Ash Between Us

~13~

Every drill turned into a contest, every correction into an insult. The others tried to ignore it at first, but by the end even Tollis muttered curses under his breath each time the two squared off again.

"Enough!" Gerrick finally barked when the tension threatened to split the group apart. "If you've got this much energy to waste, you'll run the perimeter until it's gone."

But even then, as Rynn and Jace jogged side by side through the trees, they couldn't help themselves.
"You're dragging your feet," Rynn growled.
"And you're breathing too loud," Jace shot back.

Two hours later, when Gerrick finally called it, the others were exhausted-but not from training. From surviving Rynn and Jace's endless clash. And the worst part was, everyone knew this was only the beginning. By the time Gerrick barked for them to stop, the sun was already tilting low in the sky. Sweat clung to every brow, breaths came sharp and uneven, and the dirt of the clearing bore the scuffs of their boots like scars. Rynn and Jace stood apart, both glaring, both too stubborn to admit they were more drained from arguing than from training.

"Enough," Gerrick said, voice sharp with finality. "That's two hours wasted and learned all the same. Sit down. Rest. Eat before we move out."

No one argued. Darric sank onto a fallen log, blades across his lap as though even at rest he couldn't be parted from them. Verrin sprawled in the dirt, hands folded behind his head, chest heaving. Tollis chewed a strip of dried meat, still plucking his bowstring like he couldn't sit in silence.

Rynn leaned his back against one of the larger logs, setting his rifle across his knees as he tried to steady his breath. The clearing was quieter now, but not calm-the echo of his clash with Jace still thrummed in his chest. He could feel Jace's smirk from across the fireless circle, even when he wasn't looking.

Kali, of course, noticed. She always noticed. With that sly grin of hers, she sauntered over, every step deliberate, and slid onto the log behind him. The weight of her presence pressed against his back, light but insistent, the edge of her knee brushing his shoulder as if by accident.

"Well," she murmured, voice just low enough for only him to hear, "I think you managed not to strangle him. That's progress."

Rynn grunted, eyes fixed on his rifle as he checked the sights again. "Barely."

Kali leaned closer, her breath tickling his ear. "You're better than him. You know that, don't you?"

Rynn froze, caught off guard by the softness threaded into her tone. He had expected mockery, another sharp prod at his temper, but instead it carried something dangerously close to sincerity.

He cleared his throat, forcing his eyes down. "Doesn't matter who's better. Out there it's about trust."

Her smile curved against his shoulder; he could feel it even without looking. "Maybe. But I like the fire in you more than the cockiness in him." Her whisper lingered, warm, and for a heartbeat it sounded less like she was playing a game and more like she actually cared.

It unsettled him more than any of Jace's taunts.

Across the circle, Jace caught the glance Rynn gave her and snorted, shaking his head like he'd already won some invisible fight. But Rynn didn't rise to it. He forced his attention back to Gerrick as the man laid out the plan.

"Shipment's coming in at dusk," Gerrick said, tone hard. "Small convoy. Weapons and ammunition. Enough to outfit us properly. We move quick. We move quiet. And we leave nothing behind."

The weight of the mission settled over them all. Stolen weapons meant survival-but also blood. Mistakes they couldn't take back.

Rynn kept his rifle steady across his knees, forcing his heartbeat to match the slow drag of air through his lungs. But behind him, Kali's hand rested lightly on the log near his shoulder, fingers close enough to brush his arm if she chose. A reminder that she was there, watching, waiting, whispering things he wasn't sure he was ready to hear.