Three weeks in New Haven, I'd fought seven times in the Shadow Ring.

Seven wins. Seven payouts that totaled over fifteen thousand dollars, more money than I'd ever imagined having.

More importantly, seven opportunities to refine my control over both bloodlines, to push the boundaries of what I could do when silver and red worked in harmony instead of opposition.

The training with Zane had become brutal in its intensity.

Each morning, we'd head to the abandoned warehouse, drill for hours, learning to switch between powers mid-strike, to layer them for compound effects, to use moon power's precision to aim shadow power's overwhelming force.

By the third week, I could...