Aiden stared at me for a second. His gray eyes were tough to read. Then he nodded slowly.
“Alright,” he said. “Training starts tomorrow at dawn.”
I wiped the sweat off my forehead. My chest was still jumping from our earlier spar. “Why not now?” I asked, wanting to push harder.
Aiden smiled just a little. “Because you’re already worn out. If we train now, you’ll just embarrass yourself.”
I clenched my fists, feeling frustrated. “I can handle it,” I shot back.
He tilted his head. “Maybe. But if you want to get stronger, you have to be patient.”
Ugh! I hated that he was right. My muscles were sore from that short fight, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up if we pushed on.
“Fine,” I muttered. “We’ll do it tomorrow.”
Aiden grinned. “Good call.”
Just as he turned to leave, I had t
