Despite the vow I’d made to Stefano, an insistent feeling within me urged me to follow Davide. A few minutes later, dressed in the darkest clothes I could find—a pair of black leggings, a dark gray tunic, and a black hooded cloak—I slipped out of the inn through the back door and fell in step with Davide as he led me through a narrow passage between buildings.

“Where exactly are we going?” I whispered as we crept along the empty streets, shadows merging into the darkness of the night.

“To the training grounds,” he replied, his voice equally hushed.

I frowned. “Why there? What are you planning to show me?”...