‘There isn’t going to be a darksoul or shadow wolf that comes for me,’ Ezer tried.
He struck harder, faster.
‘We have no clue what the future holds.’
She sidestepped and ducked to avoid a hit to her temple.
He wasn’t holding back tonight.
‘We have the wards,’ she said, and swung.
But he was ready for her and rapped her on the ribs. Hard enough to make her yelp, but not hard enough to truly break anything. He was helping her learn her own grit. Helping her see that she could take a hit and keep standing on her own two feet.
‘And what if you find yourselfbeyondthose wards?’ he asked. ‘What happens then?’
She paused and raised a brow. Because they both knew what happened last time.
She’d nearly been eaten alive … until the ravens.
‘I don’tknow,’Ezer growled.
‘That is exactly why you must train.’ His eyes fell to her sword. ‘Again.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I’m tired.’
‘You’requitting?’
‘Yes,’ she hissed. ‘I’m never going to need to?—’
‘Youmustlearn, Ezer, or someday you willdie!’ he growled. ‘You will die out there. And it will bemy faultfor not training you hard enough.’
His voice echoed off the cavernous walls.
‘I’m … doing my best,’ she said, and she couldn’t hide the hurt in her voice. ‘I’m sorry if that’s not good enough for you.’
But he sheathed his sword, and when he met her eyes again, some part of him was gone. ‘Sometimes … I swear you were sent to punish me, Ezer. Because you act just likeher.And when it counted … when it mattered the most … she couldn’t save herself. And I couldn’t saveher either.’
His words hit her like a brick to the chest. Suddenly it was hard to breathe, hard to think straight.
She didn’t even know what to say. But it didn’t matter anyhow.
Because before she could reply, he’d already turned and gone.
The entire next day, the stone in Ezer’s pocket remained cold.
After a session in which Six had panicked over amousescurrying through her cage, Ezer limped to Alaris’s office, nursing what had to be a broken toe.
She’d navigated the route back to her dormitory plenty of times, but she was so stuck in her head, lost in her thoughts, that this time she took a wrong turn.
And somehow ended up on the threshold of a door she had not seen before.
It was a lovely thing.
As golden as the Aviary doors, and so heavy she didn’t think she’d be able to heave it open, were it not already ajar.
She wouldn’t have gone inside if she hadn’t heard the sound ofmusic.
Gods, it had been so long since she’d heard music.
