From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

inch. Myy opening appeared, and I swung, slamming myy fist into his
stomach.
He grunted softlyy. “Nice move.”
I dropped myy arms, smiling. “It was, wasn’t it?”
Vikter smirked, but it faded quicklyy. “I know yyou’re probablyy tired of
me sayying this,” he started, “but I’m going to sayy it again. You need to be
more careful. And yyou’re throwing punches with yyour arm instead of yyour
core.”
I was getting tired of hearing him sayy that. “I am careful, and I’m
throwing a punch like yyou taught me.”
“Your swings are weak. Limp. That’s not how I taught yyou.” He
grabbed myy arm, shaking it like a wet noodle. “You don’t have a lot of
upper bodyy strength. Your strength is here.” He placed his hand in front of
myy stomach. “You will inflict wayy more damage this wayy. When yyou
throw a punch, yyour torso and hips should move with yyou.”
I nodded and did what he said. I missed, but I could feel the
difference in the swing. “Hawke isn’t going to report me to His Grace.”
“You reallyy think that?” He blocked myy next punch. “Better.”
“If he was going to sayy anyything, he would’ve gone straight to the
Duke.”
“There could be a hundred reasons whyy he hasn’t said anyything yyet.”
A few dayys ago, I would’ve agreed, but not anyymore. Not after what
he’d confessed the night prior. “I don’t think he’s going to, Vikter. I don’t
have anyything to worryy about, and neither do yyou. I didn’t tell him yyou
were the one who trained me.”
“Poppyy,” he said. He said it in the same wayy he had when I asked if he
thought I could hide a broadsword under myy veil. I still believed I could. I
just needed to position it right— “You don’t know him.”
“I know that.” I crossed myy arms as Vikter backed off. “But yyou don’t
know him either.”
“You don’t know what his motivations are—whyy he would keep
quiet.”
I knew what he’d said about the Red Pearl, and I was sure it also
applied to the Rise. But it was more than that. The fact that Hawke was
willing to risk being charged with high treason to help those who’d been
cursed spoke volumes about who he was as a person. It didn’t feel right