"Ya can't be 'tendin' to that kid forever, Ken."

"I'm not," Kenric said, leaning forward on the stone wall, looking down from one of the high castle towers.

Being so tall, it overlooked all of the fortress and the remains of the city outside the caste walls. The people below looked small, but Kenric had vision like a hawk, and Theron knew he was watching Blaise in the cemetery, sleeping against Daemon's gravestone. The Occultus Draconem made sure to bury everyone, in honor of the others who had been Cleansed without a proper funeral or a grave.

"Don't gimme that, man." Theron sighed, sitting up on the wall, and he crossed his arms. "You ain't let him outta yer sight since he got here, and we ain't trained no recruits in weeks. What's on yer mind?"

"I don't know." Kenric shrugged. He rubbed his stubble-covered chin, his gaze still fixed on Blaise down in the cemetery. "It's been a long time since we lost anyone like that, and I can't but feel responsible. If we had stepped in sooner... if I had paid better attention, then—"

"Oh, come on, Ken. Ya know that ain't yer fault. We did what we could, and we ain't go no cure for that Enforcer poison. Ain't no point lettin' it bug ya now. Nothin's gonna bring that kid's da back."

"I know that, Theron. But he's just a kid. We've all been in his position, haven't we?"

"Well... yeah." Theron fell quiet, picking at a chip in the old stone wall. "I know it don't feel good, but we ain't personally responsible for every kid comin' through here, ya know? Besides, kid's gotta be what, at least twenty-one? Twenty-two? We was on our own lots younger than that. He's gotta get himself together and grow up, man. We ain't got no time to be babysittin' no adults."

"He's hiding something, too," Kenric said, narrowing his eyes. "Don't you think so? Like, there's something he doesn't want us to find out. When you mentioned him being a Dragon, he—"

"Everyone got their own secrets, aye? Leave 'im be."

***

As the new recruits for the Occultus Draconem gathered in the castle training grounds, Blaise found a spot to watch without being noticed. Kenric had announced that they were going to be evaluating anyone who wanted to join, but only those people were allowed in the arena. However, Blaise was hopelessly curious.

You're just asking for trouble.

The group ranged widely in age, the youngest being about nine, and the oldest recruit looking to be well into his fifties. They all stood around impatiently, chatting with each other or fidgeting nervously.

In the center of the area, there was an enormous structure—an obstacle course that the younger recruits eyed with a hint of fear, and Blaise didn't blame them. It was the size of a small city, with high walls and erratically placed openings, bars, and platforms. It looked nearly impossible to navigate, and it seemed that the only way in was by climbing a fifty foot wall.

This was always my favorite obstacle course. I designed it myself. If those guys were training in the same way as my soldiers, you're in for a great display.

"That's enough chatter," a powerful voice boomed across the arena. Kenric entered with Theron beside him, closing the high metal gates behind them. They were fully dressed in their Occultus Draconem uniforms, masks and all. As the two men stopped in front of the group, a tense silence fell over the training grounds. Blaise was amazed at how easily Kenric could hold their attention. He supposed that was why he was such a strong leader.

"Y'all need to line up," Theron demanded, dragging his boot in the dirt to create a line. "Today, yer gonna be tested on yer motivations, physical strength, and mental strength. Most of ya ain't gonna make it through testin'. This ain't for no weak people. If ya don't think yer ready, get outta here right now."

"I'm too old to be shoved 'round by some snotty Oorlogan kid," one of the men said with a scoff. He looked down on Theron as if he were inferior, his chest puffed out.

"You got a problem, geezer?" Theron got up in the man's face, unmoved by his size, and they glared at each other with fire in their eyes. "If you ain't gonna take orders from us, you ain't gonna take orders from no one, 'cause you ain't gonna join us."

Everyone watched in tense silence while the two men stared each other down. Blaise, peering over the low wall that concealed him, was shocked to see how bold Theron was, even in the face of a much larger, older man. He wished he could be that confident.

"Ah, forget you," the man said, backing down. He turned away from Theron and spat on the ground, making his way towards the exit to the arena. "Ya ain't worth my time, snot-nosed brat."

"Come back here and say that to my face, you old fart!" Theron tried to go after the man, fists raised, but Kenric held him back.

"That's enough, Theron," he said, watching a few of the other recruits leaving. "We're never going to build our numbers or strength if you keep scaring everybody off. Let's get to work."

"Fine," Theron huffed. He shoved Kenric's hands off him and straightened the front of his shirt before turning his attention back to what was now left of the recruits. A few avoided his gaze nervously, digging their toes into the dirt or chewing their fingernails. "Anyone else got a problem?"

Kenric's back straightened all of a sudden, and he turned around, looking in the direction of Blaise's hiding spot. Blaise ducked down behind the low wall, holding his breath. Had Kenric seen him? No one called out to him.

When he thought he was in the clear, listening to Kenric address the recruits again, Blaise moved to continue watching, but he was hauled to his feet by Theron.

"Hey!"

I told you that you were going to get in trouble.

Theron dragged Blaise out to the arena by the front of his shirt.

"Lemme go," Blaise demanded, trying to pry his hand off.

"Get yer ass in line, kid." Theron shoved Blaise into the group of recruits. "Trainin' is off-limits to anyone who ain't a recruit. So, since yer here, yer a recruit, got it?"

Ever thought about joining a rebellion?

"I ain't no recruit," Blaise put his hands up in defense, looking at all the nervous faces around him. "I ain't strong or fast or brave or nothin' like that. I just... wanted to see."

"Well, ain't that a damn shame? Yer gonna be tested anyway. How 'bout that?"

I did warn you.

"Enough," Kenric said, his voice quiet but firm as he nudged Theron aside and stepped forward. "Blaise, you and I already spoke about this. I told you this arena was off-limits."

"I know." He bowed his head to avoid Kenric's piercing gaze. His deep green eyes unnerved Blaise, like Kenric was looking into him, not at him, and it made him feel terribly vulnerable. "I'm sorry."

"We're trying to make a difference here, so, if you're not serious about joining the Draconem, you need to leave. Now."

"I wanna make a difference... I wanna be able to fight, too, but I—"

"But nothing," Kenric interrupted. He walked in slow circles around Blaise, eyeing him from head to toe. "As a member of the Occultus Draconem, the core of your training is confidence in yourself and your squad. Convincing yourself that you'll fail only increases the chance of failure. If you commit to what you want to do, then you have to tell yourself you will succeed, as many times as it takes you to believe it, and you'll have a much greater shot at success."

Well, it seems I left at least one thing behind when I had to leave Draconia. Not only are they using the old training arenas, this guy is using my old lessons. I wonder if he was one of my soldiers. You would do well to listen to him.

"I wanna make a difference," Blaise repeated quietly, thinking back on every moment in his life when he felt powerless or afraid.

He thought of his mother's death, watching his childhood home burning to the ground. He thought back on the countless nights that was tortured for the sake of scientific experimentation. Even now, free from it all, he was still haunted by it. He couldn't even stand to be touched anymore. He thought about Daemon, too, and the brutal death he had suffered, with no hope of being saved.

Blaise never wanted to feel that way again.

"I wanna fight."

"What did you say?" Kenric asked, leaning forward to hear him better.

"I can make a difference," he muttered, clenching his hands into tight fists. His heart was pounding, and he gritted his teeth as he willed himself not to double over from the pain in his chest. "I can fight."

"I can't hear you. Look at me and speak up!"

"I can fight!"

Blaise's own eyes went wide and he covered his mouth with his hands, shocked at himself for shouting in Kenric's face. Theron laughed, looking impressed.

"Good," Kenric said with a grin, before he stood up and focused his attention on the rest of the recruits.

Blaise let out a long breath. He couldn't stand being the center of attention. The man in front of him demanded the spotlight, and there wasn't one person there who wasn't hanging on his every word.

"The Occultus Draconem is not about senseless violence or murder. It is not a means for you to take revenge on those who have caused you harm. We are working to fix the kingdom, bring peace back to this land, and bring freedom to Dragons and Humans alike. We will restore Draconia, and free Cadmus from Agni's tyranny."

"Disgustin' piece o' filth," Theron said, spitting on the ground.

"What did he do?" one of the younger recruits asked sheepishly. "I mean, everyone knows he started the war, but—"

"For now," Kenric said, removing his weapons belt and handing off to Theron, "your concern is this obstacle course. Theron, explain while I demonstrate."

"With pleasure," Theron said, cracking his knuckles. "I hope y'all are ready for this. Ken?"

Kenric got down on one knee, taking slow, deep breaths as his eyes scanned the obstacle course that towered above him. There were many high walls and wide gaps between structures, and Blaise feared it would be impossible to navigate.

"Ready."

Don't worry. Just keep your eyes on Kenric.

"Before y'all be learnin' anything with yer weapon o' choice, ya gotta learn the basics on gettin' 'round Cadmus, unrestricted and unseen if need be." Theron continued to explain as Kenric took off running at the space between two towering walls. "As our fearless leader already been tellin' ya, ya gotta have confidence, otherwise yer gonna fall, and fallin' ain't good for no one."

Blaise and the others watched in awe as Kenric used his hands and feet to propel himself, back and forth, up the two parallel walls until he hooked his hands on top, barely having broken a sweat. He had made it look so easy and fluid, and Blaise felt his stomach drop. They didn't expect him to be able to do something like that, did they?

"This'll be testin' yer abilities for usin' yer surroundings to yer advantage," Theron continued, "and usin' yer body in a way to keep yaself movin' forward. It ain't easy, but that's why we train so hard. Ya gotta work for months before we even consider lettin' ya join a squad."

"How are we supposed to do that?" a young man about Kenric's age questioned, watching Kenric drop down to a lower ledge, rolling to the opposite edge before propelling himself across a wide gap. "He's had years of training, and you expect us to do it?"

"We ain't expectin' none of ya to be as good as Ken, but if ya can't do it at all, ya can't be a Draconem. Without this, you ain't gonna survive in Cadmus, 'specially not against no Enforcers."

The whole time Theron was speaking, Kenric was scaling walls, leaping from great heights, and vaulting over obstacles to reach strategically placed platforms. He was even climbing up pipes while everyone was watching.

"How did you build such a large course?" a young girl asked, never taking her wide blue eyes off of Kenric.

"We ain't the ones who built it. It was made a long time ago, for the Dragon Prince's soldiers. Ken was just startin' in the Royal Guard when the Enforcers attacked Draconia."

A few of the recruits stepped back as Kenric landed in the grass and intentionally tumbled to a stop at their feet. He stood then, brushing dirt and dust off his hands and clothing. He had worked up a good sweat at that point, and his breath came out in small huffs.

"Ready, Ken?"

Taking a deep, calming breath through his nose, then exhaling it out his mouth, Kenric nodded and turning to face the course again.

"Ready."

"Once you've mastered the course," Theron told the group as he handed Kenric back his weapons belt, "we're gonna teach ya to do it with limited use o' yer hands. Most o' the time, yer gonna be carryin' some kinda weapon, and—"

Blaise stopped listening, keeping his eyes focused on Kenric as he took off again, daggers in his hands. Even being weighed down, and with limited use of his hands, Kenric still moved flawlessly through the course again.

Look at how well he's been trained. My soldiers always worked so hard... that's how I know... at least, I've wondered... There's got to be something bigger at work. Draconia was in ruins in a matter of hours, the same week that Anguis died. Agni and the Enforcers must have—

"Hey, kid!" Theron slapped Blaise on the side of his head, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Get ya head outta the clouds and pay attention to what I'm tellin' ya!"

"Sorry..." Blaise sighed, rubbing where Theron had struck him.

"Anyways..." Theron shook his head at Blaise before he started pacing in front of the group. "Ya gotta see yer environment, usin' it to the enemy's disadvantage. Confidence and momentum are the most important. Ya lose yer confidence, ya lose momentum, and that's how ya fall. Ya gotta be thinkin' in a critical way to get yaself over, under, 'round, 'cross, or through whatever's in ya way."

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

As Theron finished his sentence, Kenric dove, feet first, through a small window, barely wide enough for him to fit. As he passed through, he used his daggers to cut the wooden bars that kept it propped open, causing it to slam shut behind him. If anyone had been chasing him, they would have hit the wall and fallen.

When Kenric completed the course for the second time, he was sweaty and out of breath. But still, he stood tall, tucking his weapons back into his belt.

"There's one more thing."

"Aah, yeah." Theron clasped his hands, looking terrible excited. "For those of ya that ain't Human, we got some special trainin' courses for ya. Dragons got great powers, and we gotta be usin' 'em if we ever wanna stand a chance against the Enforcers."

"What kind of powers?" Blaise asked, determined to learn anything he could about Dragons. He had to know... He had to fight... Daemon had saved him from the Enforcers, and Blaise couldn't let his death be for nothing. He was Human, and had no power, so the least he could do was learn as much as he could.

"It depends on the Dragon," Kenric said with a shrug. Theron handed him a canister of water, which he downed most of before continuing. "For example, we can all breathe fire. But some, like Theron, can conjure fire and lightning with his bare hands, as well. He's also able to lift objects fifty times heavier than his own body. I can't do anything like that. I conjure water and ice, I have the ability to heal the sick and injured. I can also hypnotize people."

"Hypnosis?" One of the recruits let out a loud, obnoxious laugh. "What good could that be? That stuff ain't even real."

"Ya doubtin' his powers, ya rat?" Theron shoved the young man back with a snarl. He always seemed to be looking for a fight. "Ya think he got to bein' leader o' the Draconem just by dumb luck, do ya? Ken's more powerful than ya could ever imagine, and I ain't gonna let you disrespect him none! Not in front o' me!"

"Enough," Kenric said, his voice quiet but firm, as he stepped between the two men. He placed his hand on Theron's chest, and the two stared each other down for a moment, before Theron let out a sigh and backed down.

Pay attention, kid. He just used his hypnosis. That's how he keeps his partners temper in check. It's subtle, but if you know what to look for...

"Forget this!" The recruit threw his hands up in frustration, turning away from the group. "It's no wonder why no one wants to join you! I'm not wasting my time with a bunch of losers just 'cause their leader can do a few fancy moves on an obstacle course. And then hypnosis? Give me a break! I'm out of here."

"C'mon, Ken. Show him whatcha can do," Theron said, nudging Kenric with his elbow. "Go on."

Kenric sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. When he opened his eyes, they weren't green anymore—they had changed into swirling pools of every color. He stretched his hand out in front of him, palm facing out.

"Come back here. Now."

He's trying to get the kid to face him. That's the downside to something like hypnosis. If you're not making eye contact, you can't take control.

"Why should I?" the young man asked, glancing back over his shoulder at Kenric. As soon as their gazes met, his eyes went wide and his body froze. Everyone watched him struggle as he turned around, as thought he weren't in control of his own body. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Get back in line," Kenric demanded, and the recruit, grunting and groaning while he failed to take back control of his legs. It took a few minutes, but he was eventually forced back into line with the others, standing beside Blaise.

"Tell me who you are," Kenric said.

"Back off, man! Leave me alone!"

"I'm not going to ask again." Kenric's eyes became more intense, and the recruit froze up, the color draining from his face. His grey eyes changed to reflect the colorful swirling of Kenric's, and when he spoke, his voice was void of any emotion.

"I am Ezekiel, son of Kaine," he said in a low, monotone voice. "Born and raised on the border between Cadmus and Draconia, I was saved by the Occultus Draconem after the Enforcers Cleansed my father."

"Are you going to stay and fight for your freedom? Will you stand with the Occultus Draconem?"

"I will," Ezekiel replied, bowing to Kenric with his fist over his heart.

"You still be doubtin' Ken's powers, kid?" Theron asked, an amused smirk on his face. "Or ya still be wanna storm outta here like a coward?"

Hypnosis is a rare gift, even for Dragons. You'd better not get on this guy's bad side.

"Now, wait just a goddamn minute!"

Blaise stepped forward, putting his hands over Ezekiel's eyes so he couldn't make eye contact with Kenric anymore. Kenric's eyes changed back to green, and Ezekiel slumped over with a groan, supported by Blaise.

"Ya can't force him to join if he don't wanna! Ya can't just use your powers for yer own gain! This ain't right! It don't prove nothin' to no one other than that you ain't better than no Enforcers!"

"We ain't nothin' like no Enforcers!" Theron took a threatening step forward, fist raised, but Kenric put out his arm to stop him. At that point, Blaise was shouting, and everyone was staring at him.

"The hell you ain't! Ya can't just force a soldier to fall in line and obey just 'cause ya can! You wanna stand there all high and mighty, callin' Agni a tyrant? Ya got yer own bit o' tyranny right there!"

Blaise pointed at Kenric, his hand shaking. In fact, his whole body shook with rage, making it difficult to keep Ezekiel standing.

Kenric had a dark, disturbed look on his face, like he was deep in thought. Everyone just watched in silence, until he straightened himself up, looking directly at Blaise.

"You're right."

Blaise's eyes wide and his jaw dropped. He was right? Kenric agreed with what he'd said?

"What happened?" Ezekiel asked groggily, clutching his head with a pained grimace on his face. He managed to stand on his own with Blaise's help.

"That's enough for today. I'm tired," Kenric said, turning away from the group. "We'll meet back here in three days. I hope to see you all then. Especially you, Ezekiel."

Ezekiel stared in shock while Kenric left, followed closely by Theron. He didn't seem to recall what had happened while under Kenric's hypnosis.

"How did he know my name?" he questioned, scratching his head.

If he can get people to spill their darkest secrets... that's an incredible amount of power to have. All Kenric would need to do is get his hands on Agni.

***

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me... Only three left? What the hell, man?"

"It seems we've scared off our recruits," Kenric noted, glancing at the small group that had gathered for their first day of training.

He and Theron stood back, speaking in lowered voices. They must have thought they were being quiet enough, but Blaise could hear everything they said.

"Man, they're a bunch o' kids," Theron said, letting out a noisy sigh. "The oldest one here's barely twenty-two. Musta scared 'em off with what happened the other day. This ain't gonna be no use to us, Ken. They only gonna make one full squad, and that's if all three of 'em make it that far."

"Don't worry about it," Kenric said, nudging Theron away from him before approaching the recruits. "It's good to see you back, Ezekiel."

"Sorry," Ezekiel said quietly, avoiding eye contact with him. "I didn't mean to be rude yesterday. I want to learn and fight."

"Good," Theron interjected. "Then you can be the first one up on that course."

"How?" he asked, looking very small as he gazed up at the high walls that Kenric could scale with minimal effort. "He made it look so easy."

"It's not easy," Kenric said. He elbowed Theron, who then did his own demonstration of the course. "It takes a lot of practice. You have to see and analyze everything in an instant. Your mind has to always be at least one step ahead of your body. You need to know where you're going and how you're going to get there before you move. One wrong step, and you could fail if you don't think quick enough to regain your ground."

"Y'all comin'?" Theron called down. He stood at the top, each foot resting on a separate wall, with nothing but a fifty-foot drop and a few small ledges and railings below him. He crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently while he looked down on them with a cocky smirk.

Maybe you should wait a while before you try this. Your body is still terribly weak from what you've endured.

"Don't intimidate them, Theron," Kenric scolded.

"I don't think I can do this," the girl beside Blaise said, taking a few steps back. He hands were shaking as she watched Theron lead down, using the railings and ledges to get himself to the ground unscathed. She reminded Blaise of the young orphans he used to help Daemon care for, and he felt a pang of homesickness deep in the pit of his stomach.

"It just takes practice, right?" Blaise forced a smile, trying to sound reassuring. "We'll get it, sooner or later. Just gotta believe in ourselves, right?"

"This guy's got the right idea," Theron said, placing his hands firmly on Blaise's shoulders, and Blaise immediately tensed up with a grimace. "Whatta ya say, kid? Wanna try?"

"I... I guess so."

You're not strong enough yet. You should wait.

The recruits and rebel leaders watched as Blaise approached the obstacle course, rubbing his temples to try to will away the pain that the Dragon Prince's voice caused. The course was more intimidating up close, and he gulped down his fear. He couldn't run from this. He couldn't run from the war on Dragons, either, especially now that he was sharing his body with the heir to the Draconian throne.

If you're going to ignore my warnings, just be careful. Take slow, deep breaths. If you think about it too much, you'll fall and hurt yourself.

Taking a running start at the wall, he tried to mimic what Kenric had done to get to the top, but he barely got a few feet off the ground before his boot slipped, and he hit the grass face-first with a thud.

Theron stifled his laughter, and Kenric sighed before going to help him up.

"That was a good first try," he assured Blaise with a smile, helping brush the dirt and grass off his clothing. "It's going to take a while to build up that kind of strength in your legs, though, especially for you, to get up the way I do. Just remember, there's more than one way to do it."

"Lord Kenric!" another Occultus Draconem member called to him from the entrance to the training grounds. "You and Theron are needed at the castle gates. More refugees."

"All right." Kenric turned to the recruits, running a hand through his hair. "One of these days we may actually get to train you. I don't know how long this will take, but do not try to run this course without us here. The last thing we need is a bunch of kids with broken bones. Just... get to know each other or something. We'll be back as soon as we can."

The group of three watched in silence as Theron and Kenric left the arena.

"I don't get it," Ezekiel said, dropping down into the grass with a loud thump. "How are we supposed to learn anything if we have to wait around for them all day?"

He's determined, I'll give him that, but Kenric is right. You're not skilled enough to do it on your own. If any of you fell from that height, who would be here to stop you from breaking your necks?

"So..." The girl sat down beside Ezekiel, hugging her knees to her chest, and she looked up at Blaise with her wide, blue eyes. They reminded him of the ocean, and it made him long to be back home in Oorlog. "What's your name? I'm Phoenyx, but most people call me Nixie."

"Blaise." He sat across from the two, rubbing his face where it had hit the ground when he fell. "You were right, Ezekiel. They did make it look easy."

"Whatever, man. Call me Zeke." Ezekiel lay back in the grass and sighed, staring up at the sky. A few clouds rolled by, giving them a short stretch of relief from the summer sun that beat down on them. "I've got no interest making friends. I just want to get rid of the Enforcers."

"Fine," Blaise said with a shrug. He wasn't going to trouble himself with someone else's bad attitude—there had already been enough drama to last him a lifetime. He didn't need to be friends with someone like that, so he turned to Phoenyx instead. "What's your story?"

"I just want to help other Dragons," she explaining, picking at the grass, putting the torn blades in a small pile by her feet. "I haven't lost anybody to the Enforcers or anything. My mum and I moved here from Senin when I was a baby. She worked for Queen Maeve, and we used to live in the castle in the servants' quarters. When the Enforcers came, we followed Prince Zane, back to Senin. We stayed there for a few years, and we came back here with what was left of the Royal Guard after the Dragon Prince vanished."

"Lucky you," Ezekiel remarked, his words dripping with vicious sarcasm. "Must be nice to be some pampered little girl who never lost anything."

What's his problem?

"Hey, leave her alone," Blaise told him, and Ezekiel just scoffed. "She lost her home, just like everyone else. Save your anger for your enemies, not us."

"Whatever. I'm not gonna sit here and argue with you losers." Ezekiel got up, brushing his hands off as he approached the obstacle course. "I'm not gonna wait around for those guys to come back either."

"Kenric said not to!" Phoenyx jumped up and grabbed his arm to stop him, but he gave her a rough shove away. Blaise caught her by the arm before she hit the ground.

"Hey, what's your problem, man?"

"Just leave me alone," he demanded, before taking a running start at the obstacle course.

***

"I warned you. I told you not to try to course without Theron and me."

"Nixie and I tried to stop him." Blaise hissed in pain as Kenric rested his icy hand over his swollen eye.

"The hell were ya thinkin'? Did the two of ya think ya could catch that stupid lump when he fell off the wall?"

"Hey, shut up!" Ezekiel growled through clenched teeth as he shifted on the infirmary bed, not that he could go very far with broken ribs and a broken leg.

"You shut up!" Theron slapped him on the side of his head. "Ya fuckin' moron. See whatcha get for not listenin'? Ya got nobody to blame but yaself."

"Leave me alone!"

"Are you okay?" Phoenyx asked sheepishly, looking over Blaise with concern.

"Yeah." He nodded, but the truth was that his head was throbbing. He didn't imagine he looked too great, either, from Ezekiel's foot hitting him square in the face. Luckily, he had taken the worst of it, and Phoenyx only had a small bump on her head.

"You're lucky you don't have a concussion or a cracked skull," Kenric told him while he wrapped Ezekiel's leg, ignoring the young man's shouts of pain and profanities. He then took his own turn in slapping Ezekiel on the side of his head. "And you're lucky you didn't kill yourself!"

"All right, I get it!" Ezekiel clutched the side of his head, glaring at Kenric. "I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to get to training. The Cleansing is happening right now—it's been happening for years, and there's no sign of it stopping any time soon. Learning how to fight back really isn't something that can wait."

"There are plenty of capable men and women fighting back, all over Cadmus and Draconia. You need to wait until you're ready. You'll have your chance—this war isn't going to blow over any time in the near future."

"Best be listenin' to Ken, kid. It's gonna be at least six months o' trainin' for ya to become Draconem, and even longer to be ready to take on Enforcers."

Theron leaned back against the wall and stuck a cigarette between his lips. He lit it with a simple snap of his fingers, but Kenric immediately yanked it out of his mouth and threw it onto the stone floor, putting it out with his boot.

"Hey!"

"You shouldn't be smoking," Kenric said, wrapping Ezekiel's leg tighter. Blaise watched with great interest as the man's hands glowed a faint green, using whatever power he had to ease Ezekiel's pain. He wondered if Zane could do anything like that. "Besides, you're in the infirmary, Theron. The people in here are ill enough without you poisoning their air with smoke."

"Ya never let me have no fun, ya know that?"

"Shut up, Theron. Go get ready for patrol before the sun goes down."

"You're leaving again?" Phoenyx questioned, looking up at Kenric with wide eyes. "Take us with you!"

"Hell no," Theron interrupted before heading off towards the corridor. "Y'all would get yaselves killed in a fight with Enforcers. None of ya are even close to being ready to be out there fightin'. Ain't even trained in simple self-defense."

"As much as it pains me to use these words... Theron is right." Kenric stretched his arms over his head with a groan and stood. "You're not ready for Cadmus yet. Phoenyx and Blaise, your training will resume tomorrow at sunrise. Ezekiel, your training will resume once your leg heals."

"Great," Ezekiel replied, throwing his hands up. "I get to lie here while everyone else becomes skilled warriors. Thanks."

"It's your own damn fault!" Theron called out from somewhere out in the corridor. His voice faded as he moved away from the infirmary, but they could still hear him muttering to himself. "Dumbass kid gonna get himself killed, and ain't no one gonna be surprised. Fuckin' dope."

"I heard that!"

Theron's booming laughter echoes through the halls. Obviously he didn't care if anyone heard what he had to say.

"He's very opinionated," Kenric said. "The people of Oorlog tend to be pretty confrontational."

"We're just born with it, I guess," Blaise said, in a very matter-of-face tone, to make sure to remind Kenric that he was from Oorlog too.

"Your reaction only proves my point." Kenric smirked before he followed Theron out of the infirmary. "See you in the morning."

"I can't believe they won't let us go with them," Phoenyx said with a pout. "I want to know what they're up to."

I have to admit, I'm curious too. You're going to have to work extra hard to join their ranks.

"I'll see you guys later," Blaise said, rushing out of the infirmary before they could say anything to stop him.

He wandered deeper into the castle, trying to find a quiet place to be alone. He else could he communicate with Zane without looking like a complete lunatic? He couldn't seem to find a place that wasn't full of people, though, and many of the castle doors were locked. So, he just tried to keep his distance from others, speaking in a low voice.

"Why do I gotta keep this secret? I don't wanna do this. Your voice in my head... it's makin' me crazy. If I just tell Kenric, then I—"

No one is going to believe you. No... you're better off keeping it to yourself for now. At least wait until you become a member of their group. Earn their trust, put yourself in a position where they respect you, and they'll be more likely to listen to what you have to say.

"Your voice is killin' me," he complained, clutching his head in his hands. "Every time you talk, it's like hammerin' in my skull. I dunno how you're inside o' me, but I ain't happy 'bout it. When this is all over, I want you out!"