Chapter 88: Mission Complete
When he vanished.
It wasn’t a trick of speed. One moment, he was there, leaning on his black pipe. The next, he was gone. Fena’s eyes, which had been full of disdain, narrowed. She felt a whisper of displaced air behind her.
She didn’t turn. A thick, thorny root, as wide as her arm, erupted from the ground right where she stood, coiling around her body like a protective serpent.
BAM!
The pipe slammed into the root with a heavy, dull thud. The impact sent splinters of wood flying, but the root held firm.
He reappeared a few feet away, the pipe resting on his shoulder. "So, you do know how to do more than just talk," he said, his grin wide.
Her gaze was cold. The root receded back into the earth without a sound. "A crude ambush. Predictable."
"Yeah, well, it’s a start," he replied.
He didn’t wait for her to lecture him again. He charged, but this time it was different. He didn’t run in a straight line. He used Shadow Glide, his body moving in a low, fluid rush. The hard-packed earth of the Proving Ground seemed to have no friction under his boots. He was a dark blur, weaving from side to side.
"He’s faster now," Jor muttered from the sidelines, clutching his broken ribs.
"This is nothing," Liesa scoffed, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the fight. The way the human moved... it wasn’t clumsy anymore.