Chapter 228 — Two Different Teachers

Chapter 228: Chapter 228 — Two Different Teachers

~ Raven ~

Raven was beginning to think that agreeing to train with both Cassian and Dante might have been one of the stupidest decisions she’d made since arriving at Valerius.

Considering how many questionable decisions she’d made over the past few months, that was quite an achievement.

They hadn’t even been training for fifteen minutes before the two men started disagreeing about how she should be fighting, and Raven was already wondering whether she should have insisted on separate sessions.

"Her positioning is still inconsistent," Cassian explained, standing several paces away from her in one of the reinforced training courts. "If she learns to recognize an opponent’s movements properly, she won’t need to waste so much essence defending against attacks she could have avoided."

Dante, who had been watching from near the edge of the court, folded his arms and gave him an unimpressed look.

"That’s assuming her opponent gives her enough time to recognize anything."

"Recognizing an attack doesn’t require your opponent to stop moving, Prymont."

"No, but teaching her to retreat every time somebody approaches isn’t going to help her when she’s facing someone who knows how to keep pressing."

Cassian turned toward him, his expression remaining perfectly pleasant despite the disagreement.

"Is that what you think I’m teaching her?"

"That’s what I’ve been watching for the last ten minutes."

Raven sighed, already recognizing the familiar signs of an argument that could become considerably more exhausting than the training itself.

"Excuse me," she interrupted, raising one hand to attract their attention. "I believe I’m the one who’s supposed to be training here."

Dante glanced toward her, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, while Cassian regarded her with mild amusement.

"We haven’t forgotten, Raven."

"Wonderful. Then perhaps you’d both like to stop discussing me as though I’m not standing right here."

That earned a quiet laugh from Dante, and Raven found herself looking toward him almost instinctively.

It was the first time she’d heard him laugh properly since the Renewal Ball, and although the sound didn’t last particularly long, hearing something so familiar again made her feel unexpectedly relieved.

Unfortunately, Cassian was already gesturing for her to return to her position.

"Let’s try that sequence again," he instructed, apparently deciding that the disagreement could wait.

Raven reluctantly obeyed, allowing her essence to circulate through her legs as she settled into the stance he’d spent the past several minutes correcting.

Cassian approached without immediately attacking, his attention briefly dropping toward her feet.

"Watch my shoulders, but pay attention to where I’m placing my weight. Don’t commit yourself to a direction until you know where I’m actually going."

She nodded and concentrated as he stepped forward.

His right shoulder shifted, and Raven immediately moved to avoid the strike she expected. Unfortunately, Cassian changed direction before she’d properly completed the movement, catching her extended arm and guiding her off balance.

Raven stumbled sideways, barely managing to recover before he released her.

"Again," he said, stepping back into position.

She gave him an irritated look. "You could at least pretend that was difficult."

"It wasn’t supposed to be difficult for me."

"Goddess, you’re insufferable."

Cassian smiled, apparently considering that a compliment, before demonstrating the movement again, this time slowly enough for Raven to notice what she’d missed.

His shoulders had suggested one direction, but his weight had remained on the opposite leg, allowing him to change course without losing his balance.

"So you were misleading me deliberately," she accused, earning an approving nod from him.

"Exactly. An experienced opponent can make you react to an attack they never intended to complete. If you move too early, you’ve already given them an opening."

Raven considered that before adjusting her stance, determined not to fall for the same trick twice.

When Cassian approached again, she resisted the urge to move immediately and concentrated on his footing instead. The moment he committed his weight, she stepped aside, allowing his hand to pass harmlessly beside her shoulder.

"There," Cassian said, nodding approvingly. "Much better."

Raven couldn’t quite stop herself from smiling, although her satisfaction lasted only until Dante pushed away from the boundary and approached them.

"Now try doing that when somebody actually intends to hit you."

She turned toward him with a frown. "Is that necessary?"

"Very," Dante answered, although his attention had already shifted toward Cassian. "She’s learning to recognize movements, which is useful, but recognizing something and responding quickly enough to survive it are two different things."

Cassian studied him for a moment before stepping aside and gesturing toward the space opposite Raven.

"Then demonstrate."

Dante appeared momentarily surprised by the invitation, but he recovered quickly and approached her, rolling his shoulders as he settled into position.

"Ready?"

Raven eyed him suspiciously. "How hard are you planning to hit me?"

"Hard enough that you’ll need to pay attention."

"That is not an answer, Dante."

He smiled faintly, and for a moment Raven caught a glimpse of the man she’d grown accustomed to during their earlier training sessions.

"Trust me, Rivers. I’m not going to hurt you."

Somehow, that wasn’t entirely reassuring, especially coming from a man who seemed to consider knocking her onto the training floor an essential part of education.

Nevertheless, Raven raised her hands and nodded for him to begin.

Dante moved almost immediately, closing the distance with a speed that forced her to retreat before she could properly judge his first attack.

She managed to avoid the strike aimed toward her shoulder, but he’d already stepped forward again, following with another attack that made her abandon the counter she’d been preparing.

By the third exchange, Raven was retreating across the court, struggling to find enough space to recover her balance.

"Stop backing away in a straight line," Dante instructed as he advanced. "You’re making it easy for me to follow you."

Raven attempted to change direction, only for him to anticipate the movement and cut her off.

"Then stop following me damnit!"

"That’s rather the point."

He came at her again, forcing her to reinforce her forearms before his next strike reached her. The impact sent an unpleasant jolt through her arms, and although she managed to withstand it, the force pushed her backward.

She stumbled, but Dante caught her wrist before she could lose her footing completely.

"Careful," he murmured, steadying her.

Raven looked up and realized just how close they were standing.

His hand remained around her wrist, warm against her skin, and for a moment neither of them moved. She found herself looking into his face, searching almost unconsciously for the familiar teasing expression he usually wore whenever he managed to catch her off guard.

Instead, Dante was watching her with quiet concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Raven swallowed before nodding. "I’m fine. You just caught me off balance."

He seemed satisfied with that answer and released her, stepping back to give her room.

For some reason, the gesture bothered her more than it should have.

A few weeks ago, the bastard would probably have made some ridiculous comment about her falling into his arms. Now he’d simply checked that she wasn’t hurt and moved away as though nothing particularly interesting had happened.

Before Raven could decide what to make of that, Cassian approached from the opposite side.

"You were reacting to every attack separately," he observed, indicating the section of court she’d been forced across. "That’s why you couldn’t find an opening."

Raven turned toward him, grateful for something considerably less complicated to think about.

"I was a little busy trying not to get punched."

"I noticed," Cassian replied, although his attention remained on the court. "But think about how Dante approached you. Every time you moved backward, he gained ground without having to change direction. You were letting him decide where the fight went."

Dante folded his arms, looking rather satisfied with the demonstration.

"Which is exactly why she needs more experience fighting under pressure."

"And more awareness of her positioning," Cassian countered.

Raven looked between them, already recognizing the direction their conversation was taking.

"Oh, for Goddess’s sake. You’re both right."

That seemed to surprise them enough to make both men fall quiet.

She gestured toward the court, beginning to lose patience with the entire arrangement.

"Cassian, I understand why I need to recognize an attack before committing myself, but that doesn’t mean anything if I panic the moment somebody starts throwing punches. And Dante, I can’t spend an entire fight charging at people simply because I’m tired of being pushed backward."

Neither interrupted, which Raven considered a small miracle.

"So instead of arguing about whose training is better, why don’t you both teach me what I actually need to know?"