Chapter 64 Training Day
ARYA’S POV
I woke up to sunlight streaming through my window and the distant sound of waves crashing against the rocks below the villa.
After a long bath that left me feeling almost human, I threw on denim shorts and an oversized sweater and padded downstairs barefoot, following the smell of fresh coffee and something sweet.
The dining room was empty except for Enzo, who was already halfway through a plate of pastries and scrolling through his phone.
"Morning," he said without looking up. "Sleep well?"
"Better than you, apparently." I gestured at his plate. "Is that your third cornetto?"
"Fourth, actually." He grinned, completely unashamed. "I'm bulking."
I arched my brow, frowning. "You're what now?"
"Bulking muscle. It's a fitness thing." He said with a grin.
I poured myself coffee and sat down across from him. "Enzo, four pastries is not bulking. That's just... eating four pastries."
"Carbs are important for muscle development."
"Is that what you tell yourself?"
"It's what I tell my trainer. He stopped arguing with me after the second month."
I threw a napkin at him but he caught it effortlessly and threw it back. And that was when Giovanni walked in.
He was already dressed for the day in dark pants and a fitted black t-shirt, looking annoyingly put-together.
His eyes swept over our laughing faces with something that might have been amusement before settling on me.
"Morning," I said, suddenly self-conscious about my bare feet and messy hair.
"Hurry up with your breakfast," Giovanni said, pulling out a chair. "We need to train."
I blinked. "Train for what?"
You think I’m just going to let you infiltrate an enemy camp without proper training." He said it like it was obvious. "We start now, so finish your breakfast.”
He did have a point but I wasn’t about to rush through my breakfast just because he wanted me to.
“No.” I said with an exaggerated bite of my toast. “I’m not going anywhere until I’m done with my breakfast.”
Giovanni paused midway through sitting then he stood upright and glared at me. "Arya, don’t argue with me.”
"Or what?" I challenged, even though I could see where this was going.
He gritted his jaw tightly. "Or I carry you there."
"You wouldn't dare."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Giovanni, I swear to God, if you-"
He moved faster than I could react, rounding the table and lifting me over his shoulder in one smooth motion.
I let out an undignified squawk, my toast falling to the plate.
"Put me down!"
"Training room is this way," he said, as if he wasn't currently carrying me like a sack of potatoes.
"Enzo!" I called out. "Help me!"
"Sorry, princess," Enzo called back, laughing. "I'm on Team Training. You really do need the practice."
"Traitor!"
"I'll save your toast for you!"
I gave him my deadliest glare, but he just waved cheerfully as Giovanni carried me out of the dining room.
The training room was a large space with padded floors, mirrors along one wall, and an alarming amount of weapons displayed on racks.
Giovanni finally set me down, and I immediately tried to make a run for the door.
He caught me by the back of my sweater. "Nice try."
"You're kidnapping me again."
"This is training. Stop being dramatic."
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it because he had a point.
"Fine," I huffed. "What's first?"
He smirked and walked towards one of the weapons rack and grabbed a bow. “Archery.”
Giovanni set up a target at the far end of the room and handed me a bow that felt heavier than it looked.
His hands on my hips made my breath catch, but I forced myself to focus. "You’re good with a bow, right?”
I nodded, ignoring the scent of his cologne tickling my nose.
“Show me what you got.” He murmured into my ear and I let the arrow fly. It hit the outer ring of the target.
"Not bad," Giovanni said. "Again."
Archery was surprisingly fun once I got over my initial annoyance. And after twenty shots, I was consistently hitting the middle rings. Giovanni even smiled when I hit a bullseye.
"You’re good." he observed.
I shrugged, allowing myself to smile. "Don’t want to be a show off.”
He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said, patting my shoulder. “Onto the next.”
We practiced shooting guns next, I didn’t even know the villa had its own private shooting range, and I wondered just how many other secrets it held.
Knife throwing was a disaster at first, my knives either bounced off the target or missed completely. But Giovanni was patient, adjusting my stance, showing me the wrist motion, until finally one stuck.
"Yes!" I pumped my fist in victory.
"Don't celebrate yet," Giovanni said. "Do it ten more times."
By the time we moved to hand-to-hand combat, I was sweating and sore.
"You're going to spar with my men," Giovanni said, gesturing to three guards who'd been watching. "They'll go easy at first. As you improve, they won't."
The guards were surprisingly gentle, giving me openings to practice the moves Giovanni had shown me. By the third round, I was actually landing hits.
"She's good," one of the guards said to Giovanni, sounding impressed.
"I want to fight her," Enzo announced, appearing from wherever he'd been hiding. "Let's see if all this training actually worked."
"Enzo, no…" Giovanni started.
"I'll do it," I interrupted, adrenaline making me bold. "Let's go."
Enzo grinned. "You sure, princess? I won't go easy on you."
"Good. I don't want you to."
We moved to the center of the mat. The guards formed a circle around us, suddenly interested.
"First to tap out loses," Enzo said. "Ready?"
I nodded, settling into the fighting stance Giovanni had taught me.
Enzo came at me fast but three hours of training had done something to my reflexes. I dodged, countered with a strike to his side that actually connected.
His eyes widened. "Okay, not bad."
We circled each other. He feinted left, then swept at my legs. I jumped back, barely avoiding it, and used his momentum to grab his arm and twist.
It wasn't enough to bring him down but it surprised him enough that I got in close and drove my elbow toward his ribs.
He blocked, spun me around, tried to get me in a hold.
I remembered what Giovanni had taught me about using an opponent's strength against them. I dropped my weight suddenly, throwing off Enzo's balance, then pushed up and back with all my strength.
We both went down, rolling. I was smaller but I was scrappy, and apparently all those years of fighting with Marco as kids had taught me some things about dirty tactics.
I got my legs around his arm, twisted hard.
"Tap!" Enzo called out, laughing. "Tap, tap!"
I released him immediately, panting and hardly believing what had just happened.
Enzo sat up, rubbing his shoulder and grinning widely. "Where the hell did that come from?"
"I have no idea," I admitted, still catching my breath.
The guards were clapping. Giovanni was watching with an expression I couldn't quite read.
"Well," Enzo said, standing and offering me his hand. "I'm officially scared of you now."
"Good," I said, letting him pull me up. "You should be."
Giovanni approached, and I braced myself for criticism—too aggressive, too reckless, too something.
Instead, he just looked at me for a long moment, then nodded once.
"Again," he said. "Tomorrow, same time. But first-" He almost smiled. "You should probably go save that toast from Enzo. He was eyeing it pretty hungrily when we left."
As I headed upstairs, I heard Enzo say to Giovanni. "That was terrifying in a good way. But mostly terrifying."
"She's stronger than she looks," Giovanni replied.
"Is that why you're training her? Beca
use you like watching her kick ass?"
There was a pause, then Giovanni responded. "Maybe."
I smiled as I climbed the stairs, already looking forward to tomorrow's training session.