NIMBUS AND THE KNIGHTS OF CENFERUM

Chapter 14

The Power of an Amazon...

Elisis was in the ship's training gym, but she wasn't there by chance. Upon discovering that this was the time when Valeros usually trained, she decided to train at the same time.

At that moment, she was in the archery range, a tunnel situated between two inner walls of the ship. It had poor lighting and a target at the end of its 30-meter length. The target depicted a little figure representing a person approximately five hundred meters away. Elisis had chosen the most challenging target to hit, and it was the third arrow she had hit the little figure, consecutively.

However, she wasn't there to train; she didn't need it. Her precision with the bow was flawless. She was there precisely because Valeros intrigued her. While all the men around her were attracted to her, Valeros showed no interest whatsoever. She even considered that he might be homosexual, but she dismissed that hypothesis when she saw him flirting with the younger cooks on the ship.

The idea crossed her mind that Valeros had been instructed by his master to ignore her, but she also discarded that hypothesis. Sir Adon was so afraid of her that he fiercely resisted her charms. Not that it was a problem; she could simply pretend not to be very skilled in manipulation to gain the old man's trust. But she liked it; she enjoyed being feared.

However, Valeros was different. He seemed immune to everything she did. The only thing that seemed to affect him was when she wore her combat gear, which was ridiculously tight, revealing every curve of her body. This did unsettle the squire a bit, and she even caught him watching her from behind. It was nothing embarrassing for her; everyone watched her with desire when she wore that uniform, and that was precisely why it was designed. However, any other attempt of hers didn't work on the boy, and that wasn't good. It was her duty as an Amazon to find out what was going on to break such resistance in her future missions.

Elisis shot her arrow at the target and then observed Valeros in his training. She knew very well that when a woman watched a man the way she did, it was an invitation for him to approach and, consequently, to have him at her feet. Not that she did it entirely out of vanity, although it was partly that, but it was more out of necessity. Elisis was a woman in a world of men, and the more men were attracted to her, the easier her passage through this world would be. It was that simple.

She stopped everything she was doing and watched Valeros in his exercises, playing with her hair, striking poses, but he didn't react. Unlike other men in the area who could hardly perform their tasks due to a lack of concentration. Valeros basically took a weapon and fought imaginary opponents, but it wasn't like a child's play. He took care to execute the moves with surgical precision, just like her, and the faster and more accurate he was, the more efficient he would be in combat. He was incredibly efficient during fights. She observed his movements when he flexed the muscles of his body to achieve maximum speed and strength with each blow. In each movement, it was noticeable that he was extremely strong for his age of seventeen, with a broad chest, large pectoral muscles, and huge arms with biceps over forty centimeters. Formidable. If she weren't immune to those emotions, she would undoubtedly be attracted to him. When he twisted his body, his tank top rose a bit, and she noticed that his stomach was ridiculously defined, with equally prominent abdominal muscles.

He finished his exercises and went to drink water from a jug that was there. She took the opportunity to test his goodwill.

— Valeros, could you bring me a glass of water? I'm thirsty. — She knew that asking for small favors and being attended conditioned the man to do what she wanted. It also served as a test to see if he was attracted to her. If he promptly served her without questioning, with a smile on his face, there was a good chance he was attracted, and the faster he served her, the more attracted he might be.