“Her friend, Lyra Durnhart, will be joining the ranks as well.”
That gets a subtle lift of Elaris’s brow.
“She doesn’t wield greater Elemental magics,” Thane explains, “but she requested to train alongside the others. She’s capable, stubborn, and more dangerous with a blade than most new recruits we’ve seen. But she is very green. She was trained in her village, but nothing more.” He pauses for half a beat. “She’ll start with basic training. Garrick has already seen to her squad assignment.”
“Noted,” Elaris replies, with the same calm precision.
“Amara’s not your concern for now,” Thane adds, “but I wanted you informed.”
Elaris shifts his gaze to me again with that same steady, assessing focus.
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” he says, voice low and even. “Spiritborn, prophecy, dragon-bonded or not—it makes no difference to me.”
He taps a finger against the surface of his desk, once.
“What matters is how you train. How you carry yourself. How you respond when you’re tired, outmatched, and expected to keep going anyway.”
I meet his eyes. “Understood.”
His expression doesn’t change, but something about the tension in the room eases. Like I passed an unspoken test.
“If you’re here to work,” he says, “you’ll earn your place. And when the time comes, you’ll stand beside the others as an equal. Not a symbol or title. But as a soldier.”
“I don’t want to be seen as a title,” I say, voice quiet but firm. “I want to become strong enough to help, to hopefully stop the Shadeheart.”
That lands. Elaris doesn’t smile, but he nods once—and that seems to be enough.
Thane steps forward, tone calm but final. “That’s all for now.”
Elaris straightens just slightly, returning his focus to Thane. “I’ll be ready when she is.”
“You’ll be informed,” Thane replies. Then he glances at me. “Let’s go.”
He turns and opens the door. I follow, casting one last look at Elaris before we step into the corridor. The door closes behind us with a soft, solid click.
As we step back into the corridor, Thane doesn’t speak right away. Then he glances at me.
“Valen is expecting you for your first elemental magics session.”
My stomach flips—nerves, anticipation, maybe both.
“I’ll walk you to the outer fields,” he adds. “You’re new to the outpost. You shouldn’t have to wander on your first day.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
He gives a small tilt of his head and starts walking. I fall into step behind him.
Thane moves with deliberate precision—unhurried, but every step sure. There’s nothing careless in the way he carries himself. Walking behind him, I’m suddenly aware of how much space he takes up. His shoulders are broad enough to block the view ahead, his frame cutting a path through the corridor.
I quicken my pace to match his stride and fall in beside him. Even then, he feels . . . solid. Like the kind of man who doesn’t just pass through a place—heanchorsit.
Our boots click softly against the stone as the outpost comes alive around us. The scent of morning dew and scorched metal lingers in the air—training fields to the east, forge fires to the west. Soldiers pass by in small clusters, some saluting Thane, others nodding with quiet respect before moving on.
For a while, neither of us speak.
Then I break the silence. “Captain Elaris doesn’t waste time.”
“No,” Thane says. “He doesn’t.”
