Chapter 288: The Forest Trial (Part One)
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Damien asked as he weighed the sword that he was holding in his hand. "You don’t have to pressure yourself unless you are ready for it." Despite his serious expression, he clearly looked worried for her.
"Damien is right, Litlle Bird. Though you have been training for a couple of months by now, it’s still not enough for a head-on battle with this man over here. Let’s stick to training for now, okay?" Kenric suggested as he too appeared worried for his woman’s safety.
Annalise let out a small sigh as she pushed the sleeve of her shirt to her elbows. To make movements more convenient, she had been wearing trousers and shirts while doing physical training. "I have made up my mind. It’s time to see exactly how much I have learned in the past couple of months."
She was determined about her choice of having a sparring battle with Damien and the reason she chose him particularly was because she knew that he was the only one who wouldn’t go soft on her just because she was his mate.
Kenric immediately turned his attention toward Valerius who had been standing at the sideline while silently listening to their exchanges. "How about you persuade her?"
Annalise also turned to look at the First Dark Lord. Knowing that he was the most understanding and logical among all of them and also the one who knew her best, she was looking forward to what he had to say.
Valerius’ gaze shifted from Kenric to Damien before coming to rest on Annalise as if he was studying all of them and their thoughts. A second or two later, he returned his gaze to Kenric as he finally spoke - "Let her compete if that is what her heart desires. Besides, this will actually help us in testing her and understanding the areas where she is still lacking and we need to provide more training."
And he didn’t disappoint at all. Just like Annalise was expecting, he was siding with her while looking like he was just using logic to solve the issue. Maybe that was what he actually doing but she liked the idea of him helping her out.
"Alright. Let’s get ready then." Damien announced as he stretched out his arms to loosen his muscles. His dark raven eyes bored into Annalise’s as he warned her, "I won’t hold back, Princess."