relief, that Saetan was talking quietly with Daemon.
    Turning back to Falonar, she brushed her fingers against the stick. "Do you think I'll ever get half that good with one of these?" She half expected some dismissive comment, but when he didn't answer, she looked up to see him studying her seriously.
    "If you can become half as proficient with this as she is, you'll be able to take down any male except an Eyrien warrior," Falonar said slowly. "And you'll be able to take down half of them as well." Then he looked at Marian. "Are you all right, Lady?"
    Marian let out a shuddering breath. "I'm fine, thank you, Prince Falonar. It's just... sometimes when they're so intense ..."
    Falonar bowed just enough to show respect, then left them to talk with Hallevar.
    "Are you really all right?" Surreal asked, drawing Marian a little ways away from the crowd.
    Marian's smile was a trifle strained. "Lucivar's always tense after he's been at the service fair, and he's been worried about Daemon."
    Looking back, Surreal saw Daemon walking toward the Hall with the High Lord. Well, that was one worry out of the way for the moment.
    She also noticed