The First Touch
205 Words
The training courtyard was empty when he brought her there.
Morning light filtered through the stone walls.
Quiet.
Private
Intentional.
“You said you’ve seen worse,” he said.
Evelyn stepped forward.
“And you brought me here to prove it?”
A flicker of amusement.
“Show me,” he said.
No hesitation.
She moved.
Fast.
He blocked.
Faster.
Steel met steel.
Wood against blade.
Movement against movement.
They circled.
Measured.
Testing.
Evelyn attacked again—
A feint—
A shift—
A strike—
He caught her wrist.
Stopped her.
Held her there.
The world narrowed.
His grip was firm.
Warm.
Too warm.
Evelyn’s breath hitched.
His eyes dropped—
To her wrist.
To her pulse.
Then back to her eyes.
And for a moment—
Neither of them moved.
“You’re holding back,” he said quietly.
“So are you.”
A beat.
His grip tightened slightly.
“Dangerous,” he murmured.
Evelyn tilted her head.
“You have no idea.”
Their faces were too close now.
Too close.
The air shifted again.
Not battle.
Not strategy.
Something else.
Something neither of them should be feeling.
And yet—
Neither of them stepped back.
This is no longer just survival…
- Writer
