Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
Her lips quirk at my uncharacteristic mumbling. “Thank you. If you don’t mind me saying, I feel more like myself in a dress than in a fledgling uniform.” She puts a hand to the front of her dress and lets out a ragged breath. “I’m terribly nervous about this week.”
“Because we’ll be in the Everbelow?” I ask. She was nervous the last time we went in, stabbing at her hand to keep from showing her terror. “You aren’t going to hurt yourself again, are you?”
Her gaze seems distracted. “No, I won’t. But if I get…nervous, will you let me climb you and beg for a kiss? As a distraction?”
“No begging required. You just indicate you want me and I’ll distract you so good your toes will curl.”
Her breathing shudders. “That sounds very nice to me. I’m going to take you up on that, you know.”
“I hope you do.” By Old Garesh, I hope she takes me up on it as quickly as possible.
She chews on her lip, then glances up at me. “Maybe I just need practice.”
“Or the right weapon in your grip.” Now, let me tell you all about the weapon I want to put in your sweet grip.
“I’m rotten with all weapons,” Gwenna admits. “Master Jay wanted me to practice with you specifically on that, remember?”
I do recall a few sour comments that Jay has made about her prowess, aye. “No worse than Hemmen.”
“Well, that’s reassuring,” she jokes.
“Actually, I’ve got something for you,” I say, indicating she should follow me into the weapons room. Jay will probably lay an egg when he sees what I’ve acquired, but I plan on having a talk with him anyhow. Just because Gwenna’s a woman doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be given the tools to succeed. Her wrists are more delicate, her build different. If Kipp can use shorter weapons because of his height, she should be allowed to use a special sort of weapon to accommodate her more delicate bone structure. Luckily, I’m two steps ahead of Jay in that department.
Her expression grows wary. “It had better not be an artifact.”
I laugh at that, shaking my head. “It is, but it’s not magical. I pulled it from the guild’s weapons locker, so no one is going to get mad at you for having it. Old Prell had women warriors, and they fought with much lighter weapons than those the men used. Clubbing someone with something takes less skill than using a sword, so I thought a morning star might be perfect for you.”
“A morning star?” Gwenna echoes, following me as I head into the training room.
“It’s a club that has a spiky, bulbous end. You swing that and no one will get in your way. No need to be precise.” I pull it out of the trunk that I’ve been hiding it in so Hemmen or Arrod wouldn’t claim it first. “I found one on a dig once, one with magical charges still. It was the prettiest, shiniest thing I’d ever seen, and it looked like a star on the end of a stick.” The image of it still haunts me, and the gut-clench feeling of having to turn it over to the guild to be promptly sold to some fat, rich holder.
“It sounds lovely.”
I grunt. “This one isn’t. It’s ugly as sin, but it’s lightweight and beat to hell. There’s no magic left in it, and it was left in the training common room, so that means it’s free game.”
She hesitates. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m thieving….”
“They’d have to get through me first,” I growl. When she manages a tiny smile, I continue. “I already logged that I was taking it anyhow. Here, let me show it to you.”
I move to the trunk and pull the weapon out. It’s as light as a baton, the bulbous head of it battered and even dented in one part. The grip has been refreshed with leather bindings, and there are a few fat spikes sticking up from the rounded end. I hold it out to her, expecting her to wrinkle her nose at just how ugly the thing is. It doesn’t have the shine of a sword. It’s tarnished all over, but it’ll kill a ratling just the same.
Gwenna takes it from me, and her eyes widen as she hefts it. “It’s so light!”
“Aye, I thought it’d be perfect for you and those delicate wrists.”
She gives it a test swing and then smiles widely. “This is incredible.” Her gaze slides to me. “My wrists might be delicate, but they still do the job.”
“Never said they didn’t.” By the old bull, I’m still thinking about her hand on my cock.
Gwenna runs her hand over the fat end of the morning star, trailing a finger down its surface. “This is a wonderful present, Raptor. Thank you.”