Chapter 36. More Training!!!
The next day unfolded in much the same way as the one before. Uneventful. Not because of Lucian's absence—though that helped—but because everyone seemed entirely preoccupied with their own tasks.
Mia was buried under a mountain of books, eyes scanning each page like she was trying to absorb their content through sheer force of will.
She looked more like a scholar than someone recently introduced to magic. Isolde had dialed things up too. Her teaching had taken on a fevered intensity, pushing Mia to new limits.
Lucian, as usual, was nowhere to be seen. Off gallivanting through who knows what bloodstained battlefield or shadowy council.
The result? A peaceful silence I had known I would crave.
After a quiet breakfast, I wasted no time. No idle thoughts. No distractions. I bolted straight toward the arena like a dog chasing a bone.
The moment I stepped inside, the familiar scent of sweat and steel wrapped around me like an old cloak. There they stood—the dummies. Motionless. Passive. Unthreatening.
But my grudge against them hadn't dulled.
Without a word, I walked up and punched the nearest one square in the chest. My fist met straw and wood with a thud.
They didn't flinch. Of course they didn't. Not without Isolde directing their movements. But it was a symbolic gesture. Payback, in a way. A silent promise of what I'd become.
With a grin tugging at the corner of my lips, I headed toward the weapons rack and picked out a long sword—not like the one I used yesterday.