The training grounds next to Ravencrest’s main castle were already filled with the sound of clashes when Elara and Kael arrived.
The field was wide open, sprawling along the hillside, with the ground partly covered in grass and partly strewn with large rocks.
Some students were already in the middle of the field, while others were gathered in groups at the edge, waiting for their turn.
Elara walked slowly beside Kael.
Her body felt a lot better than she had yesterday, but there was still an ache lingering in places–especially in her head.
Every time she moved too fast, her head reminded her she wasn’t fully healed yet.
“Slow down.”
Elara shot Kael a look.
“I’m already walking as slow as humanly possible.”
“You almost fell just now,” Kael said, eyes fixed straight ahead.
Not once did he glance over at Elara as she tried her best to walk like a normal person.
Elara huffed, annoyed.
“That’s because the path’s uneven.”
Kael glanced at her briefly, his expression flat as ever.
“This path’s been here for hundreds of years.
Long before you showed up.”
Kael grabbed Elara’s arm just as she was about to trip over a rock jutting out from the uneven ground once again.
It seemed like the path was trying to make every one of Elara’s steps more difficult.
“So the problem isn’t with this path.”
Elara pushed Kael’s hand off.
This guy was unbearable.
They reached the edge of the training ground, and the group already gathered there turned to look at them at once.
This was Elara’s first time here–as far as she could remember.
She’d never dreamed about Ravencrest before, but somehow she recognized the place.
Weird.
She was sure she had never dreamed of this place before, but she recognized the large rock where the students used to sit while waiting for their turn.
She knew where the teacher usually stood.
She even knew where the small path between the two purple pine-like trees led.
That memory just popped into her head, as if her body were recalling something her mind couldn’t remember.
“Déjà vu,” Elara thought.
She didn’t want to dwell on it too much.
This was her dream world, after all, and she was used to strange things happening in it by now.
“Sit there,” Kael ordered, pointing at a large boulder off to the side.
Elara stared at the rock.
“You’re even picking out my seat for me now?” she asked, baffled by how bossy he was being.
“Just sit.
Don’t argue.
Don’t wander off, and don’t go anywhere.” Another order, plain and simple.
Kael took off the only shirt he was wearing, instantly exposing his bare chest–a free show for the girls on the other side, who began gossiping while stealing glances at Kael from across the field.
“Show-off,” Elara grumbled internally.
“Can you stop being such a dictator for five minutes?”
Kael handed her his shirt, turning Elara into his personal coat rack.
“Sure.
The second you stop being reckless and getting yourself hurt.”
“I’m not a kid.”
Kael went quiet for a beat before answering with a slow nod.
“Good.
Prove it.”
Then he turned around just as the long whistle sounded.
The students quickly took their positions without any instructions.
A woman, clearly much older, walked up to Elara and gave her shoulder a gentle pat.
“All healed up?” the woman asked.
Elara guessed that she was one of the three teachers standing around the field.
Elara nodded and answered politely, “Yes.”
The woman looked at Elara gently.
There was a contradiction in her expression that stood in contrast to her appearance, which Elara would describe as sturdy and fierce.
She was tall and well-built, with dark hair neatly tied back.
Her sharp gaze swept across the field, watching each of her students carefully.
“No need to push yourself into training.
Join in whenever you feel fully recovered.”
Elara just nodded and smiled, saying nothing.
The woman blew her whistle again and barked, “Rhaen!
Watch your opponent’s angle!
Focus!”
She ran towards Kael and his opponent, who seemed to be joking around during a break in their sparring session.
Elara looked around.
This combat class was filled only with werewolves.
There were no pale-skinned students here.
She quickly figured out that perhaps their classes were separated by race.
“As usual, nobody’s using their full strength,” the teacher shouted firmly.
A few students nodded and then continued their fight.
“This fight is to test technique, not to see who can wreck their opponent first.”
The whistle blew again.
Two students stepped forward.
One of them, without warning, went straight for his opponent.
Their bodies moved so fast that Elara’s eyes had trouble keeping up with their movements.
A punch flew toward a face, but the opponent dodged in time–caught the wrist, spun the attacker’s body in one fluid motion.
Within seconds, one of them was flat on the ground.
Elara let out a slow breath.
If she’d really been here longer than she could remember, she felt sorry for her own body.
How many times has her body been thrown to the ground like that?
How many wounds has her body suffered?
Maybe yesterday’s incident wasn’t the first time she’d fainted since Elara arrived here.
A human body like hers would never be able to defend against a werewolf’s strength.
Elara even doubted whether her frail body could withstand the strength of an ordinary human like herself.
Elara leaned her body against a rock.
Thank god she didn’t have to train today.
“Kael!” The teacher’s voice snapped Elara’s head up.
Kael walked toward the center of the field.
“Greg!” the teacher called, and another student stepped away.
The guy was built bigger than Kael–broad shoulders, arms packed with muscle.
Elara made a point of memorizing everything happening on the field.
Who the teachers were.
The names and faces of the students being called up.
How this class ran from start to finish.
She had no idea when she’d wake up from this dream, but at the very least, she could act as if she belonged here instead of looking like someone who’d lost her memory.
“Begin.”
Greg moved first.
A straight punch aimed for Kael’s face, but Kael tilted his head just enough to dodge.
He yanked Greg forward, spun his own body, and drove an elbow into Greg’s ribs–the impact cracked loudly across the field.
Greg staggered.
Kael didn’t give him a second to recover–swept his leg out from behind him.
Greg’s balance broke completely.
But before he hit the ground too hard, Kael caught his shoulder and eased him down.
Then let go immediately.
No wasted motion, nothing extra.
Greg got back up and came in faster this time.
His first punch got blocked, but the second landed on Kael’s shoulder, knocking him back a step.
The next attack came from the side.
Kael ducked, caught Greg’s arm, yanked him in close, and drove a knee into his gut.
Greg doubled over on reflex.
Kael moved behind him and locked his arm.
Greg tried to twist free, but Kael tightened the hold.
Their bodies spun together, and then Kael dropped him to the ground.
This time a few students actually cheered.
“Enough.”
The teacher raised a hand.
Kael let go instantly and helped Greg back to his feet.
Elara watched in silence.
Now she could imagine Kael’s strength.
Seeing him fight up close–even if it was just a training session–left Elara a little speechless.
Kael didn’t fight like most fighters Elara had ever seen.
He didn’t rely solely on brute strength, but measured all his attacks with precision.
“Still too slow,” someone said, dropping down to sit beside her.
She didn’t recognize him, but his face felt familiar.
“How’s your head?” the guy asked.
“Still works, I guess,” Elara answered, dead serious.
The guy laughed as if she’d just cracked a joke.
Watching how this “training” actually went, Elara really hadn’t meant that as a joke at all.
“Riven Rhaen!
You’re up!” the teacher called out from the middle of the field.
Kael made his way back to where Elara sat.
Not far from where Elara was sitting, Kael bumped into Riven.
Riven handed Kael a towel.
“You’re still seriously planning on fighting in the tournament?” Riven asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Don’t have much of a choice,” Kael answered.
“You’ve skipped way too many classes, Kael.”
Kael wiped the sweat off with the towel Riven had handed him.
“I know.”
Riven glanced at Elara, who was still staring at both of them, quietly eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Think I know why, though,” Riven said, then leaned in to whisper something in Kael’s ear.
Elara couldn’t make out the words–only Kael’s response reached her.
“You wanna take over my duties?
Go ahead, tell the crown.”
Riven strolled off with a mischievous grin and went back to sparring with another student.
Kael returned to Elara’s side.
Elara didn’t say a word, but she recorded everything in her memory.
They sat side by side in silence until class ended, as the sun began to set on the horizon.
The teacher who’d spoken to Elara earlier walked back over to them.
“I’m giving you a week off from training.
Go rest up.”
“Okay.”
Then she turned to Kael.
“You’re going with her.”
Kael let out a short breath.
“I know, Ma’am Varg.”
Just a short answer, but Elara could tell something was off with him.
After combat class, as they left the training grounds and headed toward the dorms, Kael went quiet.
Eventually Elara couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore.
She worked up the nerve to ask, “What was that about earlier?”
As usual, Kael didn’t even look at her.
“What was what?”
“With Riven.”
“Nothing.”
She didn’t let it go.
“You looked worried.”
“I’m not worried.” Still short answers.
Still that flat stare.
“No.
You looked worried.”
Kael sighed, deep.
“This is just my face.”
“You two were whispering about me, weren’t you?”
His expression stayed flat as he answered, “You’re way too full of yourself.”
He picked up his pace as they reached the dorm gate.
“I’m pretty sure whatever you two were talking about had something to do with me.
But it’s fine if you don’t want to tell me,” Elara said, catching up with long strides.
Kael grabbed her arm again when she nearly slipped climbing the steps in front of the dorm entrance.
“Worry about yourself.
You should be paying more attention to your own feet than to other people’s business,” Kael said, deep.
“Fine,” Elara answered shortly, but Kael didn’t let go of her arm.
He looked at her, hesitating.
After a long breath, he finally admitted, “There’s an inter-clan tournament coming up soon, and I’m way behind everyone else.”
Elara stopped and turned to face him.
“How could you have been left behind with fighting skills like that?”
“You’ve never been hit by a werewolf from another school, have you?
You’d probably be bedridden for a month,” Kael needled her.
Elara ignored the taunt.
She still asked, “Why did you fall behind?”
Kael raised both eyebrows.
His grip loosened.
“What do you think?” he shot back, looking her over from head to toe.
“Because of watching over me?
You know I don’t need babysitting every second of every day.
I can take care of myself.”
“You can’t even take care of yourself around a set of stairs that’s been sitting there for hundreds of years.”
Kael added, “If this weren’t a royal decree, do you think I’d bother myself to protect a human like you?”
Elara went quiet.
The word royal landed heavy, like something that had been hanging over her, waiting to fall.
“No human has ever set foot in Ravencrest,” Kael went on, quieter now.
“You’re the only one.”
She stared at him.
For some reason, those words felt heavier than they should have.
She thought back to the whispers from students at lunch, to the stares that followed her every move, to the blood that had dripped onto the marble floor yesterday, to the vampire who’d lost control over just a few drops of it.
“Because I’m…” Elara hesitated before asking, “Human?”
Kael didn’t answer right away.
He just looked at her, weighing how much he was allowed to say.
“It’s not that simple,” he finally said.
“Because I’m…” Her heart was pounding now, working up to say the two words that had been eating at her since the afternoon.
“Perfect blood?”
He leaned in, his voice dropping to almost a whisper.
“Then you already know half the problem.”
“Half?”
“The other half,” he paused, like he was still weighing his own words, “is who wants it.”
Elara waited, but Kael didn’t continue right away.
Instead, he turned his face toward the castle tower rising in the distance, its lights just starting to flicker on one by one as the sun went down.
“The crown,” Kael finally said, “won’t stop until every last drop of your blood is gone.”
Elara swallowed hard.
She found herself thinking again of Princess Elsinne’s face– gentle, and lethal in the same breath–of how everyone stepped aside the moment the princess approached their table.
And then the strange voice that had haunted her the night she found her father dead.
“Don’t let them find you!”
“You’re talking like I’m their prey,” Elara said quietly.
“Not a person.”
Kael stared at her for a long moment.
It wasn’t a cruel look, wasn’t cold either, but she couldn’t read it.
“To them,” he finally answered, “you’re both.”
He didn’t explain any further.
But the silence that followed felt far more terrifying than any explanation could have.
“You know,” Kael added, turning toward the dormitory door, “just how dangerous your situation is right now?”
Hey everyone, welcome to this story!
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