Riven’s POV
“Today, you’re not fighting me.”
Nyra looked at me suspiciously.
“Then who am I fighting?”
“No one.”
She frowned.
“That doesn’t sound like training.”
“It is.”
I picked up the small pack I’d prepared and threw it over my shoulder.
“Today you’re learning how to survive.”
Nyra’s expression changed.
She glanced toward the forest.
“Survive what?”
“Getting lost.”
“I know this forest.”
“You know the part around your tent.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
I almost smiled.
She hated when I proved her wrong.
“Come on.”
We started walking.
I deliberately chose a route she had never taken before.
The deeper we went, the less familiar the surroundings became.
Nyra stayed close.
I didn’t give her any instructions.
After several minutes, she finally looked at me.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be.”
She rolled her eyes.
We continued deeper into the forest until I stopped beside a large tree.
I turned toward her.
“Take this.”
I handed her a small knife.
She looked at it, then at me.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Find me.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
“And I’m supposed to find you?”
“Yes.”
“How long do I have?”
“Until sunset.”
She looked around.
“You’re serious.”
“Very.”
I pointed toward the trees behind her.
“There’s water somewhere north of here. Your first task is to find it.”
“Without you?”
“Without me.”
“And then?”
“Find your way back here.”
Nyra looked at me for a moment.
“You’re enjoying this way too much.”
“No.”
“You are.”
“Maybe.”
She shook her head.
“Fine.”
I stepped backward.
“One more thing.”
She looked at me.
“Don’t follow my trail.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
That got her attention.
“Then what am I looking for?”
“Everything.”
I turned and disappeared between the trees.
I didn’t go far.
I moved quietly enough that she wouldn’t hear me, then climbed onto a high branch where I could observe her without being seen.
Nyra stood still for several seconds.
She looked around then she closed her eyes.
I watched carefully.
She wasn’t using only her eyes, she was listening.
Feeling the environment around her.
Good.
She crouched and examined the ground.
Then she smiled.
She had noticed something, she followed it.
It wasn’t my trail.
Something else.
I watched as she moved through the trees, stopping occasionally to examine the ground or listen.
She was improving.
Slowly but she was improving.
Then she disappeared from my sight.
I moved to another position.
Still nothing.
After several minutes, I found her.
She’s learning.
I smiled faintly.
My wolf stirred.
I frowned.
“What is it Tristan?”
Tristan’s attention shifted.
‘Someone else is here.’
I scanned the forest.
Nothing.
No movement.
No obvious scent.
But my wolf was rarely wrong.
I searched again.
Still nothing.
Then I caught it.
A faint scent.
Not Nyra.
Not mine.
Someone else.
My expression hardened.
Someone had been here watching us.
I looked toward the direction of Nyra’s trail.
She was still moving.
Unaware.
I almost went after her but then I stopped.
This was exactly why I was training her.
She needed to learn to recognize danger without someone constantly protecting her.
I stayed back but I kept my senses open.
***************
Nyra’s POV
I had officially decided that Riven was insane.
He had dropped me in the middle of an unfamiliar forest with a knife and told me to find water then he had disappeared.
I crouched beside a patch of disturbed soil.
There.
A faint trail.
Something had dragged across the ground.
I followed it.
The forest became quieter the deeper I went.
I stopped, listened..
Nothing.
A few minutes later, I heard sound of water.
I smiled.
“Got you.”
I followed the sound until I found a narrow stream.
I crouched and filled my hands.The water was cold and clean.
Perfect.
I stood, now I had to find my way back.
I looked around.
Everything suddenly looked the same: Trees.
Leaves.
Bushes.
More trees.
I sighed.
“Okay, Nyra. Think.”
I retraced my steps.
At first, everything seemed easy then I noticed something.
A branch I remembered passing was broken.
I stopped.
I hadn’t broken it.
Someone else had.I looked around.
My instincts suddenly sharpened, I could feel it, that strange sensation I’d learned to trust.
Something was wrong.
I slowly reached for the knife.
Nothing moved.
I listened.
A bird flew from a nearby tree.
I flinched.
“Relax.”
I lowered the knife slightly.
Then I heard something.
A twig snapping.
Behind me.
I spun around.
Nothing.
My heartbeat quickened.
I scanned the trees.
Still nothing.
But the feeling remained.
Someone or something was nearby.
I took a step backward.
Then another.
My eyes moved across the forest and that’s when I noticed it.
A footprint.
Fresh.
Human-shaped.
Too fresh.
I crouched.
I touched the edge of it.
Someone had been here recently.
Very recently.
My stomach tightened, I stood slowly.
Riven had told me to look for everything so I looked.
The broken branch, the footprint, the disturbed leaves, the faint scent lingering in the air.
Suddenly, I realized something.
I hadn’t been alone in this forest for quite some time, someone had been following me.
I tightened my grip on the knife.
“Who’s there?”
Silence.
I waited.
Nothing.
Then, from somewhere deep among the trees a branch moved.
I turned toward it.
My heart pounded.
Whoever was watching me wasn’t trying to hide anymore.
They wanted me to know they were there.
And this time…
I was ready to find them.