" Jorek bent low, catching Akos’s stomach with the tip of the practice knife.
“Not a good place to aim, Kuzar,” Akos said. “In a real fight, I’d be wearing armor.”
“I go by ‘Jorek,’ not ‘Kuzar.’ You’ve earned armor?”
“Yeah.” Akos used his distraction against him, smacking the front of Jorek’s throat with the flat of the weapon. Jorek choked, clapping his hands over his neck.
“All right, all right,” he gasped, showing a palm. “That answers that question.”
Akos backed up to the edge of the arena to put some space between them. “What question? About my armor?”
“No. Damn, that sucked.” He massaged his throat. “I came here wondering how good you’d gotten, training with Cyra. My father said you didn’t know hand from foot when he first met you.”
Akos’s anger was slow to come, like water turning to ice, but it had some heft to it, when it did. Like right then.
“Your father--” he stared, but Jorek interrupted.
“Is the worst kind of man, yes. That’s what I want to talk to you about. "
― Veronica Roth , Carve the Mark (Carve the Mark, #1)