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"Do not apologize for seeing clearly." The words stay with her. I can tell.

The first exercise lasts nearly an hour. By the end, everyone looks less certain than before. A siren discovers the quiet Medusa opposite him can see the exact moment his influence begins gathering behind his eyes. A fae learns that the wolf she dismissed as impulsive has memorized every exit in the room. A vampire underestimates a human student who has no inherited magic but an exceptional understanding of distance and leverage. No one leaves their ring undefeated. Because there is nothing to defeat. Only assumptions.

Then Professor Vale allows us to take weapons. Wooden only. No enhanced forms. No blood influence. No transformations. A collective wave of disappointment moves through the hall.

Professor Vale hears it. "If your skill vanishes without magic, you never possessed skill." That ends the complaints.

I choose two short blades. The balance is poor. The grips are too wide. Still better than nothing.

Rowan takes a staff. "You chose knives." She says.

"I noticed." I answer.

"You look like a knife person." She adds.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know." She shrugs.

"Useful."

The bell rings. She attacks. Fast. Not vampire-fast. Still enough to force me backward. The staff sweeps toward my ribs. I block. Turn. Strike toward her shoulder. She pivots away. Better than I expected. I adapt. Her reach is greater. My speed closes the difference. She fights aggressively now, but not carelessly.

Every strike creates the next. I catch the staff between both blades and twist. She releases it before I can wrench her shoulder. Smart. Then drives her heel toward my knee. I move. Barely.

Professor Vale calls, "Enough." We stop. Both breathing harder than we should be.

Rowan grins. "You're good." She says.

"So are you." I answer.

"I know." She smiles.

"Of course you do."

The pairings rotate. I face a siren with excellent footwork and no patience. A Medusa who predicts my first three strikes. A human student who nearly puts me on the floor using only leverage. I win some. Lose one. Draw twice.

With every round, Professor Vale changes the condition. Protect the left side. Do not retreat. Do not strike above the shoulders. Fight without using your dominant hand. Every rule exposes something else.

By the final round, sweat clings to the back of my neck and the first bruise has begun forming beneath my ribs. I feel good. Tired. Focused. Competent again. Then Professor Vale ruins it. "Groups of four."

The class rearranges. This time I am placed with Nyra, Rowan and Lucen. Professor Vale sets a small black marker in the center of our ring.

"Protect it." She says.

"From whom?" Rowan asks.

Professor Vale gestures. Two second-year students enter the ring. Then a third.

"From them."

Rowan grips her staff. Lucen smiles like he has been waiting all morning for this. Nyra looks at me. I move toward the marker.

"Stay behind me." Her expression shifts. Only slightly.

The bell rings. The second-years attack immediately. One wolf. One siren. One human. The wolf comes for the marker from the left. The human engages Lucen. The siren circles. I intercept the wolf. Wood strikes wood. Rowan moves to support me.

"Cover the center," I order.