It turns out, combat classes involve everyone, and I mean everyone in Thorne Academy no matter your species or Year of study. Skill level and experience was the only thing showing the difference.

From freshmen down to the incoming graduating class, the graduates and the knights…everyone was in the combat hall. The place was massive, and I was beginning to see why.

“Stop gawking and get to your group,” I turn to whoever spoke and I’m glad I manage to hold in my gasp. Lord was she gorgeous, the kind of beautiful that had a sharp edge. Nice to look out but not so nice close to it.

My eyes turn wary when I make it back to her face and find a sneer fixed on me. What did I do now?

“Well get on with it.”

Shaking my head I move away from her, whatever that was I didn’t have the time or energy to care.

Aarya bounds up to me dragging me towards a group of familiar faces, “I see you met Eve.”

“Eve?” I ask as I move to stand in line arms drawn back like everyone else.

“Yeah, she’s Niamh’s older sister and role model, and she’s about to become your biggest nightmare.”

I ignore the fact that it made her Aarya’s sister too. I was a good friend like that. Ha!

“Why is that?” I ask cautiously.

“Well, birds of a feather do flock together,” the girl in question says moving towards us her sneer still firmly in place.

Resigned Aarya explains, “Because she’s your instructor.”

Great.

Eve moves down the line speaking to everyone else while I look around the room. Ax and the rest of the guys are in a separate group with Keon they seem to be discussing something. Killian is with another bunch of students and I sport Niamh and her crew there. Mor, the last familiar face of all the instructors has a really loud group around her, they look like knights. Blue is balanced on her hip taking everything in.

A loud clap startles me back and I turn my attention back to my group to find Eve’s eyes firmly fixed on me.

Shit.

“As I was saying, since most of you are beginners, you are going to pair up and spar so that I can gauge your skill level.”

Double shit.

My apprehension must show on my face since Aarya hustles to reassure me, “don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.”

Eve bursts our bubble seconds later, “for this to be fair, I’m going to pair you up myself,” she finishes with an evil smirk.

“She won’t do anything, it’s in public and all your guys are here and you’re also royalty, she’s not that dumb,” Aarya says, but I don’t believe her. Mostly because she sounds like she’s trying to convince herself not me.

Eve rattles off people’s names and my name is called with some other guy’s. He looks elven.

I scan him trying to get a feel of him, but that’s hard to do when you can’t see someone’s face. That changes when he snaps his head around and flashes me a sharp smile, I narrow my eyes at him, and then I feel a foreign signature in my head scratching down my walls.

Narrowing my eyes further, I imagine kicking him out of my head and the feeling is gone in an instant.

He flashes me one last smirk turning his attention back to our instructor.

“What was that?” Aarya asks.

I shake my head at her question asking my own, “Who is he?” I ask gesturing to the elf creep.

You try getting into someone’s head with no permission, you are a creep, at least in my book.

“That’s Konte, he’s Niamh’s boy toy, always follows her around like a damn puppy, wait, why is he in this group?”

The apprehensive feeling that had been bombarding me increases, I was getting a really bad feeling about this.

Before I could panic further, the first duo is called onto the ring. My hopes that this would only be for our group are dashed when the place grows silent all the other groups closing in on ours and the two in the ring.

Was this what a panic attack felt like? I think as I struggle to get my breathing in order. I can’t honestly say I watched any of it, I could hear the cheers and jeers but it was like there was a wall in between me and everything else.

A tap on my arm jolts me and I turn to find Andrei next to me, when did he get here?

“Can you hear me?”

I nod, Ax is next to him and the rest of his group. Damon is there too, with Keon who seems to be having a silent but fierce argument with Killian, at some point, he moves towards me only to stop himself. When did they get here?

“Drac, you good, we can…”

Axel is cut off when Eve calls my name pointing towards the ring, shaking off my anxiety I head to the ring ignoring the murmurs that bubble around me. Why was I doing this? they all knew I had no experience whatsoever, was all this necessary?

I stand in the ring facing Konte, he looks almost giddy. What was he so excited about?

Eve blows her whistle and I square up eyes intent on the guy. What I didn’t expect was him charging towards me the minute we start. I jump aside turning to face him in the next moment as he barrels past me. How much force had he put into that charge?

He comes at me again this time sweeping his feet when I move aside.

Jump.

I obey on instinct.

Duck to the left.

I follow, what was happening?

focus!

Shaking my head I focus on Konte who also seems to be scanning me warily.

He had thought this would be easy, tough luck dude so had I but I now have a drill sergeant shouting in my head.

“Hey! new girl, I need you actually to fight, jumping and running around isn’t cutting it,” Eve yells from the sidelines.

A few laughs break out then I hear a growl and everything goes silent again.

He is favouring his left side, feign to the right then attack his weak side.

Huh?

My confusion costs me because I’m too late to move out of the way, I catch the delighted surprise on Konte’s face before he barrels into me. I fly through the air slamming onto the floor with a thump.

Images flash through my head at the impact, a dark cell—a deranged Alain—-

I thrash against her hold on my neck struggling to pry her hands away from me.

Who’s going to help you now? they all died, because of you, and you’re all alone again like you deserve, no I had Blue, my mates…I scream as something splashes on my face, I look up and see Rhys holding Blue both their necks slashed, that had been blood.

“why?” Rhys rasps, why did you do it? then their heads topple from their bodies.

I scream staring at their detached heads and the bloody knife in my hands.

see, it’s your fault…

I snap, grabbing Alain I flip us so that she’s the one lying in the rapidly increasing pool of blood, blood from my…no!

I grab her head bashing it onto the floor repeatedly, she claws at my hands but I don’t relent. Grabbing the knife that I had dropped I raise it with one hand aiming for her neck but before I can bring it down, a blow lands at the back of my head, and everything goes black.