Chapter 18:

It's been three days since the council last reached out with a shade. Three days since I left my apartment, and three days since I've been in a total disarray.

To be frank, I don't even know what to think about. There's been a set date for my visit to the council which happens to be in Paris, by the way.

It's a two weeks away and all Valentine and Achilles have been breathing down on my neck for the past three days is training.

Well...here we are, midnight. Such an ungodly hour to be up, especially now that my eyes has been opened to the existence of creatures the human eyes have been blind to.

Things that are supposed to be dark fantasies and now I walk among them, mated to one of them...I am one of them.

The courtyard looks ancient at night, the air thick with the scent of damp stone and burning torches.

The flickering flames cast long shadows across the cracked ground, and the ivy-covered walls seem to close in around me.

It's quiet, too quiet, except for the occasional crackle of fire and the distant rustle of leaves. I hate how this place feels alive, like it's watching me, waiting for me to fail.

Achilles leans against a stone pillar, arms crossed, his usual smirk plastered across his face. "Ready to break some rocks, sweetheart?"

I glare at him. "I'm not your sweetheart."

He chuckles, pushing off the pillar and sauntering toward me. "Oh, I know. But you're so much fun to tease." He stops a few feet away, tilting his head. "Let's see what you've got. Strength training first."

I glance at the massive stone block in the center of the courtyard. It's solid, unyielding, and probably weighs more than I do. "You want me to break that? With my hands?"

"That's the idea," he says, his tone light, like this is some kind of game. "Vampires are stronger than humans. You just need to tap into it."

I clench my fists, frustration bubbling up. "I've been trying to tap into it since I woke up like this. It's not exactly easy."

I've come to figure that whatever Vampire abilities I had when I awakened were just formalities. I would have had them now if I had stuck to my bloody diet... quite literally.

However, I've only been fed quite a few times...very well these three days here, but clearly not enough to give me the abilities in a whim.

Safe to say, they've gone into hiding inside of me.

He shrugs. "Well, lucky for you, I'm here to help. Now, focus. Feel the strength in your body. It's there, even if you don't realize it."

I step up to the stone block, placing my hands on its rough surface. It's cold, unfeeling, just like everything else in this place. I push, but nothing happens. Not even a crack.

"You're thinking too hard," Achilles says, his voice closer now. "Stop trying to force it. Let it come naturally."

"Easy for you to say," I mutter, stepping back and glaring at him. "You're not the one who got turned into a freak."

His smirk falters for a moment, and something flashes in his eyes—something I can't quite place. "Oh, I'm plenty freaky, darling. Just not in the way you think."

Before I can ask what he means, his body begins to morph. One moment, he's standing there, his usual smug self, and the next, his form blurs, twisting and reshaping until a massive wolf stands in his place.

Its golden eyes lock onto mine, and I stumble back, my heart racing.

"What. The. Hell?" I breathe, staring at the creature.

The wolf shifts again, and suddenly, it's not a wolf anymore. It's Achilles, but his face is different—sharper, more angular, with a predatory glint in his eyes. "Surprise," he says, his voice deeper, rougher. "I'm not just a butler."

Okay...I knew he was definitely something, but I thought that at best, he'd be a warlock or something weird. But...

I blink, trying to process what I just saw. "You're a shapeshifter?"

He grins, shifting back to his usual form. "Among other things. I can take on any form I want, and I can borrow abilities from animals without fully shifting. Handy, isn't it?"

I cross my arms, still reeling. "And you're just telling me this now?"

"You didn't ask," he shrugs, breaking the rock with what looks like a slight hit to the stone.

I open my mouth to argue, but Valentine's voice cuts through the air. "Enough."

I turn to see him standing at the edge of the courtyard, his golden eyes glowing in the torchlight.

He's holding two wooden swords, and his expression is unreadable. "Strength is only part of it. You need to learn how to fight."

I groan. "Great. More torture."

He tosses one of the swords to me, and I catch it clumsily. The weight feels strange in my hands, unfamiliar. "I'm not going to go easy on you," he says, stepping into the center of the courtyard. "If you want to survive, you need to learn."

I grip the sword tighter, my frustration boiling over. "And to learn, I need to defend myself from you both killing me before the council kills me in two weeks?"

"If you so dearly want to die, don't defend yourself."

Before I can respond, he lunges at me. I barely have time to raise my sword before his strikes, the force of it sending a shockwave through my arms.

I stumble back, my heart pounding.

"Focus," he says, his tone sharp. "Your instincts are there. Use them."

"It's be a shame to die by a wooden sword, sweethearts," Achilles chuckles from somewhere behind me.

I grit my teeth, swinging the sword back at Valentine. He blocks it effortlessly, his movements fluid and precise.

"Too slow," he says, disarming me with a flick of his wrist. The sword clatters to the ground, and I glare at him.

"This is pointless," I snap. "I can't do this."

He steps closer, his gaze piercing. "You can. You just don't want to."

I clench my fists, anger surging through me. "You don't know what I want."

"I know you're scared," he says, his voice softer now. "But fear won't keep you alive."

I open my mouth to argue, but something shifts inside me. A surge of energy, like the one I felt in the apartment, courses through my veins.

My hands tingle, and the air around me crackles with electricity.

Valentine's eyes widen, and he takes a step back. "North—"

But I don't hear the rest. The energy explodes out of me, shadows coiling around my hands like living things.

For a moment, I feel powerful, unstoppable. But then it fades, slipping through my fingers like smoke.

I collapse to my knees, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The courtyard is silent, the only sound the crackling of the torches.

Achilles whistles low. "Well, that was something."

Valentine kneels in front of me, his expression unreadable. "You're stronger than you know," he says quietly. "But you need to learn control."

I look up at him, my chest heaving. "And if I can't?"

His gaze hardens. "Then...you won't last long among us."

The words hang in the air, heavy and final. I want to argue, to tell him he's wrong, but deep down, I know he's right. I'm a threat, not just to myself, but to everyone around me.

Achilles claps his hands, breaking the tension. "Well, this has been fun. But I think our little fledgling has had enough for one night."

I glare at him, but there's no real heat behind it. I'm too tired, too overwhelmed. "I'm not a fledgling."

He grins. "Sure, sweetheart. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

I push myself to my feet, brushing off my pants. "I'm going inside."

Valentine doesn't stop me, but his gaze follows me as I walk away. I can feel it, heavy and unrelenting, like a weight on my back.