In my palm an orb forms, a spinning cluster of milky-white wisps under my concentrated gaze. It hums, draining energy from my bones. Pain flares. Beads of sweat bloom on my temples.
Chad shifts his stance. “The longer you hold it, the worse it hurts.”
“I know!” I snap.
“Release it now, or charge it until you collapse.”
Great. Option one: fire and maybe graze him. Option two: pack it so full of power it knocks him out for hours. Tempting, but my bones feel ready to crumble.
With a snarl, I unleash the Pulse. I glimpse Chad’s foot veer left—so I aim slightly that way. But at the last second he swaps direction. The orb slams into the far wall, fizzling out in a cloud of dust.
“Shoot!” I hiss.
Chad’s grin is pure moonlight. “Not bad, Brynn. But a true Gaudian hit leaves no clue.”
“You literally told me to summon one. We’re training.”
Chad's emerald eyes lock onto mine. “We're not training for theoretical situations. We're training for situations where focus is key.”
Damn those emerald eyes. Seriously, who gave this jerk permission to be that hot while he's torturing me? One second I'm noticing how his stupid perfect jawline catches the torchlight, and the next—WHAM!—Gaudian Pulse straight to the chest. It hits like a spiritual Mack truck, emptying my lungs in one go.
Death-cold seeps into my bones, then... nothing. Absolutely nothing. My worldview does a complete one-eighty as I topple backward like a darkblood bowling pin.
“There she blows,” Chad's laughter rings out as I hit the floor with a thud that I thankfully can't feel. But the panic? That I feel just fine. Paralyzed. Helpless. Great.
Chad's face appears above me, still chuckling. “Take it easy, it was a light one. You'll get back on your feet in a few minutes.”
I mentally compose a string of profanities that would make Grandma Esther wash my mouth out with grave dirt, but my lips won't budge. My heart's barely pumping, like it's taking a coffee break under the spell's pressure. Breathing becomes my whole universe. In. Out. Don't freak.
Seconds crawl by like they're wearing lead boots. All I can think about is how I'm going to punch that smirk off his face the second I can move again. Except I can't beat him physically. I need something else. Something unexpected.
“Deep breaths, Brynn. You've got this.” He's still laughing.
Asshole's having the time of his life while I'm lying here like a popsicle.
There’s something I’ve never shown Esme or Jax—a trick I mastered in secret. Might as well premiere it tonight, first chance I get. Chad won’t know what hit him. It’ll be perfect practice, andwith any luck I’ll dish out the biggest slice of humble pie he’s ever swallowed.
“There you go,” he murmurs as my arms and legs tingle back to life. “Nice and easy.”
My words slur. “You bas—” I choke; need a second.
Chad’s grip tightens, and a different kind of shiver races down my spine. Musk and orange blossoms swirl between us. His emerald eyes gleam—but there’s a flicker of red buried in them so deep I almost dismiss it. Not the tiny red specks common to darkbloods, but something stronger. Deeper. A buried red stain beneath the flawless veneer of Darkbirch’s all-star darkblood soldier.
Maybe it’s an echo of the Gaudian Pulse. Maybe I cracked my head in the fall—no, my skull’s fine. My backside absorbed the blow; it’s sore but intact.
“Ready to proceed?” Chad’s voice drifts too close, his lips hovering.
Anger flares hot—bright and merciless. I shove him away with every ounce of newfound strength.
He laughs, low and pleased. “There she is!”
“You—” My tongue’s free again, but I’ve a spell to cast, not curses to fling.
He steps back to the center of the hall. “Alright, we’ve covered casting and surviving a Gaudian Pulse. Off the list. Next: close-combat drills. How’s your blade work?”
“Not great,” I mutter, hiding my clenched hands behind my back.
He doesn’t see me carve a fresh set of runes into my left palm. The steel bites in; pain blossoms, familiar and alive. I’ve done this before, but never under this scorching fury, never so determined to strike back. I’ve never meant real harm. Until now.
