A live simulation. Alliances. Moves and countermoves. One mistake can cost everything.
5. Shadowborn:
The Ring chooses. Your sins. Your cracks. Your fears. It knows your name—and every secret you try to bury.
Chapter 13
Aoife
The training zone shifts the second Leo and the other trainers step into the Circle.
Gloves freeze mid-hit. Boots stop grinding the mats. Even the weapons racks go silent, like the air itself has stopped breathing.
Leo’s voice rings out, calm, sharp, final. “The Ring has chosen.”
My heart snags on his words, catching between beats. The blade in my hand slips slightly as I adjust my grip.
All around me, heads turn.
Conor stands a few feet away, rolling his shoulders and straightening his spine. His jaw locks like he’s biting back what he already knows.
The names come out one by one, slow, deliberate, like an executioner reading a list.
Conor O’Brien.
Matteo Messina.
Lara Petrov.
Han Sun.
Felix Reyes.
The chosen. One from each empire.
My gaze slides across the room until it catches him. Matteo.
No surprise. No shake. No sign he’s even listening. Just that half-wicked smile. Calm. Confidence. Waiting, as if he’s always known.
He stands with his arms folded, wraps still stained with the ghost of old training, jaw shadowed in stubble and bruised by fresh heat. The smile on his face like the devil is finally invited to play his game. Not cocky. Not smug. Just ready. When he looks across the training pit at Conor, I feel the heat between them, one war paused for a different battlefield.
Leo isn’t finished, what else can he say to make this night even more horrible. “To keep spirits high,” he adds, “the council has decided on something more…casual for today. A friendly test between families.” He steps back, and Dante, one of the Petrov trainers, steps forward.
“Each family will send someone to represent in each of the following tasks. Think of it as a warmup for the hell to come.” Everyone murmurs, students buzzing now.
Dante lists the challenges:
1. Blind Weapon Assembly – speed and precision. Disassemble and reassemble a Glock… blindfolded.
2. Target Recall – throw five knives at five spinning boards, each with a different symbol. Hit the correct one. Memory under pressure.
3. Silent Kill Drill – sneak across the room unseen and "eliminate" your target with a red-marking blade. Stealth and speed.
4. Disarm Race – opponent is armed, you're not. Disarm them before you’re taken down. Quickest win.
5. Break the code - be the first one to break into the system.
I look around at all the families talking, working out which family members to send for each task. I take a step back, because I won’t be picked for anything, I still suck.
