DAY ONE

Darian came at dawn.

I was in the east wing's private courtyard, running through combat forms in the gray morning light.

Slow, deliberate movements, not training so much as meditation.

Letting my body remember the patterns while my mind sorted through the thousand variables of the coming trial.

The crunch of gravel on the path.

Ariana's sharp voice: "You're not welcome here, Blackmere."

"I just need to talk to her. Five minutes."

"She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Please. Just five."

"Ariana said no." Shane's rumble. A wall of sound. "Walk away."

I kept moving through the forms. Didn't turn around.

Through the pack bond, I felt...