My knees buckled.
Pain skipped across my bones like sparks threatening to set my entire body aflame. Bruises covered my arms and torso, my blood had gathered into small puddles scattered around the arena, and I could barely look through my left eye. Everything hurt, yet a wide smile still exposed my blood-stained teeth.
"Focus, Will."
I detected the shadow from the corner of my eye before it struck. I rolled sideways, clenching my teeth to push through the stabbing pain. The smoking fist slammed into the ground instead of me, the brittle earth cracking open.
That would have hurt.
I grunted as I pushed myself to my feet, struggling to remain balanced. I shook my head, clearing the misted dizziness shrouding my mind.
The frame of the humanoid shadow before me appeared a little fuzzy, but that didn't matter. I didn't need a detailed view to fight.
I wiped the blood from my lip and raised my fists to prepare for the next attack.
The shadow man rose from the ground and turned its featureless head toward me. Its movement was eerie—like that of a doll.
It charged, moving so fast it looked like a black blur shooting through the air. I stepped back to gain better footing, but the action caused a jolt of lightning to travel up my leg, paralyzing me for a moment as my brain struggled to grasp the pain.
An inky smear painted the air before me pitch black. I dropped to the ground in the final moment before the fist collided with my face and rolled backward.
My shoulder screamed from the trauma, but I pushed myself to my feet, poised for a counterattack.
The shadow man struck again. This time, it went for my throat. Again, it missed by a measly inch as I bent backward.
Three weeks ago, that attack would've hit me. I hadn't had the necessary reflexes to react in time, but I had those now.
I'd spent the mornings with Pangea and Art, honing my air abilities, and every afternoon with Caiden, Apollo, and Reza, working on my physical abilities.
The mornings were still somewhat awkward. Art and Pangea still hadn't spoken about their issues, so the atmosphere was always rather tense. Eos had stopped showing because of it.
They acted like moody teenagers, and if not for my efficient training, I probably would've followed Eos' example long ago.
The afternoons had become tolerable. Apollo and Caiden had started working together. I'd like to think their battle may have bonded them more than either care to admit.
Reza, however, was as hostile as ever. She sat in the same spot as always, atop her favorite stone, carving a new wood figure or drawing in her notebook. She'd been particularly moody since I beat her animations a few days ago.
Reza's star-blessed powers worked like that of a magical animator. Whatever she drew on a surface, she could lift from the page and offer it limited life.
However, the power of her animations was restricted by her creativity and the intensity of her power at the given moment of an animation's birth. Once Reza tired or canceled her magic, the drawings reverted to their original form—a splatter of ink, sand, dust, or whatever medium she had used to draw the particular animation.
She was also limited to five to ten simultaneous animations, depending on their size and skill.
Her animations had been rather strong initially, so it pleased me immensely when I finally beat those things. However, Tarkan's ring was still stuck on my finger. I may have beaten Reza's animated puppets, but I had yet to land a sufficient blow on her physical body.
Piper hadn't mentioned Caiden's forgotten powers since that day, either—nor had I, for that matter. A proper time to bring up blood manipulation had yet to present itself in my busy schedule.
However, Piper seemed to have cooled down a bit. She and Caiden had started talking again without snapping at each other, so her previous attitude must've resulted from the shock. I'd felt the same way after witnessing Caiden's full power on display during his fight with Apollo.
The young Armor Wing had stepped out from the shadows the day after I'd beaten Reza's animations. She'd been watching me train silently on top of whatever rock or hill seemed most comfortable, depending on the day.
I supposed that was a good sign. However, seeing her observe my progress with those narrow eyes was far more uncomfortable than merely sensing her observing me. Mistakes were no longer an option. Knowing she was assessing me was motivating but scary, too.
My shadow opponent pulled its hand back to prepare for another attack. It gave me the opening I needed.
I stepped back to the left as the shadow man advanced again. I curled my left hand into a tight fist and aimed for its jaw—bullseye.
My opponent fumbled back. I grumbled, annoyed. I would've knocked it to the ground if I had struck it with my right hand. I needed to work on my left hook.
No matter. I still had the upper hand.
I advanced again and thrust my sharpened elbow into the soft space between what would have been the shadow man's ribs.
It bent forward, and I thrust the heel of my hand upward to strike its jaw. I clenched my jaw to ignore the pain shooting through my arm. My opponent was losing balance. I had to finish it now.
I dropped to the ground and swept the shadow man's legs away underneath it. A loud thump was the only sound I heard—no rattling breath, no scream of pain, nothing.
There was no time to dwell on those missing details. My opponent was already getting up again.
I jumped forward and wrapped my legs around its slender neck. Pain erupted throughout my back as I landed hard against the ground. I struggled to save my breath from leaving my lungs while keeping the thrashing shadow pinned between my legs.
Everything in me screamed at me to let the shadow man go. My muscles burned, my bones threatened to snap, and my head pounded vigorously. Still, I didn't let go. This shadow was the last of them.
"Okay!" Apollo shouted, his breath strained. "I give up, Will! I yield."
I exhaled, relieved when my opponent stopped struggling and melted into my shadow shortly after.
Apollo's shadow warriors had been much harder to defeat than Reza's animations. They had been creepier, too.
Their bodies were made of pure shadow. They were as solid as a human body, but their shell was as cold as ice and as clammy as humid air. I thoroughly despised the feeling of touching them, but they were good-sparing partners.
"Spirits." Apollo dumped himself next to a stone pillar, struggling to catch his breath. He wiped his damp brow on his sleeve, his hands trembling. His powers must be taking a toll on him. "I need a break."
"Stop whining, Apollo," Reza snapped from her corner.
I snorted and immediately winced from the pain rippling through my body. Everything hurt, yet my body hummed still with energy.
Apollo had conjured fifty shadow warriors of all shapes and sizes, strength and agility. I had fought them all and won with nothing but my bleeding fists.
"How are you doing?" Caiden squatted beside me, his soft gaze silently counting my injuries.
I smiled. "Never been better." I tried chuckling, but the sound made me cough instead.
Caiden chuckled. "I can see that. Should I assume you do not need my help healing those bruises then?"
"Perhaps a little help would be nice," I said, fighting to suppress the cough still tickling my throat.
I held my breath as Caiden helped me to a seated position, clenching my teeth tightly. A wave of relief washed over me when he placed his healing hands against my back, gradually erasing the pain.
"Thanks," I whispered.
"You are doing great, Will." Caiden moved to sit in front of me and placed a cool hand on my brow. "Fifty warriors is no easy feat, but we still need to work on your landings and your balance."
I nodded and accepted his hand to help me up. "I know. The last five shadows would've knocked me out cold if Apollo hadn't been so tired."
"Are you prepared to try again?" Caiden was being polite. I knew what the only appropriate answer to that question was.
"Hold up!" Apollo grunted as he pushed himself onto his feet again.
I heard Caiden chuckle at the sight of Apollo's weakened state. "Do you need a bit of healing as well, Apollo?" Caiden lifted his hand, and a small sphere of water emerged in the hollow of his palm.
Apollo sneered at Caiden. Their relationship may have improved, but they still didn't get along that well. "I'll be fine in ten minutes, your Highness. But I don't think my shadow warriors will serve the purpose you seek. I can't conjure more than fifty warriors, and a few strong warriors won't pose the threat Willow needs to advance. I can't control them well enough yet."
"What do you propose?" Caiden asked.
I swallowed tensely when Caiden folded his arms across his chest, flexing his brawny arms in his sleeveless shirt. I bit my lip, digging my fingers into the hem of my shirt to keep them occupied.
We hadn't had a single moment alone since that day. I'd wanted to touch him. I'd wanted to kiss him, but I'd been too nervous.
"Pull yourself together, human."
I twisted my head to look behind me. There was no one there.
"I have an idea." Reza dropped her knife and half-finished figure and jumped to her feet. "My animations and your shadow warriors are good opponents for training, but they depend on our control. Their reactions are delayed, and their strength is not an extension of our strength but our ability to harness our star-blessed powers. I say we should test her against a real warrior. I would like to volunteer."
I wasn't sure what Reza's problem was, but she somehow always found a way to belittle my progress.
"Don't mind her, Will," Apollo said, rubbing his neck. "She's been like that since this morning—something about a bad dream. But she isn't wrong. Our puppets are great for sparring, but they are far more limited than a human opponent. Would you be comfortable accepting her challenge?"
Reza crossed her arms and lifted her chin, challenging me. I had undoubtedly gotten stronger and more agile since our first battle, but I still wasn't nearly strong enough to beat her. However, that wasn't the purpose of this exercise. I needed to learn how to fight a human at some point, and our deal still applied. One hit was all it took, and she would remove this cursed ring from my finger.
"I accept," I said, rolling my shoulder to test its mobility. No pain.
Reza smiled, content, and stepped into the ring.
"Remember your balance," Caiden added before he parted from my side. He still didn't trust Reza, and I didn't blame him. Apollo barely trusted her judgment. He'd had to interfere more than once when I still struggled to stand my ground against her animations.
Apollo followed Caiden to the border of the ring. "Remember, no powers and no weapons. You stop when your opponent yields or no longer has the ability to fight. Begin."
Reza didn't hesitate. She attacked without warning the moment Apollo said the words.
I braced myself, raising my defenses.
She struck and missed as I stepped back. Pride welled in my stomach, but I had already forgotten that Reza was no shadow. Her reactions weren't delayed, and she didn't depend on a soul watching us to control her actions.
A sharp pain erupted from my ribs as Reza's elbow buried into the space between them. They didn't snap, but it would definitely leave a sore bruise.
I moved to retreat, but Reza had already anticipated my moves. She was beside me before I could react. Her fist connected with my jaw with such force that I lost balance and fell to the ground.
Cursed blood, that hurt. I immediately pushed myself to my feet and spat a clot of blood on the ground. She wasn't messing around.
"Raise your tiny claws!"
There it was again. That hollow voice. I'd heard it before.
"I told you," Reza said, stretching her arm like this battle was a simple warmup. "Real people fight faster than shadows. Don't let your guard down, or you'll die faster than you can call for help."
She advanced again, but I was ready. I knew I couldn't afford to think through my actions, so I let instinct guide my body instead.
Right. She missed. Left. She missed. Up. She hit me, but my defense diverted her fist in time to only graze my chin.
"Good." Reza smiled, but it wasn't pride. She was having fun. "But defense will only tire you."
I gritted my teeth as I dodged another attack. I knew I couldn't keep defending against her attacks. I had to mix in offense, but I couldn't find an opening.
"Attack!"
The loud voice echoed in my head, leaving a high pitch to ring before my ears. It distracted me, and Reza landed another blow.
I fell to my knees, heaving for air.
"Reza!" Apollo's voice tore through the air, stopping Reza before she could kick me. "We're teaching, remember?"
I could hear Reza grumble, but she retreated regardless.
Cursed blood. I still couldn't get a proper hit on her. What had these three weeks been good for then?
"Yes, you can. Stop playing defense. Fear holds you back."
Was it my voice of reason talking to me?
"Get up, Newbie." Reza raised her fists again. "I've hardly touched you yet. Even the shadow warriors were stronger than this."
I growled quietly as I pushed myself up. She certainly knew how to push my buttons, and honestly, she did terrify me. Maybe that voice was right. I needed to stop letting fear control me and take a chance.
My legs already wobbled. My breath rattled from the memory of her fists smashing my face. But I had gotten stronger since then. I could do this.
This time, I charged first. I raised my fist and prepared to attack. "There you go," Reza said, raising her defense. "But you're too predictable, and it leaves you vulnerable."
"Left."
I rolled left instead of following through with my attack. It didn't rattle Reza the slightest. She quickly followed me and shifted her defense appropriately.
"Up."
I jumped before she could swipe my legs away. Again, I raised my fist but stopped before I could follow through, listening to the voice in my head.
We continued switching between offense and defense for a few minutes. Reza hit me a few times, but the attacks were too weak to throw me off my game.
Finally, I saw an opening.
"Now!"
I thrust my clenched fist upward. She was too slow after my last attempt to attack her, and I passed through her defense, striking her jaw.
Satisfaction filled my chest with the hum of joy. I had hit her.
"Do not lower your defense!"
Too late.
Reza recovered far quicker than my shadow opponents, and I no longer had a defense to save me. Her knee dug into my side, throwing my body sideways and into a bruising roll.
I grunted when I finally stopped. My entire body throbbed with pain.
"Weak! Why is my bonded human so weak!"
That definitely wasn't my voice of reason.
I twisted my head and saw the Armor Wing rise from her spot on top of the dune, spreading her wings and narrowing her eyes.
My heart throbbed nervously. Had she been the voice? Was she talking to me?
The dragon skipped down and approached the ring.
"Reza!" Apollo shouted. "Get away from there and call Pangea."
I quickly glanced past the dragon, seeing Apollo retraining Caiden with his shadows. That wouldn't last long, but I doubted even Caiden's powers matched those of a dragon. He would get himself killed.
"You should be better by now." I sat up as the dragon stepped inside the ring, her head lowered and her nostrils flaring. That voice was hers. "Why are you not better?"
I sat up and raised my chin. Weakness was death, and I couldn't yet afford to greet death.
"I'm doing my best," I thought, staring directly into her eyes.
"Your best is apparently not enough." The dragon sneered, puffing a heated breath toward me.
Her breath still reeked of rotting flesh. "Then I will try harder, but I am only human."
The slit in the dragon's eye softened, and she retreated a bit. "Are all humans as fragile as you? What about the human you just fought?"
Spirits... Had this dragon not witnessed the other warriors bond with their dragons? Maybe not. Pangea did say that Armor Wings tended to remain isolated—especially this dragon.
"Reza is older and more experienced than me. Are you as strong as your elders?"
What was I doing? Taunting a dragon? Maybe I did have a death wish after all.
However, the dragon didn't look angry or offended. "Perhaps not," she said, a low growl sounding from her throat. "Tell me, Human. Why have you come here?"
I blinked. Why had I come here? "Honestly, because I sought answers to explain my golden blood."
The dragon narrowed her eyes. Wrong answer, perhaps. "Why are you still here then? You have your answer."
That question wasn't difficult to answer. "Because I'm needed. Because the world is in danger."
"But you cannot yet wield your star-blessed powers, and I have not yet decided whether I will accept our bond. Why do you keep fighting?"
My blood started boiling. "It doesn't matter whether I will ever manifest those star-blessed powers." I spoke these words out loud as I pushed myself to my feet. The dragon stepped backward. "My friends don't have golden blood or any bonded dragon, yet they are willing to risk their lives defending our world and yours from the darkness trying to kill your star. I am, too. I have people I want to protect, and I will do what I can to make sure they're safe—dragon or not. If you do not feel the same way about your world, I'm not even sure I want to mend that fragile bond between us.
"Your reluctance toward humans is absolutely justified. You have every right to be angry and distrustful. I was—am—too. But we're not all like that, and to sacrifice an entire world because of a time that no longer exists and a few bad seeds makes you no better than those soulless shells pretending to be humans."
I panted, breathless, pain seeing through my ribs, but I wasn't done. "So, if that's all from you, please leave so I can return to training."
I turned my back to the dragon and saw Pangea approaching us from the left, followed by one of Reza's drawings. Torrach wasn't far behind.
The words had been said. I'd meant every single one of them. I didn't want to bond with a dragon as narrow-minded as her.
"Fine."
Her voice made my bones tremble. My mind wouldn't be swayed, but I did not doubt that snapping the bond between us would hurt more than any weapon in the entire world.
I braced myself for the pain, but it never came. Instead, I felt the warmth of a small sun ignite in my chest.
"I accept you, human," the dragon said. "I, too, wish to protect my home. Let us grow stronger together."
I twisted on my heel to look at her. My throat tightened when I saw how close she'd stepped to me. I didn't even need to move to touch her. "Do you mean that?"
She snorted. "The bond is mended, Human. It is done. However, do not think I trust you yet. If I sense betrayal, I will eat you."
My heart throbbed a little harder. I guessed a mended bond didn't constitute complete faith, but that wasn't unexpected. Trust was earned, and we were still strangers. I didn't fully trust her, either.
"Now that the bond is fully mended, our spirits are intertwined. My power is yours, and yours is mine. You should be able to conjure your star-blessed powers."
"How?"
The dragon sat and curled her tail around her feet. "Do not think. Feel."
Vague... Just like Art.
I grumbled as I closed my eyes and summoned my powers.
The familiarity of the wind racing through my veins surfaced first. It didn't feel right, though. Sound made my blood hum. I was reluctant to summon my teleportation abilities, but my dragon's presence beside me felt strangely comforting.
I summoned a bit more of my powers. It didn't hurt. I chuckled. It didn't hurt anymore. I knew I would teleport if I released this power whispering inside me.
"More." The dragon's voice echoed in my head. "Summon more of your power."
Sweat already trickled down my temples. It was hard, but I pushed the hatch, regulating my powers further open.
Warmth flooded me. It didn't burn like an inferno. The heat was soft and comfortable.
"Now!" she shouted inside my head. "Release it!"
I released my hold on the power and let it pour from my body.
The ground rumbled under my feet. I opened my eyes just in time to see the first pebbles lift from the ground.
They weren't big, and some lifted higher from the ground than others, depending on their size.
Warmth kept coursing through my body. I strained myself and released a little more of my powers. Bigger stones lifted from their static positions in a thirty-foot radius around me without a single wind in sight.
Reza stepped closer. "Is this power like Raelyn's?" she asked, poking one of the stones. It didn't move from its position in the air.
"No," Pangea said, a smile curving her lips. "This is not a manipulation of gravity. She is manipulating the objects themselves."
I raised my hand toward the closest pebble, but before I could grab it, it started floating toward me.
Pangea chuckled, surprised. "I believe this may be what others call Telekinesis."
"Torrach's human is correct," the Armor Wing said behind me. "The star has given you the ability to influence physical objects with the power of your mind. It is a powerful ability, Human. Our bond must be strong."
Telekinesis—how strange. It reminded me a little how my winds could carry objects if strong enough. "My name is Willow, not human," I reminded the dragon.
Suddenly, I heard a crunch. I opened my hand and found only dust where the pebble had once been.
Okay... My winds couldn't do that.
The dragon chuckled in my mind. "Very well, Willow. You may call me Nariyath."