After a few days, letting her magic roam free, Ezeas introduced Saelina to a new room, almost identical to the first one, except this one suppressed magic, rather than amplified it. Trying to even find her power was like looking through a thick, dense fog; coaxing it into her hand she felt as if she was drawing thin, delicate strings, which could snap at any moment, through a tough, sticky goo.

Her progress was slow enough that she felt hopelessly stuck, several times. Ezeas neither encouraged or discouraged her, instead he kept training her physical skills, leaving her to figure out her issues on her own.

She was soon well enough to join the physical training again, and her mornings were spent with the other recruits, who still gave her glares and sneered at her, if she dared look in their direction, though either Ezeas or Laelith always remained within sight. Her afternoons were taken up, mainly dealing with the exasperation of manipulating her powers, through the effects of the crystals. For all her difficulties, she found sensing her magic came more naturally and she slowly but surely progressed back to where she had been before she entered the first room.

She had been at the compound for half a month when there was a change in the schedule; a dark premonition hit her when she was informed that both Laelith and Ezeas had been called into a meeting with the commander. The pair had seemed displeased but ultimately obeyed the request.

“Do what you can to stay out of a fight,” Laelith had told her, casting an angry glare at the surrounding soldiers who seemed to have perked up at the news.

Being left alone, she suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable.

Something's afoot.

I hate this place.

It seems the sentiment is mutual. I question your keeper's sanity in bringing you here.

It only took a few minutes before regular training was called off and the recruits were told to head to the training arena. She considered running away but all eyes were on her, daring her to escape. As she entered, she glimpsed Lyari in the crown, a sinister smile playing on her pale lips. The nyx exchanged a glance with the captain, the same one as last time, with the eye patch. A heavy weight settled in Saelina's gut and she was filled with dread at what she knew was coming.

Were they responsible for her protectors being called away? Were they simply taking advantage of the situation? Why were they so obsessed with harassing her? Her friends knew these people were here and out to get her, why had they left her alone, like this? Were they perhaps testing her?

The idea that Laelith would have agreed to something like that seemed absurd, at first, but the more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Ezeas had trained her for over a week in mastering her power more efficiently, was it really so far fetched that he would test her abilities like this?

The captain asked for silence and the crowd quickly quieted down.

“Ten days ago, our newcomer and guest bravely entered the arena, going toe-to-toe with one of our fine recruits,” the captain loudly proclaimed.

“Though, given the advantage of magic, which she used, liberally, the fight ended in a draw.”

There were murmurs of disapproval and cries of derision among the people around her and she felt more than one hand shove her towards the front.

“According to our tradition, our human guest will now get to reclaim her pride, in another fight.”

Saelina was skeptical about the age of the so-called 'tradition'. She kept her countenance calm, wondering the reason why her former opponent was not given the same 'honor'.

“Unfortunately, Perlo, our former challenger, has taken a leave of absence, so we have another esteemed guest, who has graciously offered to participate in his place.”

And there it is, she thought with quiet resignation.

She finally got her chance to kill me.

Lyari stepped forward with a cruel smirk in place, obviously enjoying the spectacle.

“Will our other guest please step into the arena.”

Again, several hands were pushing and shoving her onto the sand, despite her struggling against the tide.

The captain explained the rules including the prohibition of magic.

“She may use magic,” Lyari said, sweetly.

“Do you accept having magic available only to yourself, again?”

The subtle hiss did not escape her notice but Saelina kept her indifference.

“No, because I do not accept this fight.”

A roar of disapproval rose from the crowd but Saelina stubbornly stared at the captain, unwilling to budge. The captain met her gaze but did not seem put off by her reply. When she spoke again, her words were different. She was asking the question in Nyxan, Saelina realized, much to her chagrin. There was an expectant pause, as they waited for her to reject the fight in Nyxan. She clenched her teeth and drew a deep breath before carefully formulating her rejection, though the words were broken and inelegant.

A valiant effort, red one, Dhíanvhúr commended, but they're not going to accept it.

“The fight will commence!” the captain declared, coldly.

Saelina wanted to smash the captain's face as humiliation and horror washed over her in equal measures.

Lyari stepped forward, taking her battle stance and Saelina simply stood, glaring at her. The lazy smile her opponent displayed was infuriating but she could not risk getting close to the nyx woman.

“Come now, little human. Don't you want to play?”

“I very much don't,” she answered.

Lyari shrugged.

“Ezeas will be terribly disappointed if you don't show me your shiny new tricks.”

Saelina scoffed.

“He'll be more disappointed that you don't understand the idea of leaving me alone.”

Her expression morphed into a mask of sadistic glee.

“You don't think he knows about this little arrangement? Oh, how precious.”

Saelina wanted to rebuff her but it was difficult; her own doubt was getting in the way of any trust she felt and for all she knew, these century-old people were planning things far beyond her comprehension.

“It doesn't matter if he knows,” she finally said.

“I'm not fighting you.”

“Aw, why not?”

“Because the moment I touch you, you'll kill me.”

She kept the fear out of her voice, a trick she had learned through years of practice with Callum.

“You really think I care enough about you to kill you? One measly human?” Lyari asked, innocently.

“I believe you think, I'm in your way. Not that getting rid of me will help you where he's concerned.”

Silence followed her statement and the two stood still, gauging each other. Before she could react, Lyari leaped at her, her fist connecting with Saelina's face and sending her sprawling. She had barely touched the ground before the other was on top of her, lifting her by the collar of her uniform.

“Where's your amazing dragon? I thought you'd trained with Ezeas to show everyone your true strength?”

Saelina was thrown, almost casually, to the other end of the arena, where she curled into a ball, trying to cover her head.

“Get up!” Lyari spat. “You don't get to half-ass this fight.”

“I'm not fighting you,” Saelina insisted.

While I admire your caution, may I remind you that without a single ally here, the woman could still kill you and make up her own story?

I don't know what else to do! she told him, trying to keep the panic from her mind.

Magic need not only be aggressive.

Saelina took his words to heart and summoned her power, willing herself to be coated with a thin layer of ice, as dense as she could make it. Lyari had sauntered closer with a bored look on her face. Without warning, she stomped on her victim's stomach; the ice layer absorbed some of the impact but shattered. She felt some of the shards cut her skin but figured it was better than internal bleeding.

Lyari hesitated.

“That smell. You really bleed easily, don't you?”

Her confusion seemed genuine and Saelina took the chance to send her power outward, coating the ground in ice, around where the nyx stood, subtle thickening the layer until it covered the sand. Lyari kicked her again, breaking through another layer of ice but Saelina kept her attention on the layer she was building on the ground. Her eye was swelling where she had been punched but it mattered not. Her opponent stomped again, this time on her rib cage, and she felt a crack, inside her chest. She cried out in pain. Her concentration broke and for a long while she just tried to keep herself from breathing too deeply.

Lyari turned from her and stepped away; the moment her foot hit the ice she slipped and fell to the ground with a yelp. Saelina managed to feel a burst of satisfaction through the pain. She gathered her energy and quickly covered the spot where the nyx had stood with ice, so she could not backtrack.

“You sneaky little-” Lyari snarled, as she tried to stand.

She fell again, her expression becoming a grimace of loathing. Saelina managed to stand up and threw herself away from her opponent, not much caring that she slid across the layer of frozen water she had conjured, she just needed to put distance between herself and Lyari. When coming to a stop, she did not bother rising and just kept her eyes on the nyx who had managed to get on her feet.

Quivering with rage, she lifted a foot and slammed it down, hard enough to crack the frozen ground.

“Your pathetic tricks won't save you, human. Not this time!”

“'Save her'? And from what, exactly, does our human guest need to save herself?”

The cold voice floated from behind Saelina, who carefully maneuvered her head so she could see who spoke. The crowd gave way to allow Commander Lauril to step forth, his piercing green eyes kept firmly on Lyari who had paled visibly, which was a feat in itself considering her near alabaster skin. Behind the commander, Saelina was relieved to spy Ezeas and Laelith, both of whom seemed tense and on the verge of attacking anyone who got close. The air was thick with fury and blood lust and the other recruits shrank away from the pair, averting their eyes. Saelina kept her breaths shallow, one hand gently placed on her side. Lauril shook his head in disappointment as he moved his gaze to the captain whose complexion matched her co-conspirator.

“Captain Sersha, perhaps you could elucidate on the matter of two of our esteemed guests waiting in my office with the understanding that I had sent for them? It was certainly news to myself.”

The stillness of the room was deafening and most among the crowd were trying their hardest to look anywhere but at the commander or the two nyxis who had used him. It seemed neither of the latter were willing to answer the questions and the commander gave a curt nod to no one in particular.

“Miss Sethaernan, could I trouble you to take miss Saelina out of this place? I believe her injuries need attending.”

Laelith came over and helped Saelina lean on her.

“I told you not to fight,” she scolded, softly, though it was clear she did not actually blame Saelina.

“I didn't,” Saelina answered, with a hint of pride.