The doors of Eryndor’s office closed behind them.
She followed him through the palace corridors, her footsteps echoing softly against the stone floor.
Neither of them spoke.
After several turns, they left the main halls behind and entered a quieter part of the palace.
The further they went, the less crowded the corridors became, until finally, Eryndor stopped before a set of tall doors.
One of the guards opened them.
Beyond them lay a vast, open space.
It was a large training ground enclosed within the palace itself, far more private than the ordinary practice yards.
The ground was flat and covered with packed earth, with enough space for several people to fight without getting in one another’s way.
Weapon racks stood along the walls, holding wooden swords, spears, and other training weapons.
She stared at the place for a moment.
‘So is this where they train?’
Eryndor walked toward the center without waiting for her.
She followed.
A guard standing nearby stepped forward at his command and selected a wooden sword from the rack.
He approached her and held it out.
She took it.
“Why are you giving me this?” She looked at him confused
‘hmm ?but it may be useful’
She said as she was registering the weight of it with slightly knot between her brows
‘the sword is more heavy than it used to be’
“you can start attacking me”
She told the guard as she just stood defenseless
The guard seemed irritated about that thinking that she is taking him lightly
He moved getting at her when he got near her, she moved lightly and quickly, dodging his attack with slight movement.
Instead of blocking his sword with hers, she stepped forward and struck him sharply at the throat.
He bent slightly, coughing.
‘my movement were off.
My body isn’t responding the way it should have’
‘I should end this quickly’
She took advantage of the time he was coughing slipping into his back lightly hitting the back of his neck with the back of the wooden sword with controlled strength making him fall unconscious
Kael hit the ground with a dull thud, his helmet clattering against the stone.
The second guard rushed forward, spear raised, but Eryndor stopped him
“Stop.”
‘She moved like water.
No wasted motion.
That wasn’t luck.’
He signaled to the second guard to come near wisphering some thing to him
As they were talking she moved her hand to her shoulder slowly checking it as her eyes tracked her leg
‘my muscle hurts!
I should be careful as I seem experiencing reality confusion ‘
Eryndor then stepped closer to where she stood, the wooden sword still in her hand.
His green eyes studied her with newfound intensity not anger, but something sharper.
Calculating.
“Where did you learn that?”
He circled her slowly, his bare feet silent on the stone floor.
His gaze traced the way she held herself, the slight tension in her shoulders.
“No human fights like that.
Not the ones We’ve killed.” He stopped in front of her.
“You said your world has no magic.
But that—” His gaze gestured toward Kael’s unconscious form.
“That’s not just training.”
His hand moved to her chin, tilting her face up.
With slightly amused expression “Who taught you?”
“Mm?
I’m just weaker than average.”
She looked at him in confusion.
“You could say fighting is…
a hobby.
Most girls in my world learn how to defend themselves because we’re at risk of many bad things.
But if you compare me to an average fighter, I probably couldn’t even defend myself against a normal man from my world.”
She glanced down at the wooden sword in her hand, still trying to make sense of what had just happened.
“If this is the level of a palace guard…” She hesitated.
“Then maybe I could actually get out of this kingdom.”
Her eyes wandered briefly toward the surrounding doors and walls.
“The locks are weak, too.
They’d be very easy to open.”
Without meaning to, her eyes began calculating the mechanisms around her, counting and assessing them instinctively.
Eryndor’s hand dropped from her chin.
His jaw tightened as he processed her words.
He stepped closer, the faint amusement that had been in his expression disappearing.
“You think you could walk out of my kingdom?”
His voice was dangerously soft.
“And you believe a few scratches would be all you would suffer from the hunt that followed?”
His hand moved to her shoulder, pressing against it just enough to test her reaction.
She flinched immediately.
Her expression tightened.
He noticed.
“Yet you knocked him unconscious in seconds.”
‘She’s more dangerous than I thought.’
‘And she doesn’t even realize it.’
He released her shoulder and turned toward the stairs.
“No kitchens.
You’re coming with me.”
The remaining guard moved to follow, but Eryndor raised a hand.
“Stay.
Wake Kael.”
She followed Eryndor up the stairs without resistance.
After a few steps, he released her wrist and moved ahead of her.
“That’s what I told you.
I could have fought from the start, but I don’t like causing problems.
And I still don’t know how I ended up here in the first place.
Acting recklessly wouldn’t be very smart.”
She stopped and glanced back at Kael, a faint trace of guilt crossing her expression.
“You should get him medical attention.
At least make sure that he is breathing property.”
“Use Neurostim.
It should wake him up.”
Eryndor stopped halfway up the stairs and glanced back at her.
His brow furrowed.
“Neurostim?”
“More of your strange words.”
‘She speaks of things that do not exist here.’
‘Yet she knew exactly how to incapacitate Kael.’
He studied her for another moment before continuing upward.
The passage grew narrower as they climbed.
Torchlight flickered against walls carved with ancient battle scenes—elves fighting creatures with twisted limbs and burning eyes.
At last, the stairs ended before a heavy wooden door.
Eryndor pushed it open.
Beyond it was another chamber, larger than she expected.
Weapons lined the walls—swords, spears, bows, and various other arms arranged in careful rows.
Morning light streamed through the tall windows, illuminating the room.
Eryndor stepped inside.
Then he turned toward her.
“Show me what you can really do.”
He gestured toward the weapon racks.
“Without holding back this time.”