22. CHAPTER 22 #2
They stepped into the circle, both of them unsheathed their daggers, throwing them to the side.
Something cadets did when they agreed to a weaponless spar.
The air between them felt heavier than the humid heat.
Alex struck first—a fast jab, then a hook.
Zane blocked, the thud of bone on bone echoing.
They clashed hard, fists and elbows snapping, boots grinding against the packed floor.
But Alex’s eyes flicked toward me at the edge of the ring. His lip curled, and fire licked across his knuckles. Not a spark—flame. The gym gasped. Magic wasn’t supposed to touch these fights, though sometimes magic did flare under tempers.
“Keep it clean,” Gile said.
Zane didn’t back off. He lunged in close, ducking under Alex’s burning swing.
His hand snapped to Alex’s wrist. The fire stuttered.
The bright flare guttered like a torch in the rain, drawn into Zane’s grip.
For a breath, orange light seared along Zane’s forearm, veins lit like molten lines beneath his skin.
Then it vanished, leaving only Alex’s stunned face.
Alex staggered back, fists curling, breath rough. “What the fuck was that?”
“Control yourself,” Gile snapped, but his eyes narrowed on Zane. “Both of you.”
Alex came at him harder, fury twisting his face.
He tackled Zane low, and both of them slammed onto the mat.
They grappled, bodies twisting, grunts tearing from their throats as they fought for leverage.
Alex tried to pin Zane’s shoulders, but Zane rolled, using his weight to reverse.
Alex’s elbow caught his jaw—sharp crack, head snapping sideways.
Zane spat blood, eyes flashing, but he didn’t break.
They writhed across the mat, fists half-landing, boots digging for purchase. Zane shoved free, grabbed Alex’s leg, and twisted. Alex snarled, lashing at him, but Zane coiled lower, locking Alex’s ankle under his arm and falling back. His hips jerked, wrenching the joint.
Alex’s cry split the room, raw and guttural. He clawed at the mat, face twisted in pain.
“Tap,” Zane growled, voice low but steady.
Alex spat a curse, refused. Zane twisted harder, the hold cinched tight.
Alex tapped the mat three times. For one more breath, Zane held the lock, eyes boring into Alex’s—calm, unflinching.
Then he released, shoving Alex’s leg aside.
Alex curled in, clutching his ankle, breath coming ragged.
The gym stayed silent, the only sound was their harsh breathing.
Zane stood slowly, jaw tight, blood at the corner of his mouth.
He didn’t look at anyone. Not even me. For the Drusearons in the room, he was their Executive Officer, the second in command of their wing.
Alex was in charge of his platoon that was in the room.
The gym was still buzzing, but all I heard was the echo of Alex’s cry.
My stomach twisted. Zane hadn’t just beaten him—he’d held him there, calm as stone, until Alex nearly broke.
Part of me wanted to flinch away from that steadiness, from the way his control looked colder than fire.
Another part of me wanted to trust it, to lean into the one person who didn’t seem shaken by anything.
And yet… bo th of them had been fighting over me.
Just as Nellie had fought me over him. It seemed both of them were pulled into some jealous rage.
I pulled my eyes from Zane before he could look back. If I let myself get caught in that stare, I wasn’t sure if I’d find safety there—or lose another piece of myself.
“Harlyn Cowens calls Sadie Devins,” Professor Gile called out.
I jerked my head at Sadie. Maybe Zane and I weren’t the only ones making enemies out here.
“You still aren’t over this? I moved on a year ago,” Sadie told Harlyn.
Clearly, there was much more to this story.
Harlyn was an Infantry cadet, distinguished by her navy-blue uniform.
They both stepped onto the mat and started feinting at each other, throwing fake punches.
Harlyn took a step forward and threw a hard right at the same time, connecting with Sadie.
Her eyes widened, and she gasped. I thought that rocked her brain a little bit.
Sadie unsheathed a dagger and flicked it at Harlyn, hitting her on the right side of her chest, right below her collarbone.
I knew that had to hurt. She winced, jerked the dagger out and threw it back.
Sadie ducked and missed. As she popped back up, Harlyn had already drawn a dagger and flicked it across, hitting the left side of Sadie’s chest. Sadie gasped hard, reached for the dagger, with terror in her eyes. She dropped to her knees.
“Fight is done,” Gile shouted as he ran onto the mat. I was right behind him, heading to Sadie. I hoped it had missed her heart. Lili and Persephone rushed to the mat too, and all four of us gathered around her.
“That’s what you get, messing with other people’s partners,” Harlyn yelled.
“Get the fuck out,” Gile yelled at her. He usually didn’t look fazed when one of us went down.
“I’ll take her to the infirmary,” Zane said. I hadn’t even noticed him move to the mat. One breath, he stood beside us, the next he scooped her up—and vanished.
My pulse lurched. What the hell? How did he do that? In the tower attack, he had appeared the same way, out of nowhere .
I glanced around. I wasn’t the only one staring. Gile and most of the Drusearons barely blinked.
Teleporter. Was Zane a teleporter?
“Let’s get back to sparring, next up…” Gile continued. I stopped really listening when I didn’t hear anybody else in my platoon.
“How did you do that?” I said down our bond.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he teased.
“I mean, yeah, I would. Can you teleport?”
“Yes, but we call it roving. Most Drusearons of Royal Fae can learn to do it. We have to have been to the place we want to go, and when we first start doing it, we can only go short distances. I have been doing it for a while so I could go quite a distance by myself. Carrying someone is about half the distance.”
“What other abilities do you have?”
“Oh, my sweet love, I have so many. Most of them left for the bedroom.”
“I got it, not sharing that information quite yet.”
“I can’t… I want to. I will, but not now. Please, my love, don’t push.”
“How’s Sadie?”
“Nice change there, she will make it, it missed her heart by millimeters. She will be here for a day or so.”
Sparring finally concluded, resulting in a few more injuries.
Aside from Sadie, our platoon mainly remained unscathed.
By the end of the day, I felt utterly exhausted, a typical feeling for me these days.
The day grew more challenging because I had to carry my belongings from my seventh-floor chambers down to the second floor.
My room was only two doors away from Lili’s, which made me happy since I was closer to my friend.
After finishing, I returned to the seventh floor, gathered the other first-year students, and led them to the infirmary to visit Sadie.
When I was injured, my squad came to see me, and I made sure to visit them as well.