By the time we cleared our plates and stepped into the cool morning air of the Ascension Grounds, I was almost grateful for the shift.
Almost.
The ring was already humming with anticipation. Training dummies lined the outer edge, targets had been freshly re-marked, and squads began filtering in like clockwork. The stone circle in the center gleamed with dew and promise.
Ferrula was the first into the sparring ring, already rolling her shoulders and drawing her blade with that deadly, casual elegance only she could pull off.
Tae grinned as he followed her in, twirling his short sword once before settling into a loose stance. “Try not to stab me in the face again,” he called over his shoulder to Naia, who only smirked.
“Don’t tempt me,” Ferrula shot back, stepping forward and swinging fast.
Her blade sliced through the air with purpose, a series of tight, efficient arcs. Tae blocked the first, dodged the second, but on her third lunge, she overextended, just slightly, just enough.
And that’s when Tae’s eyes flickered.
A shimmer of blue threaded through the air like a ripple in glass.
Ferrula’s arm halted mid-strike, frozen in place as if caught by invisible chains.
“What the—” she snarled, yanking her arm free with a feral twist and stumbling back two paces, eyes blazing. “Did you just use yourmindto stop me?”
Tae blinked. “I—uh… yeah.”
“During a friendly sparring match?”
“It was instinct!” he said quickly, raising both hands. “I wasn’t trying to win. You were about to clip my jaw. I panicked.”
“Damn right I was,” she growled, pacing away from him like a caged storm. “Next time, let me hit you. Maybe you’ll learn to dodge instead of cheat.”
Naia stepped between them before it escalated, holding a hand out to Ferrula, her tone calm but firm. “Okay, okay, he used the spooky brain thing, it’s annoying—we get it. But let’s not pretend you wouldn’t have tried the same if your reflexes could read minds.”
Ferrula glared at her, then at Tae, then let out a long, stunted breath.
“Fine,” she muttered. “But next time, I’m going for the knee.”
Tae grinned. “Only if you can catch me first.”
The tension eased, laughter bleeding back into the edges of the circle as the rest of us settled in to train.
But beneath it all, I couldn’t shake the truth?—
Even here, even now, we were dancing on a blade’s edge. One spark, and everything could ignite.
Naia stood between Ferrula and Tae, her voice controlled and steady as she smoothed the last of the tension between them. Ferrula still looked like she might take a swing at someone just to prove a point, but Tae had the good sense to keep his hands behind his back and his grin slightly less obnoxious.
I retreated from the sparring ring, letting the morning breeze cool my cheeks. The Ascension Grounds buzzed around us, swords clashing in the distance, dragons wheeling overhead, but I was wrapped in my own thoughts, still half tethered to Kaelith’s lingering silence.
That was when I felt him… before I saw him.
Remy moved like shadow and silk, smooth steps and quiet confidence. He came to stand beside me, not too close, but just enough that I knew he wanted to be noticed.
He didn’t speak at first. Just followed my gaze across the grounds… to where Zander stood on the far side, arms crossed, eyes fixed on me like I might disappear if he blinked.
Remy gave a soft chuckle, but there was no humor in it.
“He doesn’t know what he has,” he said quietly. “I did.”
My breath caught. My heart didn’t.
