Chapter 34 | Emergency Training | Kael
The next morning, training becomes more urgent than ever.
Leah stands in the living room, feet planted wide, hands up. The silver lines on her wrists glow softly, pulsing with her heartbeat. Sweat dots her forehead, but her jaw is tight, her eyes focused.
"Shield," I tell her.
A see-through barrier appears in front of her—not as strong as yesterday's breakthrough, but stable. It lasts eight seconds before fading.
"Better," I say. "Again."
She resets, takes a breath, raises the shield. This time it lasts twelve seconds.
"Good. Now, while keeping the shield up, try to sense where I am."
She frowns, concentrating hard. The shield wobbles as she divides her attention. "To my left," she says, voice tight.
"Right."
"Behind me."
"Right."
The shield breaks apart. She gasps, bending over with her hands on her knees. "It's... hard. Doing two things at once."
"Combat is never just one thing." I walk over and hand her some water. "You'll be dealing with multiple threats. You need to defend and sense at the same time."
She drinks and nods. "Again."
We train for hours. Shield and sense. Shield and move. Shield and counter. Each combination wears her down, but she keeps pushing, over and over, until her clothes are drenched with sweat and her hands won't stop shaking.
"That's enough for today," I say as she almost falls after the twentieth try.
"No." She stands up straight, eyes blazing. "Again."
"Leah—"
"They found us, Kael." Her voice is intense. "Last night. If you weren't here—if I were alone—I'd be dead. Or worse. I won't let that happen. I won't be dead weight."
"You're not—"
"Then let me prove it." She raises her hands, the silver lines glowing brighter. "One more time."
I look at her. At her worn-out face, her shaking hands, her iron will. And I nod.
"One more time."
She does the whole sequence perfectly. Shield, sense, move, counter. The shield lasts fifteen seconds. She correctly identifies three positions. Her movement is smooth. The counter is precise.
"Perfect," I say when she's done.
She smiles. A tired, beautiful, victorious smile. Then her legs give out and she drops to the floor. I catch her, lifting her up.
"Sleep," I say, carrying her to the bedroom. "You've earned it."
She doesn't fight it. She's asleep before I even lay her down on the bed, breathing deep and steady. I pull a blanket over her, my fingers touching the silver lines on her wrist—faint, but pulsing with life.
"You're not dead weight," I whisper. "You're a miracle."
I leave her sleeping and go back to the living room. Kieran's message came this morning through a coded transmission. The Council's investigation has gotten more intense. Valeria's father has asked for a full search of the academy's outer areas. We have days, maybe hours, before they widen the search enough to find us.
We need to leave. But where?
I sit at the desk and spread out the map of the realm. The Forgotten Walk is our backup plan, but it's risky—the death-curse is unpredictable. The northern mountains are isolated but exposed. The eastern coast has friendly ports but too many watching eyes.
The southern border, then. The free cities. No Council control, no bloodline laws. A place where a Prince and a Nullblood—or whatever Leah is now—can live without fear.
But it's a long trip. And Leah is pregnant. And her training has barely started.
I look at the bedroom door, thinking of her sleeping inside. Of the baby growing inside her. Of the future we're fighting for.
"We'll make it work," I say to the empty room. "Whatever it takes."
The fire crackles in the fireplace, like a promise.