Chapter 7: The First Test

"You have five minutes to disappear."

Kai's voice was calm, almost bored, but I knew better. This wasn't a joke. This was a test.

I stood in the middle of the training hall, surrounded by shadows, my heart hammering. Five minutes to vanish. Five minutes to prove I could escape without a trace.

The lights flickered off.

Darkness swallowed the room, and I moved.

I didn't run. Running made noise. Running was desperate. Instead, I slipped behind the nearest column, pressing my body into the cold marble. I slowed my breathing, listening.

Soft footsteps.

Kai was moving, tracking me.

I counted the seconds in my head.

One. Two. Three—

A sudden shift in the air.

I dropped low just as a hand swung past where my throat had been. My pulse spiked, but I didn't panic. I used the momentum, rolling backward into the shadows.

"Better," Kai murmured. "But not good enough."

I heard the smirk in his voice. He was toying with me.

Good. Let him.

I moved again, silently weaving through the training hall. My mind worked fast, mapping the exits, calculating the best route.

Then I saw it.

A vent, partially open, just high enough for me to slip through if I could reach it.

I exhaled slowly.

Time for a gamble.

I grabbed a small stone from the floor and tossed it toward the opposite end of the room. The faint clatter echoed, just enough to make Kai pause.

In that split second, I sprinted.

My fingers caught the edge of the vent. I hauled myself up, biting back a grunt as my muscles strained. My body screamed, but I ignored it.

Then—silence.

Nothing but my own breathing.

I had disappeared.

A long pause. Then, finally—

"Not bad," Kai admitted from somewhere below. "You're learning."

I grinned in the darkness. "Give me another week, and I'll be the one hunting you."

He chuckled. "We'll see about that."

But I meant every word.

Because this was just the beginning.