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‘What in the realms —’

Another came flying at her.

Thea dodged. ‘Sam!’ she shrieked. ‘Enough!’

But she knew better than to stand idle. On her feet now, she leapt from one spot to another as more sharp projectiles rained down, hitting the wall and floor with rhythmic thuds. It was a game they had adapted as children from watching the boys in the courtyard; a Thezmarrian contest to develop quick reflexes. Of course, it was forbidden for girls to play, but Samra had always argued that because they were using alchemy tools rather than the traditional steel stars or daggers, no rules were being broken.

‘I also just like throwing things at Althea,’ she had said time and time again.

When the girls had hit their teenage years, they had also added an element of dance. Ida insisted that some day, they might need to attend a ball, or a wedding and none of them knew how to be light on their feet. Thea had never had the heart to tell her the unlikelihood of such events, thus, the game, ‘Dancing Alchemists’ was born.

Their sleeping quarters, and the girls themselves, bore the scars of the contest from over the years, though it had been some time since they had played. Work and the drudgery of every day had a way of robbing the quiet joys from life.

‘Fuck.’ Thea narrowly avoided a severed toe. ‘What are you playing at, Sam?’

Samra shrugged and threw another pointed tool. ‘You were chomping at the bit for some action, Althea Nine Lives… Thought I’d oblige you.’

‘Don’t test me… You know what will happen. You’ll regret it.’

‘Come on… I’ve got three left,’ her friend said, brandishing the knives.

With a frustrated noise at the back of her throat, Wren tried to snatch the remaining projectiles from Sam. ‘Farissa was looking for those!’

But Samra paid her no heed, instead, she flung the blades at Thea, one after the other in quick succession.

A thrill raced through Thea and shedanced.It was the most natural feeling in the world. She spun gracefully, ducking and weaving, moving her body like water, all the while swiftly collecting the weapons. It was a skill she had honed deliberately, knowing that against bigger opponents, she’d need to leverage her speed and agility against their strength.

When the last of them left Sam’s hand, Thea gave her a wolfish grin.

‘My turn.’ She flicked her wrist with masterful precision and the small blade was a blur through the air before —

‘Thea!’ Sam shrieked as the knife sliced through the lower half of her cherry-red ponytail, embedding the chunk of hair in the wall behind her.

‘Furies save us,’ Ida muttered, head in hands.

‘What?’ Thea said innocently. ‘You’ve been harping on about how you needed a haircut.’

‘I’m going to kill you…’ Sam threatened through gritted teeth as she yanked the blade and her hunk of hair from the stone.

‘I’d like to see you try.’

Sam stared at the severed tresses and then fingered the end of her now cropped ponytail, shaking her head. ‘You’re insane.’

‘Or incredibly skilled.’

‘Or both,’ Ida offered.

‘Definitely both.’ Wren confiscated Farissa’s tools from her.

‘You should have known better than to challenge me at Dancing Alchemists,’ Thea argued.

Sam was still shaking her head, but her anger had softened. ‘Classic Thea,’ she muttered. ‘Doesn’t want to be a woman, but she dances better than all of us.’

With the excitement dying down, Thea’s hand went to the thin scabbed-over cut on her cheek, the sound of the arrowwhistling through the air echoing in her mind. She had the feeling that Dancing Alchemists had saved her life earlier.

Wren caught her gaze, her eyes full of questions.

Thea shrugged, what Wren didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, and all in all, it hadn’t been aterribleday.