Training in the ashes

Chapter 11 – Alera

Training in the Ashes

When I stepped into the training yard the next morning, the air was thick with morning dew and tension.

Kael was already there, circling the perimeter like a caged wolf. He'd drawn a line in the dirt with his boot, surrounding the sparring circle with old runes I recognized from the war chamber—sigils of protection, strength, and truth.

He wasn't playing games anymore.

Neither was I.

Naya stood to one side, bouncing on the balls of her feet, trying to look composed. But I saw the eagerness in her eyes. The curiosity. The hunger to prove herself.

Just like I'd had at her age.

I hated it.

Because I knew how easily that hunger could get you killed.

"You dragged my cousin into this?" I asked Kael quietly, not breaking stride as I stepped into the circle.

"She dragged herself," he said. "She has potential."

"She's not ready."

"Neither were we," he replied, stepping closer. "But the war didn't wait for us to be."

The truth of it stung.

He motioned to Naya, who immediately took her stance across from him.

"Begin," I ordered.

Kael didn't hesitate. He lunged—not with his full speed, but fast enough to make her scramble back, barely blocking. She was quick, I'll give her that, but she was still a pup. She went for his legs, missed the shift in his weight, and ended up face-first in the dirt.

She spat out grass and glared up at him. "You're holding back."

"I'm being merciful."

"Don't be."

Kael looked at me, one brow raised.

"She wants a lesson?" I said, folding my arms. "Give her one."

The second round was faster. Harder. He swept her legs out from under her again, but this time she rolled with it, got back on her feet, and landed a decent elbow to his ribs. He grunted—not in pain, but approval.

"Again," I snapped.

They went at it for a third round. A fourth. A fifth. Until sweat poured from both of them and Naya's hair stuck to her face.

Finally, I called it off.

"Good," I told her, as she wiped blood from her mouth. "You've got fire. But fire alone won't save you when someone's carving runes into your spine."

She winced at my words. Good. She needed to hear them.

"You've earned a place in the secondary guard," I added. "Starting tomorrow."

Her jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

"Don't make me change my mind."

She practically skipped off the field.

Kael came to stand beside me, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. He didn't even look tired.

"She's better than you were at that age," he said.

I smirked. "You mean before I could beat you?"

"You've never beaten me."

"Try me."

We stared at each other for a long beat. Then, without warning, I spun, aiming a roundhouse kick at his side.

He caught my leg mid-air and threw me backward.

I landed in a crouch, grinning.

The sparring began in earnest then. No words. Just movement. Muscle. Breath.

He knew every one of my tells. But I'd learned some new tricks in his absence. My claws scraped against his side, drawing blood, and his responding growl sent a thrill through me I hated myself for enjoying.

We clashed again, faster now, like our bodies remembered what our minds tried to deny.

We moved like a storm.

And for one impossible moment—I forgot the war, the prophecy, the blood.

I only saw him.

The boy I used to love. The wolf I could never forgive.

He caught me mid-swing and spun me into a lock, his breath hot against my ear. "You hesitated."

"I blinked," I snarled, twisting free. "There's a difference."

But my heart thudded too fast, and he knew it.

"I'm not the same Kael," he said, stepping back.

"I know," I whispered. "But I still see him sometimes."

He looked away.

That was the thing about us—too much history in every glance.

"We need to talk," he said, the teasing gone. "Tonight. The prophecy—there's more I haven't told you."

"Then you'd better be ready to tell me everything," I said. "Because if I find out you're hiding even one more truth from me, Kael…"

"You'll rip my throat out?"

"No. Worse. I'll make you live with it."

He gave a ghost of a smile. "I'd rather you rip my throat out."

I walked away before he could say more. Because I wasn't sure what scared me more—the war waiting in the shadows… or the memories I still hadn't buried.